PAR T C -De c i sion un der Appeal The decision u nde r appea l i s t he reconsideration deci Soc ia l Innov ation (the ministry) dat e d Febru ary 27, 2014 denying the appellant designat perso n with disabilities (PWD) . The mi n i st ry de t e rmined five cri teria required for PWD de sign a t io n as set o ut . w i th Disabilities Ac t ( E APWDA) section 2. The ministry f c riteria of ag e ( in that she is over 18), and duration in impair m en t is likely to c o n tinue f o r two or more years. However, the ministr on the i nforma ti o n prov i ded, t he f ol lowin g criteria se met: • The minister is satisfied that the appellant h as • In the o pinion of a prescribed professional, the ability to p er form d aily livin g a c tiviti e s (DLA) either pe r iods; a nd • As a res ult of the restri ct i o n s, the appe llant requ anoth er p erson t o pe rform th e DLA rest ricte d PART D -Relev a n t L e g isl a t i o n Employment an d Assistance for Pe r sons wit h Disabili Employment an d Assista n ce f or P ersons wit h Disabilities Regul EAAT 003(10/06/01) I APPEA s ion o f the Ministry of Social Development and i o n as a that the appe llant d id not m eet three of the in the Employment and As sistance for Person s ound t hat the ap pellant m eets the fi rst two t h a t i n the opinio n of a medical practitioner, her y dete rm ine d that, based t out i n section 2(2)(b) of the EAP WD A were not a se vere mental or physical imp ai rm ent. appellant 's impairment signific a n tly res t ricts her contin uously or p eriodi ca lly f or extended ires the s ig nific a n t help or supe r vision o f by her imp airme nt. ties Act ( EAPWDA) -se ction 2 ation (EA P W DR) -sectio n 2
P A R T E S u m m a r v o f F a c t s T h e e v i d e n c e b e f o r e t h e m i n i s t r y a t r e c o n s i d e r a t i o n A p p l i c a t i o n , c o n t a i n i n g t h e f o l l o w i n g t h r e e p a r t s : • T h e a p p e l l a n t ' s S e l f R e p o r t s i g n e d b y t h e a a p p e l l a n t c h o s e n o t t o c o m p l e t e ; • T h e P h y s i c i a n R e p o r t ( P R ) d a t e d A u g u s t 9 , p h y s i c i a n w h o i n d i c a t e s s h e h a s k n o w n t h e t i m e s i n t h e p r e v i o u s y e a r ; a n d • T h e A s s e s s o r R e p o r t ( A R ) d a t e d M a y 9 , 2 0 W i t h h e r r e q u e s t f o r r e c o n s i d e r a t i o n d a t e d F e b r u a r y s u b m i s s i o n i n w h i c h s h e w r o t e t h a t a s a r e s u l t o f a h a s a s e v e r e v i s u a l i m p a i r m e n t , a s w e l l h e a l t h i s s u e h e a d a c h e s a n d o b e s i t y ) w h i c h i m p a c t h e r d a i l y r o u t l o s s o f v i s i o n , s h e r e l i e s o n o t h e r s f o r t r a n s p o r t a t i o n s t a t i o n s . T h e a p p e l l a n t a l s o e x p l a i n e d t h a t s h e i s r e s h e i s c o m p l e t i n g h e r p o s t s e c o n d a r y e d u c a t i o n . T h e a p p e l l a n t c o m p l e t e d h e r n o t i c e o f a p p e a l o n M a d i s a g r e e d w i t h t h e r e c o n s i d e r a t i o n d e c i s i o n b e c a u s s e v e r e v i s u a l i m p a i r m e n t a n d c o r t i s o l d e f i c i e n c y . " A f i r s t p a g e o f t h e r e c o n s i d e r a t i o n d e c i s i o n w i t h h a n d l e g a l l y b l i n d " a n d p r o v i d i n g t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s C N I B n u m i n i s t r y ' s c r i t e r i a o f " d i r e c t l y a n d s i g n i f i c a n t l y r e s t r i c w i t h d a i l y l i v i n g a c t i v i t i e s a s a r e s u l t o f s i g n i f i c a n t r e s a i d t h a t h e w r o t e t h e n o t e s o n t h i s p a g e o f t h e r e c o A t t h e h e a r i n g , t h e a p p e l l a n t p r o v i d e d a 3 p a g e q u e c o m p l e t e d b y h e r p h y s i c i a n o n A p r i l 2 3 , 2 0 1 4 ( " A p r i p o s e s a s e r i e s o f q u e s t i o n s p e r t a i n i n g t o t h e a p p e l l a a p p e l l a n t ' s p h y s i c i a n h a s w r i t t e n a n s w e r s e l a b o r a t i n s e c t i o n s o f t h e P W D a p p l i c a t i o n . T h e m i n i s t r y d i d n c o n t a i n e d i n t h e A p r i l q u e s t i o n n a i r e . T h e p a n e l a d m a s w r i t t e n t e s t i m o n y i n s u p p o r t o f t h e i n f o r m a t i o n a n d e c i s i o n b e i n g a p p e a l e d w a s m a d e , u n d e r s e c t i o n 2 T h e a p p e l l a n t a n d h e r f a t h e r t e s t i f i e d a t t h e h e a r i n g s e c t i o n 2 2 ( 4 ) ( b ) o f t h e A c t a s e v i d e n c e i n s u p p o r t o f t h e d e c i s i o n b e i n g a p p e a l e d w a s m a d e . T h e f o l l o w i n g i s a s u m m a ry o f t h e e v i d e n c e f r o m t h e w e l l a s t h e t e s t i m o n y o f t h e a p p e l l a n t a n d h e r f a t h e r S e v e r i t v o f i m p a i r m e n t ( c r i t e r i a s e t o u t i n s u b s . 2 ( 2 / T h e a n n e l l a n t d o e s n o t a s s e r t t h a t s h e h a s a s e v e r e E AA T 0 0 3 ( 1 0 / 0 6 / 0 1 )I A P P E A L c o n s i s t e d o f t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s P W D D e s i g n a t i o n p p e l l a n t a n d d a t e d O c t o b e r 4 , 2 0 1 3 , b u t w h i c h t h e 2 0 1 3 c o m p l e t e d b y t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s f a m i l y a p p e l l a n t f o r 1 6 y e a r s a n d h a d s e e n h e r 2 -1 0 1 3 c o m p l e t e d b y t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s f a m i l y p h y s i c i a n . 