Disability Living Allowance (UK)

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Yes. But it's gone to my mum since I was diagnosed and it will go to me once I turn 16, and open up a bank account.

I didn't say what we could or couldn't debate it was just that we were debating something else and you came up with a point that was irelevent to that.

My uncle wasn't actually that physically unable at all; I mean he was slightly 'subdued' you might say but apart from that he was ok physically. Even mentally, he was fairly lucid and aware of what was going on. The main reason he got the support was because he wasn't safe to live alone and just wouldn't have been capable of looking after himself.

And yes, the DWP are normally more concerned with physical aspects of disability as this is what DLA caters for. Even if it is a mental disability causing the problem, the things that DLA pays for are physical things i.e. nursing, care and mobility assistance, they don't pay out because people have a hard time of it, they pay out because people need physical help in accomplishing basic tasks like eating, taking care of themselves and getting about whether that be caused by autism, mental issues or physical issues.

Thing is AS isn't particularly debilitating except in extreme cases; this is my whole point. This is why they shouldn't standardise the DLA anymore; they need to assess everything on their individual merits. Most people with AS are high functioning enough not to need assistance with cooking meals, getting out and about and taking care of themselves so it would be stupid to make a blanket rule saying that everyone with AS would be entitled. Look how many people out there with AS are able to get jobs, take care of their own house/apartment etc. I am not saying it is easy but I am just saying that it is only very few who actually require assistance.

Depression can actually be very debilitating depending on how severe it is. There are people who go through terrible trauma and get very bad depression to the state where they can barely get up in the morning and have to be institutionalised and taken care of. Manic depressives often need assistance as they can be a danger to themselves and others.

Taking a polarised view and saying 'people with depression aren't entitled but people with AS are' is crazy; you need to judge the situation individually to see what peoples' specific needs are. AS and depression are both spectrum conditions so the needs of depressives and Aspergians is going to vary from person to person.

How did you end up in Grammer? I had to go to a mainstream school with an Autistic unit it wasn't very nice they held me back

We still have the 11+ in my area. So I got into my local grammar school.

I got a government paid place at a private grammar school. The scheme ran up until 1997.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assisted_Places_Scheme

yah, im not on ssi but if i remember correctly one of the questions was "so do you know how to go to the bathroom?"

Well it is a neccessary evil I suppose. There are plenty of people who do require assistance with using the toilet and getting washed so they have to ask just to make sure. It is hard not to be embarrased when the questions are personal but there is nothing to be embarrased about really.

When I was 14 I was in an accident on my bike and needed surgery in a delicate area and before the op, I was inspected by a young female doctor who had to poke and prod my private parts; I was mortified by embarrasment (well the pain was that bad that I only noticed the embarrasment afterwards)but at the end of the day it is nothing to be ashamed of.

The DLA forms are extremly difficult to fill in with regard to any form of mental illness or any disability that does not physically disable you in obvious ways . I claimed once and got lower rate mobility , i didnt expect to get anything but was then a tad annoyed that they had ignored all my problems but one . the last time i claimed they refused me i asked for a reassesment and they still refused , my psychiatrist was astounded .
Wether you get anything seems to depend solely on your understanding the forms correctly , and in my experience if you take things literally as i do answering the questions correctly is almost impossible . I was told to fll in the form as if it were my worst day , the trouble with that is how do i define worst day because i have more than one problem so for example if i have a migraine i cant do anything , for those that are wondering i have hemiplegic migraines that often land me in hospital , so if i filled the form in for that day and it says how long does it take to have abath , the answer is it doesnt because taking a bath on that day would be impossible , the same as on days when i am severly depressed , i dont bath on those days at all so to accuratly fill in the form id have to say i dont take longer to take a bath than a normal person because i dont have one . same goes for cooking and going out of the house i dont do either on a bad day and in fact do neither on most days due to depression poor memory and agrophobia . Sensory overload causes me to dissociate so i dont go out alone so the qestion that asks me if i have a problem going to unknown places alone and how often i need help going to those places cant be answered either because i dont go to unknown places alone ever . one of my fave questions is about medication do i have trouble rembering to take my medication , i used to but now my hubby controls my medication so i dont miss any so how many days a week do i forget to take it ? i dont because its given to me , but then that sounds like i dont have a problem rembering it but i do because i have a poor memory but its not an issue because i dont have to rely on my memory to take it .
So any ways i strongly reccomend if you are like me and answer questions literally get a proffesional to help you , the whole filling the form in caused me huge anxiety and actually made me very ill . I got told i should go to appeal , but i cant can you imagine a person with agrophobia and severe anxiety attending a tribunal , its never going to happen i havent even made it to my local supermarket in about 3 years .

bb natty whos never going to try and fill in a form ever again.

natty, you pretty much hit the nail on the head there. You seem to have had many of the same issues with those damn forms as I have, and then some. They seem to rely on a lot of averages, and frankly arbitrary time values for things. Do you get more assistance if it takes you ten minutes longer to go the toilet than someone else? If you put "1 hour", are you going to get less than someone who puts "1 hour ten minutes" ?

Despite the fact that they claim decisions are made on a case-by-case evaluation (ie there is no "set" amount for anything) its a fact that the decision is made on a points based and arbitrary system of pre-evaluated material. I received a letter stating "this is the correct amount for a diagnosis of Aspergers Syndrome." So by their own admittance, they have a set rate for AS. The actual details of my particular case are completely irrelevant.

Further to another post earlier, its not that I think depression isnt a proper illness, or that in some way someone depressed deserves less, its more that I have AS and suffer from chronic depression, yet I am only paid as if I have AS. Just because I know the cause of my depression, does not mean its any easier. That, and I stand by my point that there is a world of difference between a temporary debilitation that is treatable and cureable, and a lifelong uncurable neurological difference affecting every aspect of my life. Bear in mind that you cant give yourself AS, but you can make yourself depressed.

Turns out I do get DLA. I get the lower level. And what I meant about me going to a grammar school was that the person on the phone said something about that may have been why I got low and not medium, because they'd assume I can function well if I manage to go to a grammar school. Something like that. I was mistaken about thinking I didn't get it though.