Attendance Allowance?

[IrvineHimself]

In a sign that I am truly re-entering society, I have been looking for ways to increase my income: After scouring websites like Age UK, I decided to try and claim Attendance Allowance. As a result I spent the last few days researching the topic and finally downloaded the form this morning. Man, like all things bureaucratic, it's a bloody nightmare.

I started filling it in about 8am this morning;, stopped for lunch around 12 and spent the afternoon going over it with my support worker before spending another couple of hours this evening incorporating her suggestions. My head is now spitting; I feel like I want to scream at something and it is still not completely finished. (I need to give it another going over tonight, followed by a quick review tomorrow morning before I get the Care Co-ordinator from my assisted living place to fill in her tuppence worth. Then, I have to print it out, fill in my bank details by hand and sign it.)

Anyway I was wondering if anyone else has claimed it, how they found the process and if they have tips, warnings or other advice.

Just as general point of info: After careful consideration of ALL the available advice on Age UK, (there are at least half dozen web-pages,) I decided that embarrassing honesty about how: Diabetes; Old Age; Cataracts and Glaucoma are affecting my quality of life... I am not kidding! I put down things on that bloody form I have difficulty admitting to myself never mind a Doctor.

The real irony is that, from the tone of the questions, I strongly suspect that if my claim is successful, it is more likely to be because of my Asperger's than because of things like: urine leaks; mobility issues or any of the other serious care issues I have. I mean, at first, I wasn't even going to mention Asperger's at all! It was my support worker who suggested I should tell them all the problems Asperger's cause me.

Another issue is the Care Co-ordinator from my assisted living facility. I do not want her to lie, however I do want her to be brutally honest about my care needs and specifically mention things I will most definitely find embarrassing.

Anyway, after the day I have had, I would be grateful to read your comments.
Irvine

 

[Callista]

I urge you to check out the website Carers UK. As well as the website itself, full of really helpful info on such things as AA etc etc (all the nightmare bureacracy as you say - designed of course, to put off claimants!!!) (saves the government money if they just give up and go away..........), the CUK forum is brilliant. You will get loads of really helpful advice and other people's experience as well.

I used it when a relative developed dementia, but it is very wide ranging, and extremely useful and helpful.

Good luck with it all.

As to AA, I seem to remember the advice is always to put down the 'worst' you have ever been, rather than average it out.

Carers UK homepage

We’re here for unpaid carers with expert information, advice & support and also campaign to make life better for carers.

www.carersuk.org

All the best with it all, and hope your claim is accepted.

 

[Docb]

The paper work often seems to be designed to hinder rather than accelerate things. You have got to be dogged to get to the end of it.

One thing does occur to me. I might be wrong but I thought Attendance Allowance was there to help to pay for any additional help you needed to deal with any disabilities. If that is right, you might focus on anything that might make your life easier and that you would pay for from the allowance if granted. Is that sort of thing considered in the paperwork?

 

[nonethewiser]

In a sign that I am truly re-entering society, I have been looking for ways to increase my income: After scouring websites like Age UK, I decided to try and claim Attendance Allowance. As a result I spent the last few days researching the topic and finally downloaded the form this morning. Man, like all things bureaucratic, it's a bloody nightmare.

I started filling it in about 8am this morning;, stopped for lunch around 12 and spent the afternoon going over it with my support worker before spending another couple of hours this evening incorporating her suggestions. My head is now spitting; I feel like I want to scream at something and it is still not completely finished. (I need to give it another going over tonight, followed by a quick review tomorrow morning before I get the Care Co-ordinator from my assisted living place to fill in her tuppence worth. Then, I have to print it out, fill in my bank details by hand and sign it.)

Anyway I was wondering if anyone else has claimed it, how they found the process and if they have tips, warnings or other advice.

Just as general point of info: After careful consideration of ALL the available advice on Age UK, (there are at least half dozen web-pages,) I decided that embarrassing honesty about how: Diabetes; Old Age; Cataracts and Glaucoma are affecting my quality of life... I am not kidding! I put down things on that bloody form I have difficulty admitting to myself never mind a Doctor.

The real irony is that, from the tone of the questions, I strongly suspect that if my claim is successful, it is more likely to be because of my Asperger's than because of things like: urine leaks; mobility issues or any of the other serious care issues I have. I mean, at first, I wasn't even going to mention Asperger's at all! It was my support worker who suggested I should tell them all the problems Asperger's cause me.