1 7 , 2 0 1 4 , t h e a p p e l l a n t a t t a c h e d a w r i t t e n b r a i n t u m o r a n d c a n c e r s h e h a d a s a c h i l d , s h e s r e l a t e d t o h e r e n d o c r i n e s y s t e m ( i n c l u d i n g i n e s . T h e a p p e l l a n t w r o t e t h a t b e c a u s e o f h e r b e c a u s e s h e c a n ' t r e a d t h e b u s s t o p s o r s k y t r a i n l y i n g o n h e r p a r e n t s f o r f i n a n c i a l s u p p o rt w h i l e r c h 1 2 , 2 0 1 4 , a n d o n i t s h e w r o t e t h a t s h e e s h e " m e e t s t h e f i v e l e g i s l a t i v e c r i t e r i a d u e t o t t a c h e d t o h e r n o t i c e o f a p p e a l w a s a c o p y o f t h e w r i t t e n n o t e s s t a t i n g " s e v e r e v i s u a l i m p a i r m e n t m b e r , a s w e l l a s t h e w o r d " y e s " b e s i d e t h e t e d d a i l y l i v i n g a c t i v i t i e s " a n d " a s s i s t a n c e r e q u i r e d s t r i c t i o n s . " A t t h e h e a r i n g , t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s f a t h e r n s i d e r a t i o n d e c i s i o n . s t i o n n a i r e p r e p a r e d b y h e r a d v o c a t e a n d l 2 0 1 4 q u e s t i o n n a i r e " ) . T h e A p r i l q u e s t i o n n a i r e n t ' s a p p l i c a t i o n f o r P W D d e s i g n a t i o n , a n d t h e g o n t h e i n f o r m a t i o n p r o v i d e d i n t h e P R a n d A R o t o b j e c t t o t h e a d m i s s i o n o f t h e i n f o r m a t i o n i t s t h e e v i d e n c e i n t h e A p r i l 2 0 1 4 q u e s t i o n n a i r e d r e c o r d s t h a t w e r e b e f o r e t h e m i n i s t e r w h e n t h e 2 ( 4 ) ( b ) o f t h e E m p l o y m e n t a n d A s s i s t a n c e A c t . a n d t h e p a n e l a d m i t s t h e i r o r a l t e s t i m o n y u n d e r i n f o r m a t i o n t h a t w a s b e f o r e t h e m i n i s t e r w h e n P R , A R , a n d t h e A p r i l 2 0 1 4 q u e s t i o n n a i r e , a s , a s i t r e l a t e s t o t h e P W D c r i t e r i a a t i s s u e . E A P W D A / m e n t a l i m o a i r m e n t a n d h e r o h v s i c i a n d i d n o t
complete any of the sections of th e PR or AR pertaining a n identifie d mental impairment or a brain injury. T he appellant told th e p anel tha t she had a brain tumor as a ch thyroid glands, as well as h e r optic n erves, an d she is blin restricte d vision i n her right eye. Th e app ellant told the panel that she is have a driver's licens e and s he us es a whi te ca ne t person w ith a vi s ual impairment. She a l so u s e s a magn computer. S he kno ws h o w to read B rai lle. As a r es suffers from obesity an d this affects her ability to walk long distanc In the PR, the app el lant' s p hysician indicated tha t the appellant panhy popituitarism for whi c h she need s to take a numb that her body does not produce. The appella nt's physician wrote th a ppellant is mo r e susc eptible t o infections and "m ore ill. The phys ic ian also i nd icated t h at the a p pel la n t tak b li ndne ss/low visio n a n d tak e s twice a s long a s th e av hypo thalamic ob es ity. The p hysic ian i ndicat ed tha t that i nte r t er e s with her a bility to pertorm DLA. Th e physician wro cane "t o i den t i f y her sel f t o o t h e rs " and us e s a magnifier a way. In the relev a n t section o f the AR , t he p hysician a pp ella nt' s abil ity to ma nage he r dail y l iv ing a ctivities as "ex I n th e functi onal skills as sessment in t he PR, the appe cou ld w a l k 4+ blocks unaided on a flat surtace "slowly," t there was n o l i mit ation on t he time s h e cou ld rem a i n un k n own, "h as n o t been test ed curre nt ly n o t relevant r e po r t ed that th e ap pe l la n t is ind epen den t w i t h w a l k than typical with wa lking outdoor s, noting , "she thinks tak pa rents" a nd tak es l o n ger w ith c limbing sta irs as she a sse s se d the appell ant a s i nde p e nd ent with sta nd ing, also noted that the appellant had no difficulties w ith with cognitive and emotional function. In the AR, the physician indicated that the appellant's ability to communicat e was good when speaki ng, writing and hearing, noting that "for writing, uses a computer uses large font." The physicia n indicated the appellant's ability to communicate by reading was satisfactory, commenting, "L eye no vision, Reye -minimal" and "uses a magnifier to read e.g. food labels, prices a t grocery store." In the April 2014 questionnaire, in response to the q medical conditions on her daily life is considered, does she have a severe physical impairment? If so, please explain" the physician wrote, "Yes, she has severe physical impairment -as she has extremely low visi on." The ph ys i cian also answered, "yes" to the quest significantly longer than normal to pertorm many daily activities -or does she put tasks off -as direct result of her health related limitat ion s ?" In response to the question, "How often is she significantly restricted in pertorming daily living activities by her impairment?" the physician wrote, "daily." For mobility outside the home, the physician wrote that the appellant "walks with white cane, can walk about 1.5 km then becomes very tired, walks EAA T003(10/06/01) I APPEAl to app licants for PWD desig nat i on who ha ve il d that affected her pituita r y and d in her le ft e y e and has extremely legally blind a nd d oes no t o a ssist her wi t h walki n g and to i de ntify her as a ifier to read, as well as l a r g e f ont s on her ult of her hormonal imbalanc e, the appellant also es. s u ffers from the medical condition of er of med ications to replace the hormones at, as a result of this conditi o n , the susceptible to severe collapse" if she bec o me s e s longer to d o ma n y t hin gs because o f her erage p e rso n to walk anywhe re because o f he r th e appel lant h as not b een pre scribe d medication te that the a pp e llant has a white f o r reading and a b i nocula r f or se eing far id entified the impa i r men t s that im p act the t reme l y low vis ion, obe sit y . " llan t's phy s ician indi c ated that the appell ant hat she co uld climb 5 + s teps unaid ed , that s eated, a n d that h er limitations in liftin g were as i s a student." In the AR, th e p hysician ing i ndo ors a n d th a t sh e ta kes signi f icant l y lo nger es h e r t wice as long to wal k to bus as her "st o ps t o rest on sta i r s. " The physic ian li fting, carr y ing a nd holding. T he ph y sician communication, a nd h ad no significa nt defic its ue s ti on, "When the impact of all of your patien t 's i o n, "does it t ak e your p a tient a more slowlv than most, if tries to keep UP with
