Personal Independent Payment

Hi guys,

I would just like to recommend that anyone with epilepsy can apply for the government’s Personal independent Payment scheme.

If anyone has it, how did you find the application and assessment process?

Thank you!

Liv :purple_heart:

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I get PIP because of my epilepsy and another long term disability so am happy to help!

I found the application process very long and quite confusing, I was fortunate that my parents sat down with me and helped with the paperwork which is something I’d 100% recommend as it is a lot! There’s a lot of questions about dates and you need letters from doctors to support what you say so I have a big folder with all of my medical letters in and I don’t know what I would’ve done without that.

My dad also came to the in- person assessment with me. Having him there made me not so nervous and meant that he could help answer questions. Its good to have someone with you because they get asked about how they assist you and may add things that you forget!

Hopefully this is helpful!

Ellie

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The forms and paperwork have really been putting me off from applying. I know I need to just get it done but I hear that it’s hard to get accepted for PIP.
Any tips for the forms?

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Hey Elouise!

Do not worry, I felt the exact same! I firstly completed the form with my mum to help the whole process seem a lot daunting. I also completed the form over a week, so I just did a little section of the form each day. I also used my iPhone notes to scan and print documents which made printing all my evidence (e.g. hospital letters, etc.) so much easier.

The first time I applied for PIP I did not receive it, but I was at a stage in my life where I was around 17 and I did not accept my epilepsy, so I really struggled to answer the health professional’s questions. However, the second time I applied for PIP I was just honest on the application form and to the health professional about what it is like daily in detail. The health professional that usually assesses you are not specialists in epilepsy. So, in my head, I treated the situation as like educating someone else, to help the health professional envisage what it is like daily to have epilepsy as well as how bad my epilepsy can be on my bad days. I also explained my epilepsy medication and the side effects of those in detail, and I described how my life as a young adult is very different to other people my age because of my epilepsy.

I hope this helps!

Liv :purple_heart:

1 Like

Hi Olivia,

Thanks for responding! This was so helpful. I know it can be difficult to get PIP so its definitely daunting and like you did, I struggle to explain what I go through to medical people let alone someone without a good knowledge of Epilepsy.
I’ll definitely take the advice of treating it like I’m educating them on the condition and how I’m affected so they can’t assume and don’t have to try and guess.
Did you include quite a few things for the medical evidence? I feel like I don’t have a lot of evidence and not sure what I can include.

Thanks again :slight_smile: