channel 4 18/0213 8pm dla & benefits

[hamble99b]

channel 4 18/0213 8pm

dla & benefits

[Hidden]

Will be a good one to watch, maybe some of the rumours flying around will be put to rest.

Being disabled and on benefits is a strong position to be in. You can become self employed and work part time, you have nearly £7000 income before you start paying tax. And it does not affect your benefits.

You can volunteer and have your travel expenses paid for - these are the same if you work for 1 or 4 hours at a time. And you are not limited in how many you do a week.

Its not all doom and gloom if you don't want it to be. But we'll see how the changes affects this.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

There certainly ARE some rumours flying around, the concept of being able to work for "4 hours at a time" isn't just a rumour it's a complete fantasy! Of course we now have the problem that everyone sees the disabled running round tracks at the Paralympics, so that means we are ALL capable of doing that!

I am so glad I am in "such a strong position" while I sit here in my pain and misery. It helps me think so positively about the near £40,000pa I WOULD be earning by now if I was still working. The past 17 years of being in "such a strong position" means I have had plenty of time to fully appreciate it as my income level has steadily deteriorated. In fact I spent a good time thinking it over just last night, as I had a total of 3 hours sleep it left me with lots of that thinking time, and so refreshed for this work I am supposed to be able to do! I am lucky, I had the benefit of a small pension and a good income before i became incapable fo working, but can assure you it's still hard and miserable compared to what I would be doing if I wasn't in constant pain and disability. What's more I don't think I am NEARLY as bad as many of the people who are in this situation, for them life is FAR worse than mine.

I can assure you if I was was up to travelling anywhere and working it wouldn't be to volunteer to do anything, the priority would be to get out of the mire I am forced to live in. As it is, I can't even spend as much time sitting in front of this PC as I would like to; and I certainly wouldn't be living like a pig-in-muck on the pittance that I am made to feel ever so grateful for, and be constantly told how I should be deeply guilty for receiving, when in fact I PAID for it in VERY substantial taxes and NI when I did work for donkey's years. The big clue is in the name, National "INSURANCE"

I would also suggest to zanna to run these ideas past the DWP, it might just provide grounds to it not being such a "strong position" after all.

[Hidden]

I am sorry you took my comment as personally as you did. It was a clumsy generalisation, and I meant that if people with disabilities (I am very aware of the huge variety of ability) thought a little outside the box, there are many things they could do work wise. I am aware that there are a few like yourself who cannot do anything and these people should definitely have more support.

I too live with pain constantly. I have about 4 hours sleep a night. I run the family home looking after my husband and 2 children. I do 3 hours exercise/relaxation a day (in 3 sessions) work 4 or 5 hours. I work because I have to. I am not able to claim benefits, because I am considered to be too active and able to meet the criteria. Although if you read the list of injuries and my longterm prognosis, you would wonder how I can still walk unaided.

The strength I refered to was if we disabled acted collectively, demanded more of employers to be flexible and accommodating of our particular disabilities, that they thought outside the box a bit more, let people work from home, shorter hours etc, then it could be possible. But we have to demand it, prove there is a need. We should not be sitting around waiting for employers to maybe make things easier for us, we should be showing that there is a need for it. Even if we are not going to be the ones to benefit from it. We should care enough about our peers to help them.

I chat on a spinal injury forum occasionally. There is a young man who is paralysed from the neck down. He only has the use of his arms. He goes to work every day full time. He is collected by ambulance and taken to work. He has a bed with a hole. He lies on the bed face down and looks through the hole. He wears a headset phone which he operates from his computer. Under the bed is his computer. He works on the computer by hanging his arms down the sides of the bed. He has an assistant who helps him with toileting, feeding, exercises etc.

He could do all this from home, but he wants to be part of the team. His employer made it possible for him. They value the work he does and recognises him as an active member of the team. No, he did not have an accident at work, he came off his motorbike.

He could say he's so paralysed he can't work and few would disagree with him. But he says he is still the same energetic go getting person he was before his accident. The only thing that has changed is that he is trapped inside a body that does not do anything except give him pain. Sometimes he needs oxygen.

The Forces look after their disabled. Pull all the stops out to get them back to work. It should not be any different for us. We should have the same copportunities.

I agree that although the olympics are inspiring, those opportunities are only available to a few, and most have huge sponsorships behind them. And vit must ve remembered, sports is not everyone's cup of tea - certainly not mine. I've got enough pain without adding to it.

I am not trying to be superior here, but I rarely get time to think about my pain. I am always busy and the distraction pushes it to the background. I also take my position as role model to my children and their friends seriously. (I can't wait for them to leave so I can slow down a bit). I want to show them anything is possible with a bit of thought and effort. I am going to live with pain for the rest of my life. Accepting that fact has gone along way in making my life the way it is. I can't do anything about the pain, but I can certainly choose to do things which may or may not exacerbate the pain, or I can choose to do things that make me happy. Or I can sit there doing nothing, feeling sorry for myself and choose to be miserable about everything. Thankfully these days are few and far between. They don't achieve anything.

It takes me 2 hours to sweep and mop my kitchen floor, stopping and starting. I could easily ask someone else to do it, but I do it because I know I can, because I want to, because it makes me feel useful, like a proper mother and all that positivity outweighs the extra pain I get for doing it. Few able bodied people would do it if it took that long. Yes, it frustrates me that it takes so long, but I can still do it and that is what matters.

I meditate at night when I can't sleep. It relaxes my body and it uses different brain waves for thought. The combination feels like sleep. I eventually drift off to sleep. Meditation is good because it clears your worrying day to day thoughts away, your brain operates at a different level and when you stop or wake up, you can work through your problems better and more focused. But you don't have to take my word for it, contact your nearest Bhuddist Centre and they can tell you about the thousands of years its been practiced and the millions of people its benefited. And you don't even need to get out of bed to do it - win win all round.

[hamble99b]

CANCELLED

now a horse meat special.

[tettridge]

Hi

It seems it is being screened some time a week later. so the hope is on