someone else's pac e, becomes tire d v er y quickly. proba bly w ou ld n' t s ee the m. Diff iculty [ d es c endin g] e a ch step. Requires freque n t rests." A b ility t o perf o r m DL A ( criteri a s et out i n s u b s. 2(2/(b) Subsect ion 2(1 )(a) of th e EAPWDR l i st s eig ht ac tiv it applicant s with a s ev ere p hysical i mpai rme n t. The s t he PR and A R , with separate ta sks l i s t ed un der ea evi d e n c e is as follows: (i ) p r e pare own meal s I n th e AR, the phys ician indica ted t h at the appellant takes significantly 2 of the 4 l i s t ed t a sk s t h e tasks o f foo d p r eparation a d own," b u t she co uld independen t ly perform the t a sks of meal planni the Ap ril 2014 quest i onnai re, the physic ian wrote that br eakfast and lu nc h -bu t t o mak e a more com plex on mea su r ing cups and sp o ons, or recipes without magni the pa nel that the app el lant lives in a bas ement s u i te in bu t she t ake s mu ch long er to c oo k anyth ing more com she can not see i f eggshell s a re in th e b o wl) a nd he r fath they ar e also conce rned ab o ut the dang er of the hot st (ii) mana g e per s o nal fi nances In the A R, the ph ysici an i ndi c ate d that the appel lant c payin g r e n t a nd bills, w r iting t h e comme nt "s he i s cap t h e April 2 014 qu estio nnaire, for the D LA of m an age about 3 ti mes as long t o read ban k st atements una ble s cre en prompt s, has teller f ill in slip s for h er at the des under sta nds all the transa ct i ons." The ap pel lant 's father explained that he Will appellant as she cannot see the information areas on the cheque and he will tell her where to sign. In her r equest fo r reconsideration, the app ella nt a lso ex financial support while she is completing her post-secondary education and she would like to be more financially independent. (iii) shop for personal needs F or the 5 tasks of the DLA of s hopping listed i n the A requires periodic assistance fr o m another person to pe labels and making appropr i ate choices, but did not provide in the A R tha t the ap pellant could independently perfo stores, paying for purchases and carrying purchases physician wrote that for "daily shopping" the appellant "doesn't go by herself -can't read prices or nutrition labels, difficulty pick i ng out an item fr om a shel see size of clothin so needs hel ickin out what tot EAA T003(10/06/01) I APP EAL Fe els at risk for tripp ing ov e r obstacles as she stairs unles s there is a marker strip at the edg e of EAPWDA) ies as daily l i ving acti vitie s (DLA) for thos e e D L A are al so set out in the r el evan t sectio ns of c h hea d ing. F or ea c h of the l isted DLA , the lon ge r than typic al to perfo r m n d cooking -commenting " l ow vi sion slows h er ng and sa f e storage of f ood. I n th e ap pell ant i s "able to prep are lig ht meals -mea l takes 2-4 hour s as unable t o read me a sure s fica ti on." The app el lant and h er fath er told their h ouse and is ab l e t o m ake si mple me a ls, plex (for ex a mple , she cann ot crack e ggs as e r and mo t h er coo k mo st of th e mea l s s i n ce ove. o ul d in depend ently perf o rm the 3 l isted tas k s of able but n o incom e, s o pare nt s pay all b i lls." In me n t o f fin a n c e s , the physic ian wrot e, " takes to use autom a t ed t e ll er as c a n't read the k , n o mon ey so p arents p a y all t h e bills fil l o u t a c heque for t he plained t hat s he i s r elyin g o n h e r pa r ents fo r R , the physi cian ind ica t ed that the appellant r fo r m the two tasks of reading prices and a n y commentary. T he p h ysician ind ic a t ed rm the other 3 listed tasks (going to and from home). In the April 2014 questionnaire, the f full of similar items. With clothing cannot on." The evidence of the a ellant and her
I APPEAL father at the hearing reiterated the information provided by the physician in the April 2014 questionnaire -the appellant's father said the family will drive the appellant to stores and help her read labels to make sure she has the right size, for example. The appellant and her father also stated that the appellant can shop in stores where she has memorized the location of items but has great difficulty if things have been moved around, and she can read individual labels with her magnifier, but it takes her much longer than typical. (iv) use public or personal transportation facilities In the AR, the physician indicated that the appellant could independently perform all of the three listed tasks, adding that she takes significantly longer than typical for the task of using public transit writing, "difficulty locating bus stops (low vision) uses Handidart sometimes." In the April 2014 questionnaire, for use of transportation, the physician wrote, "main transportation is being driven by parents -will sometimes travel by bus but only if she has travelled the route several times with a guide -needs to count the