Hints and Tips for Completing your Application

The date you call for an application or the date you start your application online is the date that your claim will be awarded from so don’t delay! 

Part 1 of Adult Disability Payment (ADP), and Child Disability Payment (CDP) can be completed over the phone or online and asks for basic personal information like name, address, National Insurance Number and bank details.  

Part 2 of Adult Disability Payment (ADP), and Child Disability Payment (CDP) asks about the difficulties completing the activities.  
ADP allows 8 weeks to complete part 2 of the questions, for CDP part 2 it is six weeks, with Attendance Allowance there is 1 form and must be sent back to the Department of Works and Pensions (DWP) within 6 weeks of requesting the application form. If you need longer, you can let Social Security Scotland or DWP know this, and they may grant an extension.  

So, for this part, take your time:

Make sure you understand what is being asked in the activities. Write each activity down and make notes under them. You can keep a diary noting the difficulties that you have, the help you get and the aids that you use. It may be useful to time the activities and note them on the form.  Please see example questions below.  

The disability award is based on how your health condition affects your ability to carry out certain tasks. This will be on an individual basis so please try to answer the questions based on your own experience. 

When completing the application and looking at the activities you are trying to paint a picture of what doing that activity looks like to you. Consider the STAR method: 

SAFELYCan you do the activity without harm to you or others? 
TIMELYCan you perform the activity at the same time as someone with full health? If you take more time, make a note of this, tell them how long it takes to do the activity, include any breaks you need to take and how long these are for. 
ADEQUATELYCan you complete this activity to a reasonable standard? Can you do it without assistance or an aid? Does someone need to physically help you or prompt or remind you to complete the activity? 
REPEATEDLYWould you be able to complete the activity again if needed? If the activity exhausts you, explain this. If you need to sit down for 5 mins or sleep for the rest of the afternoon, make sure this is noted on the form.  

With ADP and CDP, you have 28 days after submitting your application to send in further supporting information, if you need it, and this can be sent here. 
If you can gather letters from medical professionals to include in your form this is great, but don’t worry if you can’t. A letter from someone who knows you well and/or is involved in your care can also really support your claim, this can be a partner, friend or family member.  
If you are applying for a child, you may have an Individual Education Plan (IEP) or school reports that mention the difficulties that your child has at school. As a parent or guardian to the child, a letter from you explaining how much support you give them on a daily basis will also really support the claim.  

Example Questions

Adult Disability Payment Activity 6 Dressing and undressing 

  • How long does it take to get dressed?
  • Can you do it all at once or do you need to take a break between items?
  • Why do you need to take a break?
  • Do you experience pain carrying out the activity?
  • If so, where is the pain? Does the pain go away or just ease?
  • Do you experience breathlessness or dizziness or stiffness?
  • How long does the break take?
  • Do you need any assistance with buttons or socks and shoes?
  • Do you use an aid, for example a shoehorn?
  • If you had just dressed but spilled something on your clothes, would you have the energy or ability to go and change out of those clothes?
  • Do you have days where you just don’t have the energy or motivation to get dressed?
  • How often do you have days like these?
  • Are there certain clothes you can no longer wear eg shoes with laces?  

Adult Disability Payment Activity 3: Managing therapy or monitoring a health condition  

  • If you have injections to take at home, it is important that you detail what is involved in this section. Describe the steps of taking your medication, from ordering supplies, storing them, any issues you may have with taking it – eg do you need reminding or prompting – how you dispose of the needles etc. Providing a sterile environment to take your injections.  How you record this and send it to your centre.  
  • Explain the training that you had before you were able to do the process at home. If you have had to have a port or fistula explain this and what you have to do to ensure that area is kept clean and sterile.   
  • What would happen if you were to have an issue with the injection, do you need supervision to make sure you are doing it correctly or if it were to start a bleed? What would you do if you had a power outage and were unable to store your medication.  If your vein were to no longer be viable? 
  • Physiotherapy – explain any physio exercise you have to do and why and how long they take and if you need help from another person.   
  • Diet- if you have to follow specialist diet due to your condition, please note that in this section.   

Child Disability Payment Supervision

  • Social Security Scotland defines this as being:  “the precautionary or anticipatory presence of another person to monitor an individual’s physical, mental or emotional health. It includes monitoring for obstacles or dangerous places or situations (CDP regs, reg. 11(7)).” 
  • Where a child has a bleeding disorder it may be argued that they need constant supervision due to the danger that could arise from a bump. E.g. a head injury could result in a bleed into the brain. A bump may not be noticed at the time by the child but could result in a bleed into the joints, or they could cut themselves and be in need of an injection.  
  • It is important to explain how the bleeding order could result in the dangerous injury, if that would result in “attention”-(medical intervention either form a health care practitioner or a care giver) and if the child would be aware if they had a bump or cut in time for the medicine to be administered and any short or long term effects of these injuries.  
  • It is important to consider what is involved with any medicine administered at home as outlined above in adult disability payments hints and tips and detail this on the form.

Limited Capability for Work Descriptors (Employment and Support Allowance) Mobilising unaided by another person with or without a walking stick, manual wheelchair or other aid if such aid is normally, or could reasonably be worn or used.  

  • 200 metres is the length of 20 buses.  
  • Can you walk this distance without an aid? Which aid do you use? Do you need to hold onto someone to steady yourself? 
  • Can you walk this distance without stopping?  
  • If you need to stop, why do you need to stop? Are you in pain, breathless, dizzy? 
  • If in pain, where do you experience this? Is it constant but made worse when walking or brought on when mobilising?  
  • How long do you need to rest before you can walk again?  
  • Are you in danger of tripping or falling? If this has happened before, did you injure yourself? Please give details and explain the severity of the consequences if you were to fall.  
  • What is the aftermath of walking? Do you need to rest? How long for?  

If you are successful with an application for disability benefits, you may also qualify for extra support.

You are not alone. Our Financial Wellbeing Officer is here to assist with your application.