Nero Divergent and struggling to fill in MR forms on my own. How do I get help?

To keep it short, I need help to understand, organise and structure my MR form and my new PIP claim.

My difficulties and reason for sending in a very late MR request (Jan). I lost the original letter and missed the deadline of 1 month. I was not officially diagnosed at that time. This happened in July after a 2 year wait.

With this comes great difficulty with working memory deficit, initiation of tasks, lack of focus, inability to stick to tasks, time blindness, among many other things. My inability to understand written directions or instructions is greatly impacted my my reading of text as literal. I am also awaiting an ASD assessment after being what I called extremely socially awkward my whole life. I have 4 other health problems that impact me on a daily basis but I have always been reluctant to visit a Dr, due to not wanting to bother them, not feeling my problems were importany enough, being embarressed and not wanting to show weakness. This means I do not have extensive medical evidence to back me up, I just tried to get on with things the best I could. As such, the report from my Dr was more matter of fact and not showing the true depth of how all the conditions I have impact me. It's not something I can easily share. My original PIP points were zero on both counts. The test I took on your site were 18/8 points. When When assessed by a stranger in a room I just froze. Everything was in slow motion and I was just trying to cope. I do not do well in social situations. She asked questions and I answered literally. "How do you get dressed"... not understsanding what she was really asking me, I just said something like 'I get dressed'. Silly I now know, but I didn't understand and she didn't make allowances for my understanding of the questions being ND as I wasn't officially diagnosed at the time. The decision letter focused on just one fluctuating condition, and no mention of any of the other permanent conditions. It seems like my very details painstaking filling out of the PIP form was completely disregarded. I have since had 6 medical interventions for these problems and I have further surgery soon. My first surgery was for what they understood the problem to be. Hoever, when they were doing the surgery, the surgeon discovered the real cause of my problem but couldn't do this as it would be a much bigger surgery, requiring a longer recovery. This surgery will also be needed on the other side in the future, as I have the same problem on both sides, which restrict my day to day movements. I may have failed to include hospital reports. I bounce around in my mind like a ping pong ball. Even though you have details of how to challenge the decision, I'm struggling to organise properly how to do it.

If the decision letter was dated Jan 23, what is the latest date I can request a MR. Do I have to use the CRMR1 form or can I just type and print out my points to reconsider?

It has been suggested I go to the CAB for help filling out the forms but I would prefer the ground open up and swallow me, before I discuss details, some intimate with a stranger, who is often a man at my office. Is there anywhere else I can call. My way of explaining things gets all jumbled up because all the the things I suffer with cross over each over in how they impact me for he descriptors.

I'm sorry that you find yourself in this position. One thing that I am puzzled by is that you say that you are putting in for an MR and filling in a new application. You can't do both at the same time.

Hi Bis

DWP told mw to make a new claim and do a MR for the old claim.

You can put in a request to submit a late Mandatory Reconsideration up to 13 months after the date on the decision letter - explaining why you didn't submit it earlier. The DWP do not have to agree this request, though you can appeal if they turn you down. They will only judge their original decision - so they are unlikely to take any notice of your later diagnosis as they did not have that information at the time and especially as the assessor did not recognise any of your symptoms. However, the choice is yours. You don't have to use the CRMRI form - if you want to go down this route.

The assessor didn't have my ND diagnosis, or any evidence forms or paperwork, as I completely forgot to send these in. They has misdiagnosed one of my conditions, and my Dr's records were showing this misdiagnosis at the time. This would have downplayed the seriousness of the pain and difficulties the condition was causing me. Only after the first surgery for the original diagnosis, did they discover the real problem, or which I've had further treatment and further surgery for. recovery from this alone will take around a year if it works, This is without the other conditions which had not been fully investigated at that time, but now have been diagnosed.

You can put in for a new claim. You can do this yourself or you can try and get support. I can't tell you what you should do here. I understand how difficult it is for you. I am not ND myself, but I have relatives who are and have worked with many diagnosed with the condition and have a multitude of difficulties. I know you don't want to ask for help and that is your choice - but if you don't have some support you may struggle to get PIP.

My ND is a small part of 5 problems, the rest are physical I have reached out to an advice service who has taken over the whole process for me as I couldn't get my head around it. I have tried and failed so many times to set up online medical access, but even this process and trying to follow these instructions, to make it work has failed. To me, the instructions are spaghetti and don't make sense. Hence the difficulty in filling out the original forms, and seemingly missing out so much instruction on the forms. My claim is not ND dominant, it's a side factor to my physical difficulties.

In my experience neither the DWP nor the different assessment services have assessors who have substantial experience and understanding of ND conditions. So when you say that make a literal interpretation of text - they will likely judge what you write in the same way - without understanding that may not be an accurate picture. I don't know what support is available in your area, and CAB and all other organisations are stretched, so I don't know whether you can find a woman specialist advisor to help you. But you can ask.

If you put in for a new application - I would try and get someone - your GP or any other professional to suggest that you need a paper-based assessment because of your difficulties in processing information and dealing with strangers. The DWP may refuse but you can appeal that decision and ask a second time. However, if you can't tell anyone what is going on, or you are not willing to try and share your difficulties, you will find yourself in the same position. Please don't think I am being hard, but many claimants have to put their embarrassment and fear aside to get the support they need. It isn't about showing weakness. You are not weak because you need support - no one is. I know it feels extremely personal and of course it is when you have to discuss things you would rather keep to yourself, but try to remember these people don't know you, you will never meet them again - and they can only judge what you tell them.

I have done this. The person helping me is not an ND expert but that's okay. It will be better explained than I can. They have sent in the new claim as everything has deteriorated further, and will now focus on the MR. I will just let them lead as I really go around in circles myself.


At the end of the day - you can try and fill out the form yourself. Our guides are comprehensive and you can just tackle one question at a time.

I tried that and it didn't go too well, but I have support now. They were amazingly patient with me, although I feel I may have tested their patience to the max with going around and off on a tangent. I'm very grateful for the help.

This is the link to see if you can find a specialist welfare advisor in your area. advicelocal.uk/

This the link I used. I wouldn't have been able to progress without it it. Thank you. Sorry for the late reply.