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Hyperfocus and inability to follow journey PIP

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9 years 1 week ago #131826 by carl30
Im awaiting a date for my pip tribunal and am attempting to prepare my case. Im confident of my case on the daily living activities, however am a little unsure on the mobility. to give a little background, my initial application stated depression and anxiety, however IBS was also mentioned during the assessment. I later realised many of my symptoms were a close match for aspergers. I visited my gp and he has referred me for assessment. I then visited my mum and mentioned this. She informed me that i was diagnosed with aspergers as a child. Given its a lifelong condition, id assume if i got the diagnosis then, i should still get the diagnosis now.

Im hoping i have my assessment before the tribunal purely as a recent assessment would present a stronger argument than an assessment completed 15 years ago.

The aspergers diagnosis wont change the problems i have with the activities, however it will change the reasons behind those problems. As i was presenting with high social anxiety, id attributed my social and communication problems to social anxiety.

Anyway, The trigger to my IBS is stress. something that i experience greatly when in certain unpredictable social situations such as the bus. The social anxiety will cause stress. Stress being the trigger to my IBS.

This presents 2 key problems on a bus

buses dont have toilets, and the gap between public toilets near the bus stops could mean having to wait upto 30 minutes to go toilet. when i need to go, i need to go asap.[/li]

Excessive wind is my biggest IBS symptom. If im alone in the car then only i smell it. If im on the bus then im getting worried everyone else will smell it and potentially say something to me.

The IBS means that I can have considerable problems on public transport as the anxiety makes my IBS symptoms worst, and i dont easily have access to a toilet. In a car there is no social anxiety as im alone, aswell as a much shorter time between toilets.

My most common journey is from my home to my girlfriend home. By car this is straight up a dual carriageway with a number of Mcdonalds, KFC, Tesco etc just off the dual carriageway where i can stop for the toilet. total journey time by google maps is 21 minutes.

By bus it means catching 2 buses. one of these buses takes 1 hour, 1 minute and only has one point where i can get off the bus to go toilet. If i get off the bus, ill be waiting an hour for the next one. This is a rural route. The total journey time is 1 hour 50 minutes by google maps.

As you can see there is a huge difference in journey time to get between the two key points. Im aware you should only be considered able to complete an unfamiliar journey if you can do so by public transport, but how about a familiar journey. I would be unable to complete the journey using public transport due to the risk from the IBS.

Any thoughts on whether id be better focusing on an unfamiliar journey, or should be awarded on a familiar journey.

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9 years 6 days ago #131866 by Gordon
Replied by Gordon on topic can follow journeys by car, but not bus
CH

Welcome to the forum.

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Whilst it is not impossible that you would score points for your IBS problems, the Going Out Descriptor is primarily aimed at claimants with mental health or cognitive issues, so you may struggle.

Problems following a familiar route will score you more points than for an unfamiliar one.

I think if you are to realistically score points then you need to highlight the distress and embarrassment that you feel due to your IBS problems rather than concentrating on the physical issues, remember their is a Descriptor that covers this area in the Daily Living section of the form.

Gordon

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems

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9 years 2 days ago #132132 by carl30
Replied by carl30 on topic can follow journeys by car, but not bus
Im aware of the daily living question but dont need the assistance of another person. More important is closeness to a toilet.

Ill reword things to focus on the distress, embarrassment and anxiety then.

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9 years 2 days ago #132134 by carl30
Replied by carl30 on topic can follow journeys by car, but not bus
Given what you say about mental health or cognitive issues, could i focus on an aspergers symptom, Hyperfocus.

This means id struggle to focus on two things at the same time. It also means that where i have nothing to hyperfocus onto, im likely to develop a deep daydream. This will leave me unaware of my surroundings.

Its my belief that i can hyperfocus on driving, as this has always been a passionate interest of mine. By autism definitions id argue it could be classed as a special interest.

Walking on the other hand has never interested me, therefore i cant hyperfocus on something that doesnt interest me. instead ill hyperfocus on the much more interesting daydream. once im in this state, id be unaware of my surroundings, including potential hazards. Had a few near misses in the past with walking into road but didnt understand how i could link it to a condition.

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9 years 2 days ago #132154 by Gordon
Replied by Gordon on topic can follow journeys by car, but not bus
Carl

Yes you can, but you will need to explain in detail the problems that this Hyperfocus can cause you, your example of walking into the road is a good place to start, you need to show that these issue affect you at least 50% of the time when you go out.

Also your Going Out must be done reliably, so you should give some thought to how you might show that this is not the case. Reliably means

• Safely – in a fashion that is unlikely to cause harm to themselves or to another person.
• To a necessary and appropriate standard – given the nature of the activity.
• Repeatedly – as often as is reasonably required.
• In a timely manner – in a reasonable time period.

Gordon

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems

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9 years 2 days ago #132172 by maggieomx
Replied by maggieomx on topic can follow journeys by car, but not bus
Gordon what are the 3 magic words safely , reliably is the other word repeatedly ??

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