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Activity 8. Visual impairment only??
I have a client who has Menieres and vertigo. She states cant leave home alone safely due to dizzy spells and apparently blacks out 2-3 times a month.
Menieres is officially classed as a sensory impairment (CE/3723/2016) however a DWP sub states it isn’t, so they wont consider consciousness descriptor or activity 8.
Im looking at requesting points for this (getting around safely) yet according to what I can find this activity seems limited to visual issues.
I will try reg35 on assistance outdoors (ce/1885/2016) and hopefully that will fly
Any thoughts would be appreciated
It can be a “sensory impairment” as a matter of law. The case you refer to is authority for that. Whether this then results in an award of points under activity 8 is another matter entirely. I would have thought it would need to be an extreme case for this sort of argument to have traction.
Intermittent lost or altered consciousness resulting from Menieres is probably better reflected in activity 10 and regs 29/35.
In CC v SoS, the Upper Tier held that because it’s navigating and maintaining safety, crossing a road is only one example of a hazardous activity so other hazardous activities may be relevant.
are you surprised DWP say its not a sensory impairment notwithstanding the law?
but it isn’t a visual impairment, as you know. it affects balance