M.E. sufferer from Wrag to Jobseeker again

Hi Pat like I have just said to MrsHurtyback - the strength of our case as recognised by the DWP decision maker at that point ,was in the great levels of fluctuation in his day to day condition of which ME is just one element. It may or may not warrant recognition under the 'exceptional circumstances ' rule. We may have been lucky then and it may be harder to get that recognition now with the goal posts constanly changing .

Thanks Wonko. We will persevere. Ask for an MR and go to Appeal if we have to.
Like you say it can only get better

Thanks Michele. Yes you are right about the Work Program. By and large his coaches have been very good and supportive.
It is frustrating that none of it is joined up. They aren't interested in the views of people who deal with you and see how you close up and with some regularity from just a health professional who on the basis of 35-40 mins asking scripted questions seems you fit for work.
The fight continues

beekles wrote: Thanks Wonko. We will persevere. Ask for an MR and go to Appeal if we have to.
Like you say it can only get better

I have no idea how much your sons M.E. impacts on his, and your, life based on my experience (and the fact the DWP treats M.E. as a mental health condition) but some things to consider;
How much would he be able to do without getting ill without your help on a regular basis, is this below a threshold most would consider reasonable;
Does he have any cognitive impairment, perfectly normal for those with long term M.E. even when not crashed, does this increase to a level which could pose a risk to himself or others when he is ill?
How is his social interaction affected, both with people he knows and those he doesn't, can he handle these challenges without getting ill, how does he handle situations where he is ill but can't get away to decompress?
Does he get angry and/or frustrated with his limitations, how does he handle this, does he get aggressive, shout, etc. or shut down?
When ill is he safe to go out unaccompanied?

etc. etc. etc.

Given the DWP treat M.E. as a mental health condition it's rare to get any significant points for the physical descriptors, getting a 15 point physical support group descriptor is most unlikely, so based on my experience it's safest to go for a collection of mental health descriptors and then try and bump these up to exceptional circumstances on reconsideration - once he gets into the support group it's easier to stay there on the next assessment phase.

It's important to distinguish between how your son copes with your help and how he would cope (and how ill he would be) without your help at a level of activity required to hold down a job, including traveling there and back, dealing with co-workers etc.

It's also important to remove pride and stoicism from anything communicated from the DWP, not mentioning something because he can cope, with your help or without, and not mentioning the impact something has on him will not do him any favours e.g. I can sometimes manage to go shopping at my local supermarket, I have to, I'm positively dangerous when outside, I stagger, I zig zag, I stumble and fall, I have to focus so much on simply staying upright and moving forward that I can't pay enough attention to people, roads or cars, i frequently have near misses where it's only drivers paying attention that stop me from being hit, by the time I get to the closest bus stop I've pulled or overstressed large numbers of muscles so am in significant pain. By the time I get to the supermarket I have to use a trolley to hold me up (as opposed to the walking stick/crutches I sued to get there). When in the shop I can't see straight, I'm in a significant amount of pain, I'm frustrated, and i've been told I look like an angry drunk. I clear isles, people just leave that part of the shop. It takes me a long time to get even a small amount of shopping because I forget things (even when I have a list), I forget where things are so am constantly doubling back, by the time I reach a checkout my arms are burning from the effort of stopping myself from sliding down to the ground. I have collapsed when trying to unload shopping onto the checkout belt........Once I get home it can take me several hours to stop shaking from exhaustion and a few more days to recover enough to do anything useful, like make a sandwich.

Because I can do this (regardless of the cost to me) I score nil points at medicals for physical descriptors, I only score points because I might upset or endanger others.

Hi,

The site below are for ME/CFS sufferers :

www.meassociation.org.uk/how-you-can-hel...icies-and-documents/

www.actionforme.org.uk/get-help/welfare-rights/welfare-rights

bro58