stops as can't see landmarks, can't read the signs at a bus stop that tells her which bus stops there, uses Handidart sometimes but this takes about 3 times as long as the regular bus service." The evidence of the appellant and her father at the hearing affirmed that of the physician in the April 2014 questionnaire. The appellant's father stated that he will drive the appellant to school, for example, and she will take public transit home as she is familiar with the route. (v) perform housework to maintain the person's place of residence in acceptable sanitary condition In the AR, the DLA of basic housekeeping encompasses the two tasks of laundry and basic housekeeping, and the appellant's physician indicated that the appellant could independently do her own laundry, but takes significantly longer than typical to perform the task of basic housekeeping writing, "isn't able to see what is clean or dirty." In the April 2014 questionnaire, for the DLA of "basic housework," the physician wrote, "cannot see dust so cannot see if it has accumulated or if she has effectively removed it. Washing dishes -unable to see if done properly. Does her own laundry sometimes -has memorized the settings as she can't read them on the dial." The appellant's father said that the family does all of the appellant's house keeping for her as she can't see whether something is clean or dirty. (vi) move about indoors and outdoors In the AR, the DLA of "move about indoors and outdoors" is addressed in the section "mobility and physical ability" (as opposed the section listing the other seven DLA). The appellant's physician assessed the appellant as taking significantly longer than typical for two of the six listed aspects of mobility and physical ability: walking outdoors and climbing stairs. For walking outdoors, the physician wrote, "she thinks takes her twice as long to walk to bus as her parents" and for climbing stairs wrote, "stops to rest on stairs." The physician indicated in the AR that the appellant could independently perform the other four listed aspects of mobility and physical ability (walking indoors, standing, lifting and carrying and holding). In the April 2014 questionnaire, the physician wrote the following commentary with regard to the appellant's restrictions with "mobility outside the home," "walks with a white cane, can walk about 1.5 km then becomes very tired, walks more slowly than most, if tries to keep up with someone else's pace becomes tired very quickly. Feels at risk for tripping over obstacles as she probably wouldn't see them. Difficulty descending stairs unless there is a marker strip at the edqe of each step. Requires frequent rests." The appellant's physician did not address EAA T003( 10/06/01)
t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s m o b i l i t y i n s i d e t h e h o m e i n t h e A p r i s t a t e d t h a t s h e a l w a y s h a s h e r w h i t e c a n e w i t h h e r g r e a t e r d i f f i c u l t y w a l k i n g o u t s i d e i n a r e a s w h e r e t h e w i t h h e r f e e t a n d i t c o u l d p o t e n t i a l l y b e d a n g e r o u s . a n d f i n d s i t c h a l l e n g i n g t o m a n a g e h e r c a n e a n d t h a s s i s t a n c e a n i m a l s b u t s h e h o p e s t o g e t a n a s s i s ( v i i ) p e r f o r m p e r s o n a l h y g i e n e a n d s e l f c a r e I n t h e A R , t h e p h y s i c i a n i n d i c a t e d t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n l i s t e d u n d e r t h e D L A o f p e r s o n a l s e l f c a r e w i t h n o c a p p e l l a n t ' s p h y s i c i a n w r o t e , " i s v e r y o v e r w e i g h t " a n a s s i s t a n c e o r t a k e s s i g n i f i c a n t l y l o n g e r t h a n t y p i c a l w r o t e t h a t f o r t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s " p e r s o n a l c a r e r o u t i n e t o g e t d r e s s e d i n t h e m o r n i n g , b r u s h t e e t h a n d p e r f a p p e l l a n t t o l d t h e p a n e l s h e i s a b l e t o d r e s s a n d c l e h e r v i s i o n i s l i m i t e d . ( v i i i ) m a n a g e p e r s o n a l m e d i c a t i o n I n t h e A R , t h e p h y s i c i a n i n d i c a t e d t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t a s k s . I n t h e A p r i l 2 0 1 4 q u e s t i o n n a i r e , f o r t h e D L A w r o t e , " u n a b l e t o r e a d t h e l a b e l s w i t h o u t s p e c i a l m a d o e s i t b y m e m o r y k n o w s t h e m e d i c a t i o n s b y s h T h e a p p e l l a n t ' s f a t h e r t o l d t h e p a n e l t h a t t h e a p p e l l s h e i s s u p p o s e d t o t a k e t h e m a n d w h a t t h e y a r e b f a m i l y w i l l h e l p h e r w i t h i t . A s s i s t a n c e r e q u i r e d / p r o v i d e d ( c ri t e r i a s e t o u t i n s u b I n t h e s e c t i o n o f t h e A R d e s c r i b i n g t h e a s s i s t a n c e p t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t r e c e i v e s h e l p f r o m h e r f a m i l y . T h a c a n e , a s w e l l a s a c o m p u t e r , b i n o c u l a r s a n d a m a I n t h e A p r i l 2 0 1 4 q u e s t i o n n a i r e , t h e p h y s i c i a n w r o t e d e v i c e s ( w i t h c o m m e n t a r y ) : w h i t e c a n e " m o r e s o o m a g n i f i e r , s c r e e n m a g n i f i e r , c o m p u t e r p r o g r a m m e s d i s t a n c e v i s i o n , ( m o b i l e ) t e l e p h o n e w h i c h h a s s p e e a p p l i c a t i o n s i n t h e p h o n e f o r c h a n g i n g t h e f o n t s i z e . t h a t " a s a r e s u l t o f h e r h e a l t h r e s t r i c t i o n s . . . [ t h e a p p a c t i v i t i e s e i t h e r b y t a k i n g m u c h l o n g e r t h a n t y p i c a