u/S3bs

I think we need to be able to talk about how we discuss benefits without it automatically being labelled as an attack. If we can't question the advice being given in a thread, we just end up handing ammunition to the exact people who want to portray us as playing the system.

In a now-locked thread, I responded to a post from someone who had been given zero points for the daily living part of PIP. I made clear that I was not judging the original poster: I do not know their circumstances.

When I replied, the comments I saw were largely from people saying they had been turned down too, then explaining what they did to get a different outcome. I found the overall direction of that discussion alarming. There is an important difference between helping someone describe genuine difficulties accurately and creating the impression that a refusal is something to overcome by learning how to present a claim.

For context, I’ve pushed back multiple times on social media against press coverage that portrays people with ADHD as exaggerating their difficulties or draining the benefits system. A thread that reads like “I was refused; here’s how to get around it” hands that coverage ammunition. We should be able to say so without being accused of “ableism”.

In my post, I said that I don’t think the vast majority of people with ADHD should be going anywhere near disability benefits. That is my view and I’m allowed to have it. It was not a verdict on the OP or on anyone else’s individual eligibility - I said the majority of people not all people. My point was that an ADHD diagnosis should not be treated as a reason to assume someone is entitled to PIP. Obviously, people’s circumstances differ, and some people with ADHD will have substantial difficulties or other conditions.

The moderators removed my comment for ableism. The thread was later locked, but more openly critical comments were still visible. I was just one of the first dissenting voices and my objection was removed rather than discussed.

Moderators can disagree with me. What I object to is treating concern about the direction of a benefits discussion as discrimination. If r/ADHDUK cannot distinguish between questioning advice in a thread and dismissing an individual’s difficulties, it makes it harder for the community to have an honest discussion - and easier for hostile commentators to define that discussion for us.

Moderators - you are not helping. Closing down discussion is just playing into bigots’ hands.