Either go to citizens advice or age concern will send someone to see you.  If you have DLA and can avoid changing to PIP do so it's a much better system.

Have my pip assessment coming up at home, am terrified I will be denied it, have been on DLA for 6 years but it has to change to PIP so why doesn't your previous claim count, surely the must know this is a progressive illness.

Hi Madman, you can only get attendance allowance if your over 65. That is the change over from DLA and PIP. I filled the forms in for my late husband, it was tedious but well worth doing. There are 2 levels, lower and higher. The higher one is for people who have mainly been given a terminal diagnosis as was the case of my husband. We didn't even know about this until Jan last year when I did the forms and the doctor had to fill in a form too, we were accepted and paid within one week. We should have been claiming for 3 years but nobody tells you about these forms. If you're having difficulty filling them in go to citizens advice or ask someone you trust to help.

Good luck, Maureen

Hi, I have been receiving Attendance Allowance for 2 Years now and was refused on my first application. I wrote to them telling them I could not understand how they came to this decision and asked they looked at it again. It almost seemed liked they hadn't even read my application. I then received a call asking as to why I needed to go to the toilet so often during the night and when I explained that it was due to my blood pressure tablets, she completely understood and told me there and then that I would be awarded the benefit. My advice to anyone trying to obtain benefit is to not give up. It is a tedious form and when it comes up for renewal, you have to fill the form all over again. I'm sure they make it so long so people would not bother. 

Good luck

Hello i am very surprised that you were told that you would be warded the benefit over the phone, as to my extensive experience, they are not allowed to do and can only inform you in writing? i also know that they may operate a quota system, where they only make a certain amount of positive awards in a period?

it is great news that you had their decision overturned and like you i would advise anyone to keep reapplying over appealing, if you feel you have a good case with plenty of medical evidence to support your case. if people are thinking about appealing to a tribunal, which is very much different to an appeal. i advise people to get expert help especially if you need to get more expert or detailed medical evidence. 

i have in the past attended several tribunals, most of which i have won!, i only lost 1 ,but took this to the D.S.S commissioners on several points of law. this too over 3 years to complete, but ended up in my favour, but i then had to wait several months for the decision to be ratified by a local tribunal. 

i hope that under PIP, things have changed for the better?

 i note you mention the length and complexity of the application forms, to my knowledge, they are now much simpler than they used to be, for example, there used to be a 4 separate forms, of 16 pages, most of the information was simply being duplicated and in some cases triplicated?

the last set of PIP/DLA forms i helped a friend complete resulted in an interview and a successful claim. so to anyone who is considering making claims,   But please do not expect instant success, simply because of any of the following beliefs!!

(a) you believe you will automatically be successful

(b) Because someone you know has been awarded PIP at their first attempt. (it took me several applications)

(c) because people, such as family are living with medical conditions similar to yours and received awards

(d) please get as much advice and medical evidence as you can, and if the forms scare you, never simply throw them away, keep them safe and get professional or help, from people with plenty of experience of completing them. 

 In my many years of voluntary work with a reputable charity i came across many people who were afraid of the forms and nearly lost out, due to fear of the forms because they gave up or left it too close to completion dates?

i wish you well and every success. 

Mr Chipps

Hi Mr Chips, I too was very surprised that they informed me over the phone that I would be awarded the benefi. Maybe it was due to me requesting they looked at my application for a second time.Like you I had previously worked in a care setting and filled out many different forms for clients and was always successful. So I knew that by telling me of their decision over the phone was very unusual. My AA is up for renewal in April and I hope sasone2one's comment is incorrect, maybe thats why I have not received my form from them. 

The PIPS forms as much as the DLA forms do not focus on mental illness and its affects, anyone reading the questions would think more on the lines of physical illness. Unless you are used to carrying out assessments its not easy for the lay person to link in the questions with mental illness. The person might have a mental illness, but there is a lot more to the problems they experience than psychological. Like the side effects of anti psychotics, most can affect your daily life being so sedated with them you cant have a normal sleep pattern and find it difficult to wake up or become so sleepy you cant stay awake, they can also affect coordination making the person appear clumsy as well as cause physical conditions. When the meds kick in this can also affect how the person is not able to take in what is being said to them, they may not be like this 24/7 but certain parts of the day following taking their medication. All of this needs to be brought into the equation when completing PIPS forms.

Hello again, i am sorry i am unable to pronounce your name.

when you say AA do you mean the old Attendance allowance? if so this means you maybe assessed for the new PIP benefit under the personal care category?

A friend applied last year and was awarded the lower bracket of personal care. They did not think they stood any chance. i may have to be assessed next year for PIP in leiu, of my DLA which i have been in receipt of for many years

 i am not too worried as i have a lot of medical evidence in the form of scans and other medical tests, so i am hopeful of not having to attend a face to face interview? but should i have to, i will take all the evidence i can get hold of?