Another issue is the Care Co-ordinator from my assisted living facility. I do not want her to lie, however I do want her to be brutally honest about my care needs and specifically mention things I will most definitely find embarrassing.

Anyway, after the day I have had, I would be grateful to read your comments.
Irvine

We claimed AA for mam, contacted Age UK & they came out to her house to fill forms in, maybe worth contacting them yourself before sending form off just to make sure you've filled it in right & covered everything.

 

[IrvineHimself]

I might be wrong but I thought Attendance Allowance was there to help to pay for any additional help you needed to deal with any disabilities.

I thought so too. I was particularly heartened by how vision problems feature prominently in the guidance. However, the advice seems to be that it is not for my particular care needs regarding my eyesight, eg things like shopping, cleaning grease spills and the like, but rather more to enable socialising and hobbies etc. It's this socialising element that makes me, (and my support worker,) suspect Asperger's could well be the thing that tips the balance.

As to AA, I seem to remember the advice is always to put down the 'worst' you have ever been, rather than average it out.

Believe me, once I started filling in form, I quickly figured that out. I did go into a great deal of detail about my vision problems and specifically how it affects my ability to shop. Again, there is a certain irony in the fact that on this forum, it is a matter of record about how shopping is actually one of my hobbies and how I have done fairly extensive studies on price arbitrage between the various Edinburgh supermarkets.

Similarly with the more embarrassing aspects of diabetes and old age, like urine leaks, I mentioned how bad these problems were when I first reached out to Streetwork, and admitted that even now, one of the reasons I have to wear black jeans is to disguise the odd involuntary dribble.

Tomorrow, I just hope I can get my Care Co-ordinator to mention how she has noticed this. That could be both embarrassing and awkward. I mean, I wouldn't lie myself, so I definitely would not ask her to lie.

 

[IrvineHimself]

Ah well, another day with that bloody form. After re-reading the DWP's notes and the link provided by @Callista, I have made a few edits, and will work on it some more this morning. My support worker is coming around this afternoon to proof read it again, so it looks like today is going to be a repeat of yesterday. 😱

The paper work often seems to be designed to hinder rather than accelerate things. You have got to be dogged to get to the end of it.

One thing does occur to me. I might be wrong but I thought Attendance Allowance was there to help to pay for any additional help you needed to deal with any disabilities. If that is right, you might focus on anything that might make your life easier and that you would pay for from the allowance if granted. Is that sort of thing considered in the paperwork?

I just had another look at the DWP notes, and, contrary to my earlier reply, it does seem like the allowance is for personal care needs:

What is Attendance Allowance and
can I get it?
Attendance Allowance is to help with extra costs if you have a disability
severe enough that you need someone to help look after you.
You may get Attendance Allowance if:
• you are State Pension age or over when you make your claim
• you cannot get Disability Living Allowance
• you cannot get Personal Independence Payment
• your disability means that you need help with your personal care (see
page 5) or you need someone to supervise you for your own or someone
else’s safety (see page 5), and
• you have needed that help for at least 6 months

Also:

What do ‘help with personal care’ and ‘supervise’ mean?
‘Help with personal care’ means day-to-day help with things like:
• washing (or getting into or out of a bath or shower)
• dressing
• eating
• going to or using the toilet, or
• telling people what you need or making yourself understood (if you have
a problem, such as learning difficulties, that makes this hard)
‘Supervise’ means that you need someone to watch over you to help you
avoid substantial danger to yourself or other people.
This could mean:
• when you take medicines or have treatment
• keeping you away from danger that you may not know is there
• avoiding danger you could face because you cannot control the way you
behave, and
• stopping you from hurting yourself or other people
You may need help with personal care or supervision because you:
• find it hard to move your arms or legs or have no control over them
• get breathless easily or are in pain, or
• have behaviour difficulties, mental-health problems, or you get confused

However, unless I base my claim on complications from my Asperger's, the form itself seems to be more concerned with help and supervision for hobbies and interests. In particular, (from Age UK):

Bear in mind that Attendance Allowance doesn’t usually take into account problems with housework, cooking, shopping and gardening.

Which, to my mind, seems specifically designed to disallow a large subset of claims. For example, in my case, noting these are the very things that cause me the most problems, a claim based solely on my vision problems would seem likely to fail. I consider this to be bizarre, and, if I am killed in an RTA because of my vision problems, I fully intend to spend my afterlife haunting who ever was responsible for that particular rule.