p e o p l e a n d a s s i s t i v e d e v i c e s f o r o n g o i n g s u p p o r t a n E AA T 0 0 3 ( 1 0 / 0 6 / 0 1 )I A P P E A L l 2 0 1 4 q u e s t i o n n a i r e . A t t h e h e a r i n g , t h e a p p e l l a n t a n d h e r s t a n d a r d c a n e i s " s e c o n d a r y . " S h e h a s g r o u n d i s u n e v e n s i n c e s h e w o u l d h a v e t o f e e l S h e o c c a s i o n a l l y t a k e s h e r d o g s o u t f o r w a l k s e d o g s . T h e d o g s a r e p e t s t h e y a r e n o t t a n c e a n i m a l i n t h e f u t u r e . t c o u l d i n d e p e n d e n t l y p e r f o r m 7 o f t h e 8 t a s k s o m m e n t a r y . B e s i d e t h e t a s k o f " r e g u l a t e d i e t " , t h e d d i d n o t i n d i c a t e i f t h e a p p e l l a n t r e q u i r e s . I n t h e A p r i l 2 0 1 4 q u e s t i o n n a i r e , t h e p h y s i c i a n s " , t h e a p p e l l a n t " t a k e s 4 5 m i n u t e s -6 0 m i n u t e s o r m o t h e r e l e m e n t s o f p e r s o n a l c a r e . " T h e a n h e r s e l f , b u t t h a t i t t a k e s h e r l o n g e r b e c a u s e t c o u l d i n d e p e n d e n t l y p e r f o r m a l l t h r e e o f t h e l i s t e d o f m a n a g e m e n t o f m e d i c a t i o n s , t h e p h y s i c i a n g n i f y i n g d e v i c e . A d m i n i s t e r s h e r o w n m e d i c a t i o n s a p e a n d s i z e g e t s h e l p w i t h f i l l i n g p r e s c r i p t i o n s . " a n t t a k e s a l l o f h e r m e d i c a t i o n s s h e k n o w s w h e n u t t h a t w h e n s h e i s g e t t i n g a n e w m e d i c a t i o n , t h e s . 2 ( 2 ) ( b ) (i i) E A P W D A ) r o v i d e d f o r t h e a p p e l l a n t , t h e p h y s i c i a n i n d i c a t e d e p h y s i c i a n c h e c k m a r k e d t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t u s e s g n i f i e r , b u t d i d n o t p r o v i d e a d d i t i o n a l c o m m e n t a r y . t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t r e q u i r e s t h e f o l l o w i n g a s s i s t i v e t h e r s w i l l e x h i b i t c a u t i o n a r o u n d h e r , " e l e c t r o n i c f o r v i s u a l l y i m p a i r e d p e o p l e , b i n o c u l a r s f o r c h r e c o g n i t i o n a n d e l e c t r o n i c a s s i s t a n c e , " T h e p h y s i c i a n a l s o c o n f i r m e d b y w r i t i n g " y e s " e l l a n t ] r e q u i r e s s i g n i f i c a n t h e l p w i t h d a i l y l i v i n g l t o c o m p l e t e r o u t i n e t a s k s o r n e e d i n g o t h e r d h e l p . "
I APPEAL PART F -Reasons for Panel Decision The issue in this appeal is whether the ministry reasonably determined that the appellant is ineligible for PWD designation because she did not meet all the requirements in section 2 of the EAPWDA. Specifically, the ministry determined that the information provided did not establish that the appellant has a severe mental and/or physical impairment or demonstrate that her impairments in the opinion of a prescribed professional directly and significantly restricts her ability to perform daily living activities either continuously or periodically for extended periods, and, as a result of those restrictions she requires help to perform those activities. The following section of the EAPWDA applies to this appeal: 2 (1) In this section: "assistive device" means a device designed to enable a person to perform a daily living activity t hat, because of a severe mental or physical impairmen t, the person is unable to perform; "daily living activity" has the prescribed meaning; "prescribed professional" has the prescribed meaning. (2) The minister may designate a person who has reached 18 years of age as a person with disabilities for the purposes of this Act if the minister is satisfied that the person has a severe mental or physical impairment that (a) in the opinion of a medical practitioner is likely to continue for at least 2 years, and (b) in the opinion of a prescribed professional (i) directly and significantly restricts the person's ability to perform daily living activities either (A) continuously, or (B) periodically for extended periods, and (ii) as a result of those restrictions, the person requires help to perform those activities. (3) For the purposes of subsection (2), (a) a person who has a severe mental impairment includes a person with a mental disorder, and (b) a person requires help in relation to a daily living activity if, in order to perform it, the person requires (i) an assistive device, (ii) the significant help or supervision of another person, or (iii) the services of an assistance animal. The following section of the EAPWDR applies to this appeal: 2 (1)For the purposes of the Act and this regulation, "daily living activities", (a) in relation to a person who has a severe physical impairment or a severe men. ta! impairment, means the following activities: (i) prepare own meals; (ii) manage personal finances; (iii) shop for personal needs; (iv) use public or personal transportation facilities; (v) perform housework to maintain the person's place of residence in acceptable sanitary condition; (vi) move about indoors and outdoors; (vii) perform personal hygiene and self care; (viii) manage personal medication, and lb ) in relation to a oerson who has a severe mental impairment, includes the followinQ activities: EMT003(10/06/01)
