I see ‘I, Daniel Blake’ is on tv tonight. I have an autistic friend who I have gone to benefits appeals with & I can tell you the reality really is this bad. #IDanielBlake
The judge and ‘medical expert’ were shockingly ignorant about autism. The Judge said: “it says you are autistic but you are clearly very intelligent.” As if they’re opposite.
They didn’t know what sensory overload was; they didn’t understand panic attacks; I had to intervene and explain was autism is because they seemed to know nothing at all about it.
All this happened while my friend was shaking and rocking next to me because it was so humiliating and traumatic
Some of the individuals were decent people but in no way is this an informed system designed in good faith to figure out who needs help & support.
It seemed to be maximally humiliating. And all driven by ideological austerity. Cameron & Osborne did this.
Imagine being made to feel you could be rendered homeless by a system so ignorant that it doesn’t know what your long-established, medically-documented disability even is.
Ordinary British people - even quite right-wing ones - would be shocked & disgusted if they had seen how my friend (who has been diagnosed with a serious disability) was treated.
Afterwards I sent everyone on the panel the excellent book Neurotribes by @stevesilberman in the hope they will know something about autism when the next person comes before them...
But it’s not a personal failing. The system is designed to throw people off to save money, not to make fair assessments
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