I have read sas2ones comments and some of what she says is correct, but not all. i say this from my previous experience completing hundreds of Attendance and and several DLA forms, for other claimants

"but this being said i am in no way trying to belittle her comments" as we all have our own beliefs and opinions which very often will conflict with other peoples".

with the topic of mental health issues, which i call psychological problems. many years ago i was living with some psychological problems and as she points out medication and its side effects can often be much worse than the actual psychological illness. so my advice is to keep a note of everything you think is important and as i mentioned earlier, get all the advice and support you can, to support your claims for side effects and how they personally affect you. you can take someone to accompany you, but unless they are speaking on your behalf, they can only sit and not say anything

to me the system is not designded to fit everyone, and as such we are all unique and in the ways we cope with health issues and other things such as medications etc

i recently attended as an observer, at a drug and alcohol recovery conference, and the main thing that came out, from many people living with drug and alcohol issues, was that they used drugs and alcohol as a means of escapism?

many commented that when i mentioned i like them had suffered traumas and health issues, but not turned to drugs or alcohol and become addicted. (yes we do sometimes drink a little to much to chill out, but i/we are only human

well you must have a better coping mechanism than we have?????

my point being, that we all cope with things in our own ways and cope as best we can. Sadly not evey one has the same strength and coping strategies? How i cope at times is a mystery to me?

so please do not take any ones words or comments as being gospel, we all see things our own way

 kind regards Mr Chipps the poet man

Hi Mr Chips

In my line of work (retired now) I also carried out assessments and also completed DLA forms. The PIPS form which I have completed was not for myself but my relative who lives with me. Being his appointee I wrote what I see happening to him alongside his own comments. I reeled of a list of everything I observed and see on a day to day basis, the problem is what I see and what my relative recognises in himself are two different things. Some things he knows what happens but is not aware of other things. Part of the long list I reeled off, he brought down to 4 words "I feel spaced out". This is what he recognises but this doesn't explain how it affects him when he is spaced out. Unfortunately the psychological condition he has is not recognised as curable, although for some like you say can be managed better than others. I still say those forms are not easy to complete if you have no experience in the thinking behind the questions, I had the experience, but 20 years ago I didn't. Then I had a nurse check over what I had written and she stuck post it notes on several pages... what about this or that. These were questions that I linked into physical illnesses and would in no way have thought of a response to these questions if it were not pointed out to me. By the way in the PIPS FORMS it tells you not to include any written evidence of side effects or the specific condition. You are right in saying to include everything you can think of, but with psychological conditions it a pretty difficult to prove. Especially when the psychiatrist or GP does not see what we see, all they can really say is what the diagnosis is and the issues but not give the whole picture when they only spend 10 - 30 minutes with the person.

Hi SASone2one

 i agree with everything you are saying and can understand why you and anyone who has little experience of completing these forms get very frustrated and does not know what yo put on them? i was lucky i used my own personal experiences from being rejected several times for sickness benefit and finally winning after having to go to the D.S.S commissioners, the whole process took around 5 years, but i was lucky i was strong and kept fighting. your point about the forms being difficult to complete by the average person especially someone with mental health problems is very valid. and from my own experience of depression many years ago. i like other people was unable to explain how i felt and the Term "spaced out" could be a great way of explaining their situations

 i know that when we are living with psychological problems, it is very hard to see thing clearly and separate and explain them rationally, so others understand. i agree with your very important points about the PIP forms not asking questions about psychological illnesses. i personally did not see anything on my friends PIP forms about not mentioning side affects, in fact when my friend was assessed she was asked about side affects of her ailments and psychological  affects of feeling low, from pain and discomfort

my suggestion to this is to write everything else you can think off down on paper, if possible word process, keep copies as evidence in case some of it gets mislaid by the D.S.S,and and get the claimant to sign and date it.

The old D.L.A. AA forms used to ask about psychological, physical effects of medications and moods etc. they were like 4 books of 16 pages per book. this scared many people who used to simply throw them away, or leave them until it was nearly too late to complete?

i also suggest that the forms maybe completed over a couple of sessions if time permits. i used to allow around 3 hours, if i completed them in 1 session ,as it can often be hard getting the trust of people, if you do not know them well? i agree that 15 minutes is not acceptable. i have sometimes taught people ho to fill in forms for others and they like you have told me that they would not have thought of many things i had mentioned. i also have watched members of social services complete forms in around 40 minutes. i thought to myself thank heaven they are not my forms.

i understand i was lucky to have the resolve to keep fighting and win through. i enjoyed helping others claim Benefits and win against a cruel system that lumps everyone together and can cause alarm and much hurt. to me i was partly getting my own back, for how i had been treated.  if i can help anyone by giving support on this site i will. But because of my own commitments and the skills of completing forms in person i will in future have to ask for a donation for my time and experience

you say you are now retired, and i hope you have a great life, i sadly had to retire many years ago age 35 from a back injury, this was my main cause of my psychological problems. i now have others but i am able to cope sadly unlike some people and that is my main reasons for going into voluntary work.

i hope my information helps anyone who reads it

Best wishes to everyone. mr chipps