( i ) m a k e d e c i s i o n s a b o u t p e r s o n a l a c t i v i t i e s , c a r e ( i i ) r e l a t e t o , c o m m u n i c a t e o r i n t e r a c t w i t h o t h e r s e S e v e r i t y o f p h y s i c a l i m p a i r m e n t T h e a p p e l l a n t a s s e r t s t h a t s h e h a s a s e v e r e p h y s i c v i s i o n , p o i n t i n g t o t h e f a c t t h a t s h e i s l e g a l l y b l i n d a t h e p a n e l s h e a l w a y s c a r r i e s h e r c a n e a n d c a n n o t w m a g n i f i c a t i o n t o r e a d a n y t h i n g , w h e t h e r i t i s a f o r rr i , l a r g e f o n t o r B r a i l l e . T h e a p p e l l a n t a l s o a r g u e s t h a t A p r i l 2 0 1 4 q u e s t i o n n a i r e , " s h e h a s a s e v e r e p h y s i c a e v i d e n c e t h a t h e r p h y s i c a l i m p a i r m e n t h e r l o w v i s t h e l e g i s l a t i o n . I n i t s r e c o n s i d e r a t i o n d e c i s i o n , t h e m i n i s t r y n o t e d t h p h y s i c i a n i n t h e f u n c t i o n a l s k i l l s s e c t i o n o f t h e P R a a p p e l l a n t ' s m o b i l i t y a n d p h y s i c a l a b i l i t y . T h e m i n i s t " a r e s i g n i f i c a n t l y c h a l l e n g i n g " , t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s p h y s i m a n a g e h e r p h y s i c a l a n d m o t o r f u n c t i o n s t h a t t h e a m i n i s t r y f u r t h e r f o u n d t h a t , a s t h e p h y s i c i a n d i d n o t c o n t i n u o u s a s s i s t a n c e f r o m a n o t h e r p e r s o n t o m a n a a p p e l l a n t i s a b l e t o m a n a g e t h e m a j o r i t y o f h e r D L A i m p a i r m e n t h a s n o t b e e n p r o v i d e d b y t h e a p p e l l a n t ' T h e m i n i s t r y f o u n d t h a t e v i d e n c e o f a s e v e r e m e n t a n o t e s t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t d o e s n o t a s s e r t t h a t s h e h a P W D d e s i g n a t i o n . A n a l y s i s a n d d e c i s i o n T h e l e g i s l a t i o n p r o v i d e s t h a t t h e m i n i s t e r m a y d e s i g t h a t t h e p e r s o n h a s a s e v e r e m e n t a l o r p h y s i c a l i m p p r a c t i t i o n e r i s l i k e l y t o c o n t i n u e f o r a t l e a s t 2 y e a r s ( p h y s i c i a n c o n f i r m e d i n t h e P R s e c t i o n o f t h e P W D a v i s i o n , p a n h y p o p i t u i t a r i s m a n d h y p o t h a l a m i c o b e s i t y c o n d i t i o n s i n p a r t i c u l a r , h e r b l i n d n e s s / l o w v i s i o n I n t h e P W D a p p l i c a t i o n f o r m , t h e m i n i s t r y h a s p r o v i d i s n o t s e t o u t i n t h e a p p l i c a b l e l e g i s l a t i o n , o f f e r s g u i d a n a p p l i c a n t ' s i m p a i r m e n t . T h e m i n i s t r y s t a t e s , " i m p p s y c h o l o g i c a l , a n a t o m i c a l o r p h y s i o l o g i c a l s t r u c t u r e f u n c t i o n i n d e p e n d e n t l y , e f f e c t i v e l y , a p p r o p r i a t e l y o r s e v e r i t y o f a n i m p a i r m e n t , t h e r e i s b o t h a c a u s e t h t o w h i c h i t r e s t r i c t s t h e a b i l i t y t o f u n c t i o n i n d e p e n d e n d u r a t i o n . T h e l e g i s l a t i o n p r o v i d e s t h a t t h e d e t e r m i n a d i s c r e t i o n o f t h e m i n i s t e r , ! a k i n i n t o a c c o u n t a l l o f t h E AA T 0 0 3 ( 1 0 / 0 6 / 0 1 )I A P P E A L o r f i n a n c e s ; f e c t i v e l y . a l i m p a i r m e n t , w h i c h i s h e r e x t r e m e l y l i m i t e d n d r e g i s t e r e d w i t h t h e C N I B . T h e a p p e l l a n t t o l d a l k o u t d o o r s w i t h o u t i t . S h e r e q u i r e s o r a l a b e l , o r a b u s s t o p , a n d s h e m u s t u s e v e r y t h e i n f o r m a t i o n p r o v i d e d b y h e r p h y s i c i a n i n t h e l i m p a i r m e n t a s s h e h a s e x t r e m e l y l o w v i s i o n " i s i o n i s s e v e r e a n d s h e m e e t s t h i s c r i t e r i o n u n d e r e i n f o r m a t i o n p r o v i d e d b y t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s n d i n t h e s e c t i o n o f t h e A R a d d r e s s i n g t h e r y f o u n d t h a t a l t h o u g h t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s i m p a i r m e n t s c i a n d o e s n o t i n d i c a t e t h r o u g h h e r a b i l i t y t o p p e l l a n t h a s a s e v e r e p h y s i c a l i m p a i r m e n t . T h e i n d i c a t e t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t r e q u i r e s p e r i o d i c o r g e h e r m o b i l i t y a n d p h y s i c a l f u n c t i o n s a n d a s t h e i n d e p e n d e n t l y , e v i d e n c e o f a s e v e r e p h y s i c a l s p h y s i c i a n . l i m p a i r m e n t w a s n o t p r o v i d e d , a n d t h e p a n e l s a s e v e r e m e n t a l i m p a i r m e n t f o r t h e p u r p o s e s o f n a t e a p e r s o n a s a P W D i f t h e m i n i s t e r i s s a t i s f i e d a i r m e n t t h a t i n t h e o p i n i o n o f a m e d i c a l s u b s . 2 ( 2 ) ( a ) o f t h e E A P W D A ) . T h e a p p e l l a n t ' s p p l i c a t i o n t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t h a s b l i n d n e s s / l o w . T h e a p p e l l a n t a s s e r t s t h a t h e r m e d i c a l a m o u n t t o a s e v e r e p h y s i c a l i m p a i r m e n t . e d a d e f i n i t i o n o f " i m p a i r m e n t " w h i c h , a l t h o u g h i t a n c e i n c o n s i d e r i n g t h e e x i s t e n c e a n d s e v e r i t y o f a i r m e n t " i s a " l o s s o r a b n o r m a l i t y o f o r f u n c t i o n i n g c a u s i n g a r e s t r i c t i o n i n t h e a b i l i t y t o f o r a r e a s o n a b l e d u r a t i o n . " T o d e t e r m i n e t h e e i m p a i r m e n t i t s e l f a n d a n e f f e c t t h e d e g r e e t l y , e f f e c t i v e l y , a p p r o p r i a t e l y o r f o r a r e a s o n a b l e t i o n o f t h e s e v e r i t y o f a n i m p a i r m e n t i s a t t h e e e v i d e n c e , i n c l u d i n t h a t o f t h e a e l l a n t .
