how does your government assess you for disability
Hello
I was wondering what you guys experiences have been with regards to being evaluated for disability benefit,
that is, those of you who are lucky enough to be able to apply for such a benefit.
Jersey's (C.I.) Long Term Incapacity Allowance. Info.
In the island that I live, they do not have a benefit called "disability" benefit.
but instead, they have a benefit which they call "Long Term Incapacity Allowance", aka LTIA for short.
In order to be eligible for this benefit, a person must have lived in the island for 5 years or over,
and also must suffer from a long term illness or disability.
If a person is eligible due to having a long term illness / disability and 5 years + residency,
the person then can apply.
Once applied for this benefit, the eligible candidate must then attend a medical board evaluation,
which are run by one or more local GP's.
These GP's will evaluate a persons medical notes while also interview the candidate in person.
Perhaps even give a physical examination if required.
These medical evaluations are made first at time of application but then also then periodically. For example,
every year, or every 2 years etc.
So, if you suffer from ASD with a comorbid anxiety disorder and other physical ailments,
you will be asked every year or so to attend a medical examination, where you will have to undergo a 30 min
evaluation in person by one or more GPs, who will choose based on own personal opinion as to what level
of incapacity all the health problems you have cause you in comparison to living as a fully functionally, physically and mentally able human being with no physical or mental health problems.
The problem with this process is that at present there are no GPs, Psychiatrists or clinical psychologists who have in-depth training, experience and understanding on the topic of Autism Spectrum Disorder.
In my experience, if a person is fairly physically able, and is able to speak fairly good english,
then they will be given a fairly clean bill of health even if they have ASD.
This is because most of the GPs really do not know what ASD even is, so how can they evaluate the condition.
Nonetheless, please if you can share your knowledge of how disability benefit is evaluated in your area.
Thanks
