Adult Disability Payment: Questions guidance for GP and registered medical practitioner supporting information requests

You can tell us things like whether they:

• are able to use knives and other food preparation utensils
• understand how to use or read the setting on an oven or other cooking devices
• need someone to encourage, prompt or watch over them
• understand the hazards of eating uncooked or unrefrigerated foods

Tell us if the help needed can vary at different times or in different situations.

You should include how often they need help and how long it can take.

You can tell us things like whether they:

• are unable to eat or drink without support
• need supervision when eating or drinking
• are tube or pump fed
• can use a spoon
• need their food cut up on their plate
• can drink using a cup
• need someone to encourage, prompt or watch over them.

Tell us if the help needed can vary at different times or in different situations and why they need this help.

You should include how often they need help and how long it can take.

You can tell us how often they need help with each treatment, medication or therapy, how often they receive it and how long it takes.

For example:

• chemotherapy, once a month, for two hours
• talking therapy, once a week, for one hour.

You can also tell us about side effects of their treatment or medication. Side effects can be anything that affects their daily life, but that would not happen if they did not take the medication or treatment.

Treatments and therapies can be given by:

• healthcare professionals
• the client’s partners or family members
• anyone involved in helping or supporting the client.

Treatments and therapies can include:

• medical treatments like chemotherapy or dialysis
• counselling
• sessions to improve wellbeing like art therapy or working with animals
• cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)
• hypnotherapy
• play therapy.

You can explain if this can change from day to day.

You can also tell us about anything we haven’t mentioned that you think may be relevant.

You can tell us about the help the client needs washing, bathing. You can include how often they need help, why they need help and how long it can take doing things like:

• having a wash
• washing their hair
• getting in or out of the bath or shower
• cleaning themselves in the bath or shower
• whether they need someone to encourage, prompt or watch over them.

You should include how often they need help and how long it can take.

You can include things like

• how often they need to use the toilet
• whether they need someone to encourage, prompt or watch over them
• whether they need special facilities like a raised toilet seat
• whether they need to use a colostomy bag or similar appendage
• whether there are health risks

You should include how often they need help and how long it can take.

Help or support that the client might need:

• managing clothes
• getting dressed
• getting undressed
• managing zips, buttons or other fastenings
• choosing the right clothes
• needing someone to encourage, prompt or watch over them
• needing specific aids to complete tasks
• other help or support

You should include how often they need help and how long it can take.

For example, if the client:

• cannot speak clearly in sentences
• cannot put words together to make simple sentences
• cannot speak single words
• other difficulties speaking.

You can also tell us if the client’s symptoms may result in non-verbal communication.

For example:

• writing
• BSL (British Sign Language)
• lip-reading
• hand movements, facial expressions
• Makaton
• Signalong
• sign supported English (SSE)
• signed English (SE)
• picture exchange communication system (PECS)
• Tadoma
• other ways of communicating
• cannot communicate with someone they know
• cannot communicate with someone they do not know.

Tell us if the help needed can vary at different times or situations. You can also tell us about anything we have not listed in the examples and if the help needed can vary at different times or situations.

You can tell us if the client:

• has language delay / dyslexia
• has problems maintaining concentration/attention
• cannot process written information.

You can tell us if the client uses:

• assistive technology like screen readers
• learning aids like computer programmes
• sensory aids
• communication aids like picture exchange cards
• adapted lighting
• any other equipment or adaption

You can also tell us if the client experiences:

• blindness
• partial sight (sight impaired)
• visual processing difficulties (cerebral or cortical visual impairment)
• cannot see letters on a computer keyboard
• cannot see large print in book, reader or screen
• cannot see single words displayed one at a time

You should include how often they need help and how long it can take.

For example:

• is the client confident in an environment without a direct carer?
• does the client need support before, during or after to help them mix with other people
• does the client find it difficult to socialise on their own in familiar or unfamiliar environments?
• is the client receiving support or in need of support for psychological needs?

You should include how often they need help and how long it can take.

This could include information about:

• understanding their finances
• working out prices and change when paying for things
• knowing what bills need paying and when
• spending inappropriately due to their condition.
• following instructions
• ability to count
• other help or support.

For example, you can tell us if the supervision needed can vary at different times or situations.

You can then tell us about their choices, or add other descriptions of the help they need.

You should include how often they need help and how long it can take.

For example:

• equipment and what help they need to use it
• ability to leave the house at all
• requiring support before, during or after leaving the house
• understanding their local environment
• ability to understand maps
• finding their way around places they know
• asking for and following directions
• able to keep themselves safe while following a journey
• crossing a road safely
• understanding common dangers.

Include what you have to do to help them and if this can change from day to day.

You should include how often they need help and how long it can take.

This could include information about the problems they have and why they have these problems. For example:

• walks with support
• walks with a limp
• walks with an unusual gait
• walks on toes
• shuffles
• drags their leg
• has balance issues
• struggles to keep up with friends
• moves slowly
• other issues
• is unable to walk under any circumstances
• is a full-time wheelchair user or is unable to leave the home at all
• some ability to walk but needs help or support for physical or emotional issues
• experiences pain while moving
• Tired
• broken bones
• pulled muscles
• breathing problems
• emotional distress
• confused
• refuses to walk

Include how seriously they can be affected and how often it can happen.

For example:

• physical issues
• mental health issues
• emotional issues
• sensory issues
• learning difficulties
• any equipment or adaptations
• some ability to walk but needs help or support for physical or emotional issues
• may put themselves in danger
• gets confused or lost
• become anxious
• display unpredictable behaviour
• runs away
• become a danger to self or others
• have other issues.

You should include how often they need help and how long it can take.

This is where you should tell us any information that might be harmful to the applicant.

For example:

• a prognosis that the applicant has not been told about
• test results that have not been discussed yet with the applicant.

For Social Security Scotland to be able to withhold the information, we need to know that the information is withheld because sharing it would cause the recipient serious mental and/or physical harm.

If you have any other information which has not been mentioned in the other question and you think it may be relevant to the client’s claim, you can add it here.

To qualify for Child Disability Payment, the child must:

• have had their conditions and symptoms for 3 months or more
• expect to have their conditions and symptoms for the next 6 months

Please give us any relevant details below. For example, if you understand a condition is likely to:

• get worse
• get better
• be variable