Howev er , t he start ing point mus t be the me dical e v i of the PWD appl ic a t ion, togeth er w it h the addi ti o nal qu es tion nai r e . In the PR and AR c o mple ted in Augu st and M a y 2 013 t he app ellant's physicia n to the r e strictio ns to physical vision causes and for wh ich t he a p pell a nt requi re s the reporte d that t he appe llant c a nnot read w ithout t he use m ono c ula r) to s ee far away, a n d a whi te c a ne to identi appella nt's ph ysici an c on firms that the appellant ha s t he app e l la n t walks wit h a white can e , t h a t she feels a se e the m, a nd has dif ficulty on stairs unless there is in d icated i n the PR that t he a p pellant can walk 4 or m t he i n format io n i n th e April 2 014 qu es tion naire cla r i f "un aided" or witho ut the us e of a n assis t ive de vic e. lift ing, i.e . " not r elevant as [the a ppell an t] is a s tudent," some c onfu sio n b y the phy sici an i n compl e ting t h i s section of T he pa n el f i nds tha t t he m inistr y's de termination t h at impairment is n o t r easonably s upport ed. Th e inform PR an d AR and el a borated u pon i n t he Ap ril 2014 q vi sion / bli ndness i s severe bot h in t erms o f the extent of vision" i n the ot h e r ) a nd t h e rest rictions to her indep indicat es that s he is u nable to p e rform s o me ke y acti ada pt a ti o n s suc h a s a white cane, magn i f i er s, large Direc t a nd signif ic ant rest rict io n s in t he a bili t v to pe rf In her s ub m issions, the appe l lant argues tha t h er i m Sh e say s that it tak es her s ig nif ican tly lo ng er than typical t pe rsonal se lf c are, and mob i lity outside the home, and tr requires continuous assistanc e with DLA of housework, and with the tasks of reading prices and label s while shoppi ng. The appellant argued that the information provided by her physician in the April 2014 questionnaire expands on the information i desc r ipt ion of ho w her impairment restricts he r ability to perform DLA. In the re c onside rat ion dec isi o n, th e ministry no ted that the appel that t he appellant can independentl y manage the majo care, la u ndry , going to and from stores, paying for pu ministry noted that the appellant's physicia n indicated she required periodic assistance reading prices and labels and making appropriate choices shopping, and that she takes significantly longer than typical to manage basic housekeeping, food preparation and cooking. The ministry determined that based on all available information provided by the appellant and her physician, there was not enough evidence to establish that the appellant's impairment directly and significantly restricts her DLA continuously or periodically for extended periods. EAA T003 ( 1 0/06/01) I A P PEA L dence -th e i n format io n set o ut i n the PR se c ti o n me dical i nfo rmati o n of the Ap ril 2014 res pec tively, th e re are several referenc es by fun c ti o ning that the appella nt's blindness/ l ow us e o f an assi st ive de v i ce . Th e physician of a m agnifier, re q uires a binocular ( o r f y herse lf. In t he Apr i l 2014 question nair e, the e x t reme ly low visi on. Th e p hysi ci an notes that t r is k fo r trippi ng ove r obsta cles as she wo uldn't a m ark er st r i p at the edge. While the physician ore bl o c ks a n d clim b 5 o r more st eps unaided, i es that th ese physic al skills a re not perform e d Gi ve n t he phys i c ian's assess men t re ga rd ing the p ane l finds that t here ma y have been the PWD applicat ion. th e e vi d en ce doe s n ot i nd i cate a seve re ation provi de d b y t he appell ant's ph ys i c ian in t he uestionnai re set s ou t tha t the app e lla n t's low her vision lo ss (blind in on e ey e and " m inima l end en t functi oni ng. S p e cif ically, the eviden ce vi ties wi th out a num ber o f assi stive dev ices a n d font a n d Braille. orm OL A . pairmen ts rest rict h er a bility t o perf orm her DLA. o perform t he D L A of meal preparati o n , a ns p ortation. She also says that she n the PR and AR and pr ov ides a more d e tai led lant's physician indi cated in the AR r it y of tasks of her DLA, in particular, personal rchases a n d car rying purchases hom e . Th e