Despite the embarrassment factor, along with my vision problems, I have of course went into graphic detail about the bladder control problems caused by Diabetes, but I am becoming more and more convinced that detailing all the problems caused by Asperger's is the correct strategy. Since I have spent my entire life living with Asperger's and have developed tried and tested coping strategies, I would consider this to be the least of my problems. But, it's a case of needs must, and if this offers the best chance of success.....

As an aside:

The paper work often seems to be designed to hinder rather than accelerate things.

A friend of mine from uni went on to become a government actuary working on MOD pensions. He once told me that military pensions were designed to encourage ex-servicemen to drink themselves to death within a couple of years of leaving the service. Basically, they were given a lump sum large enough to get the job done, followed, (if they were still alive,) by a second instalment a few years later that would finish them off.

 

[Jade]

Hi, I have completed hundreds of Attendance Allowance forms for others as part of job and it’s focused on help and support at home. Prompts/supervision/support with personal care, risk of falling, neglecting self if didn’t have carers/support worker. Definitely put Aspergers down. Repeat answers in different sections.
You don’t need a statement from a professional. Most refuse to do them. Send a repeat prescription, a hospital or medical report which says that you have difficulties/name of conditions as proof.
If you want more advice you can private message me, happy to help

 

[IrvineHimself]

Thanks @Jade, that is very reassuring. What you describe is more or less what I have done.

In summary, I repeatedly mention:

• Falling/stumbling
• I went into great detail about the various aids I use, (Magnifiers, strollers ... etc, I listed about 12)
• My choice of furniture and how i arranged it so that I am always within arms length of a grab handle
• My vision problems and the waiting list to get into the Eye-Clinic
• Getting stuck when kneeling, squatting or after falls
• Bladder control
• What being Asperger's means to me and how it affected my life choices:
  • Extreme bullying in a work or social environment)
  • The OCD and how it affects my other medical problems
  • My chosen lifestyle as a vagabond to avoid extreme bullying
  • My strong desire to avoid conflict by just heading onto the next town
  • The danger that I could potential resolve social problems by just leaving (habit of a lifetime)
  • Streetwork and my support workers

Filling in forms like this must difficult for everyone, but I have spent my life trying to be a strong, independent adventurer. Portraying myself as someone who needs help and encouragement to do some of life's simplest and most basic functions just doesn't seem to sit right. In part, I suppose this is because doing so is an admission that I am no longer that wild young man who would blindly jump into the unknown on a dare, but still....

 

[trophywench]

Just being curious here - is the reason you haven't had your cataracts sorted, only because of delays seeing anyone at the eye clinic?

 

[IrvineHimself]

Just being curious here - is the reason you haven't had your cataracts sorted, only because of delays seeing anyone at the eye clinic?

There is a two or three year waiting list to join the waiting list.🙄

I suppose once you actually get on the waiting list things will progress more quickly, but?

Edit:
It is even worse if you need a new knee or hip, I know quite afew people who have been waiting for 4 or 5 years or more for hip/knee replacement surgery.

 

[Jade]

I would expect you to get AA but it can take Up to 12 weeks for your forms to be processed. Usually realise been paid it, before receiving letter, hence why they take bank details now. Good luck

 

[trophywench]

A friend locally went to get her eyes tested as per usual since she's needed em for years. Optician told her that her cataract needed sorting. Friend said OK then, what happens? Optician said she'd refer her so she should hear from the eye clinic soon. 2 - 3 days later clinic rang her on a Friday and she had the op the following Tuesday. All NHS.

I know hip/knee replacements take forever - but considering the fact that sorting cataracts takes approx 10 minutes once the formalities are done and you actually get there - and potentially saves the NHS money cos you haven't walked out into the highway and caused a SMIDY (ie Sorry mate I didn't see you) accident - I reckon they're quids in making it easy.

 

[IrvineHimself]

A friend locally went to get her eyes tested as per usual since she's needed em for years. Optician told her that her cataract needed sorting. Friend said OK then, what happens? Optician said she'd refer her so she should hear from the eye clinic soon. 2 - 3 days later clinic rang her on a Friday and she had the op the following Tuesday. All NHS.

I know hip/knee replacements take forever - but considering the fact that sorting cataracts takes approx 10 minutes once the formalities are done and you actually get there - and potentially saves the NHS money cos you haven't walked out into the highway and caused a SMIDY (ie Sorry mate I didn't see you) accident - I reckon they're quids in making it easy.

How long ago was that?

