Baffled. IB - ESA fail. Fresh claim - fail.

Hi again. I stayed up and broke the back of it. I used B&W guides for my letter when I appealed the tribunal and I went into a lot of detail for most of the descriptors then anyway. The tribunal in Jan awarded me 9 points for mobility, but I don't know how they broke it down, so I didn't write about mobility then. That's the next thing I need to do, which I don't feel too overwhelmed about as the rest is mostly done. I was thinking I could re-send my letter again? I originally sent it to the decision maker who accepted my fresh claim, but I know DWP lose things, so there's no guarantee anyone will find it again.

I am completing the PDF, but I have the paper form, and the boxes are so small anyway, I was thinking I might fill out the form, then add separate pages typed. My handwriting isn't good enough to write that much. Or maybe my letter will suffice? Quite confused, but getting there...

There is so much to remember! Completely forgot about payback pain! :/

Thank you so much for being there. It's so good to have people to talk to.

So I didn't manage to post it today. But I'm starting to get some clarity. I was thinking, I may as well answer the whole thing on additional sheets. I'll write some basics on the form, but refer them to my full answers. Then I have a digital copy for next time, and if they lose it, etc. The letter I wrote a few months ago is already helping me this time round.

So about how I present it. I was thinking start with the phrases I need to repeat, eg fluctuating, unpredictable, can't repeat reliably safely, etc. Then make it clear which descriptor I feel applies to me. Do I spell it out with the number? eg 2 b (ii)? Then add more to each answer. My problem so far is once I start writing, I end up with my life story! There is so much to tell, I am having trouble focusing and just answering the question. But when I edit back and try to answer in one paragraph, it doesn't seem enough, and I don't know if I'm doing myself a disservice. When I look at sample answers in your guides, they're one paragraph, a few lines. So I'm not sure about that bit. Is it ok to write a lot?

Not sure if I have more questions yet. Is anyone around over the bank holiday weekend? I have to post on Tuesday no matter what. Thank you!

Gordon wrote: RedRed

There's no harm in making direct references to the Descriptors and why you meet them, but in terms of the general organisation of your response you need to stick to the same format as the ESA50. The more difficult you make it for those reading the documents to find information the less likely they are to read it.

So for each question, talk first about how you are on your bad days, you need to qualify how much of the week or month you are like this, why you are like this and the way in which your activities are restricted in relation to that Descriptor, then talk about how you are when you are not at your worst, again how much of your time does this represent, finally talk about when you are at your best, remember best does not necessarily mean fully well, your best maybe somebody else's worst.

Gordon

Hi Gordon,

Thank you. That's what I needed. There's not enough space on the form anyway, so I need to write on additional sheets. I'll try to make it as clear as possible for them.

And I hadn't broken down my answers to this level of detail. That's really helpful. It's still a daunting task, but I can see my way forward now. Thank you!

I've hit a wall of some sort. Does this happen to everyone? I've broken the back of it, got the main skeleton of it down, and now it's time for the detail, as described by Gordon above, but my mind's gone blank and I'm exhausted! I can't remember anything. I felt like this yesterday too, but I kept going. Now I'm panicking I won't make the deadline and I won't be ready to post on Tuesday. I have memory blanks anyway, as well as forgetful. I just can't think anymore.