I think the long waiting list is something to do with COVID. It's not the Cataracts that concern me, once I get the OP my distance vision will return to more or less normal, it's the Glaucoma. The damage from that is progressive and permanent!

 

[IrvineHimself]

I would expect you to get AA but it can take Up to 12 weeks for your forms to be processed. Usually realise been paid it, before receiving letter, hence why they take bank details now. Good luck

Oh man, I wish!

As I actually said at the end of section 61:

In Summary
Now that I am, more or less, fully re-integrated into society and receiving medical treatment for my various health problems, the issues I have outlined in this form are becoming increasingly limiting. While extra money on its own won't solve my current problems, it will give me extra choices and opportunities.

 

[IrvineHimself]

Ah well, for better or for worse, the claim form, along with reams of supporting documentation, are now in the post. So, it's basically in the hands of God. I just hope she's in a good mood 🙂

Man, that was exhausting. It took three days of research, followed by two and a half days to actually fill the bloody thing and have it proof read. I think I may offer Asylaeus, (the god of beggars and prostitutes,) a few extra devotions this weekend

 

[trophywench]

@IrvineHimself - it was the week before last - we'd seen her and her husband out on the Saturday then again on the Thursday evening when I overheard her mentioning she'd just had a cataract done to someone else, so the following Tuesday once we saw them both and we could have a chat, was when she explained how quickly it was done. Before Covid when I had mine done, a few weeks wait to see the hospital and then approx 6 months wait per eye for the Day Surgery unit to fit me in.

 

[IrvineHimself]

@trophywench, it took the Edinburgh Eye-Pavilion two months just to confirm I had a referral and another month for the second referral (a referral for Cataracts and a referral for Glaucoma). My optician [Specsavers] said that average wait times were two to three years for both Glaucoma and Cataracts, and then offered me the chance to have the Cataracts done privately for a mere £3,000

The discrepancy in wait times is probably to do with the priorities of individual health Boards? Although, I am just guessing about that. Compared to, for example, the south of England, NHS Lothian has a pretty good reputation for that type of thing so I really don't understand what is going on.

 

[dick bradshaw]

There is a two or three year waiting list to join the waiting list.🙄

I suppose once you actually get on the waiting list things will progress more quickly, but?

Edit:
It is even worse if you need a new knee or hip, I know quite afew people who have been waiting for 4 or 5 years or more for hip/knee replacement surgery.

Gawd, really? I was very lucky then! I got mine sorted very quickly as one cataract was really thick and it was like looking through a shower curtain. My Optician got me fast tracked to the Northern General Eye Centre in Sheffield for my first procedure last March and for my second in early November. Tell them you are tripping up and bumping into things that might get you in quicker.

 

[IrvineHimself]

Tell them you are tripping up and bumping into things.....

I am tripping up and bumping into things!

I have got to admit that, while I really want the op, I am not exactly jumping up and down with excitement. In fact, the thought of getting any kind of operation, never mind one on my eyes, has me quaking in terror.

 

[dick bradshaw]

I am tripping up and bumping into things!

I have got to admit that, while I really want the op, I am not exactly jumping up and down with excitement. In fact, the thought of getting any kind of operation, never mind one on my eyes, has me quaking in terror.

Let me put your mind at rest then, I know it may sound silly but START jumping up and down with excitement! It is an amazing experience. After the first cataract is removed you will be so looking forward to the second you'll wonder what you were worried about, believe me.

They put a tiny thing, -a bit like a well-sucked tic-tac- under your lower eyelid which dissolves quickly and makes you numb around the area and dilates your pupil. Then they wash the area thoroughly and wheel you in and lower the instrument which looks a bit like an astronomical microscope/telescope. The similarity doesnt end there and throughout the procedure you see what looks like a distant view of stars and the universe! Strangely enough though, even though the eye is very soft tissue, you dont actually feel anything when they do it.

Indeed, both times to me it sounded a bit like a sewing machine gently whirring somewhere in the background and then you hear them say, "just putting your new lens in" and that's it. The whole thing took about 15-20 minutes for the second one, and the first was about 30 minutes as my first cataract was quite thick they said. The most time is spent in the prep room where you just lay back and let the nurses get on with it (they arent called Angels for nothing) as the procedure itself was surprisingly quick. Later that day, I could see for miles as clear as a bell, and you'll even see the difference on the way home! After the first one, the new lens will compensate for the other eye, and then about two or three months later you will have that one done. I hope this helps assuage any anxiety you may be feeling. Enjoy it!