A n a l y s i s a n d d e c i s i o n S u b s e c t i o n 2 ( 2 } ( b ) o f t h e E A P W D A r e q u i r e s t h a t a a p p e l l a n t ' s i m p a i r m e n t s d i r e c t l y a n d s i g n i f i c a n t l y r e s o r p e r i o d i c a l l y f o r e x t e n d e d p e r i o d s . T h e p a n e l n o t e i n d i c a t e t h a t , b e c a u s e o f a r e s t r i c t i o n , a n i n d i v i d u a l p e r i o d i c a l l y f o r e x t e n d e d p e r i o d s , t h i s d o e s n o t n e c e a n d s i g n i f i c a n t r e s t r i c t i o n " t o t h e p e r s o n ' s a b i l i t y t o p F o r t h e D L A o f m e a l s , t h e p h y s i c i a n i n d i c a t e d i n t h e t h a n t y p i c a l t o p e r f o r m 2 o f t h e 4 l i s t e d t a s k s ( s h e c a t h e A p r i l 2 0 1 4 q u e s t i o n n a i r e , t h e p h y s i c i a n e l a b o r a t m o r e c o m p l e x m e a l , i t w o u l d t a k e t h e a p p e l l a n t 2 -4 p h y s i c i a n d o e s n o t e x p r e s s l y i n d i c a t e t h a t t h e a p p e l p e r f o r m t h e D L A o f m e a l p r e p a r a t i o n o n l y t h a t i t t a F u r t h e r , i n t h e A p r i l 2 0 1 4 q u e s t i o n n a i r e , t h e p h y s i c i a l i g h t m e a l s b r e a k f a s t a n d l u n c h " a n d d o e s n o t i n d i a s s i s t a n c e t o p r e p a r e t h e s e s i m p l e r m e a l s . T h e e v i d e n c e o f t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s p h y s i c i a n i n b o t h t h e a p p e l l a n t c a n i n d e p e n d e n t l y p e r f o r m t h e D L A o f m a 3 t i m e s l o n g e r ' ' t o r e a d b a n k s t a t e m e n t s b e c a u s e o f h e r p h y s i c i a n r e f e r r e d t o a l a c k o f i n c o m e a s a r e a s o f i n d s t h a t t h e p h y s i c i a n h a s r e p o r t e d t h a t t h e a p p e l l a l a c k o f r e s o u r c e s i s n o t a p h y s i c a l i m p a i r m e n t . F o r t h e D L A o f s h o p p i n g , t h e p h y s i c i a n i n d i c a t e d i n a s s i s t a n c e f r o m a n o t h e r p e r s o n t o p e r f o r m t h e t w o t a p p r o p r i a t e c h o i c e s , b u t d i d n o t p r o v i d e a n y c o m m e i n t h e A p r i l 2 0 1 4 q u e s t i o n n a i r e i s t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t d r e a d p r i c e s o r l a b e l s a n d t h e p h y s i c i a n p r o v i d e d c o m c h o o s i n g a m o n g s i m i l a r i t e m s a n d r e a d i n g s i z e l a b e t h e A R . I n t h e A R , t h e p h y s i c i a n i n d i c a t e d t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t D L A o f t r a n s p o r t a t i o n a n d i n t h e A p r i l 2 0 1 4 q u e s t i o n b e i n g d r i v e n b y p a r e n t s w i l l s o m e t i m e s t r a v e l b y b t i m e s w i t h a g u i d e n e e d s t o c o u n t t h e s t o p s a s c a n s t o p t h a t t e l l s h e r w h i c h b u s s t o p s t h e r e , u s e s H a n d i l o n g a s t h e r e g u l a r b u s s e r v i c e . " T h e a p p e l l a n t ' s e v p u b l i c t r a n s i t , b u t o f t e n h e r f a m i l y d r i v e s h e . r w h e r e s w i l l t a k e m u c h l e s s t i m e t h a n i f s h e t o o k t r a n s i t . W h i l i m i t e d , t h e a p p e l l a n t w i l l t a k e t r a n s i t o n c e s h e i s f a m T h e e v i d e n c e o f t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s p h y s i c i a n i n b o t h t h e a p p e l l a n t r e q u i r e s c o n t i n u o u s a s s i s t a n c e t o p e r f o r m i n d e p e n d e n t l v d o h e r o w n l a u n d r v . E AA T 0 0 3 ( 1 0 / 0 6 / 0 1 )I A P P E A L p r e s c r i b e d p r o f e s s i o n a l c o n f i r m t h a t t h e t r i c t h e r a b i l i t y t o p e r f o r m h e r D L A c o n t i n u o u s l y s t h a t a l t h o u g h a p r e s c r i b e d p r o f e s s i o n a l m a y r e q u i r e s a s s i s t a n c e e i t h e r c o n t i n u o u s l y o r s s a r i l y m e e t t h e l e g i s l a t i v e t e s t o f b e i n g a " d i r e c t e r f o r m D L A . A R t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t t a k e s s i g n i f i c a n t l y l o n g e r n p e rf o r m t h e o t h e r 2 t a s k s i n d e p e n d e n t l y ) a n d i n e d o n t h i s i n f o r m a t i o n b y i n d i c a t i n g t h a t t o m a k e a h o u r s , g i v e n h e r r e s t r i c t e d v i s i o n . T h e a p p e l l a n t ' s l a n t r e q u i r e s c o n t i n u o u s o r p e r i o d i c a s s i s t a n c e t o k e s t h e a p p e l l a n t l o n g e r t o p e r f o r m t h i s D L A . n r e p o r t s t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t i s " a b l e t o p r e p a r e c a t e t h a t s h e r e q u i r e s e x t r a t i m e o r a n y A R a n d t h e A p r i l 2 0 1 4 q u e s t i o n n a i r e i s t h a t t h e n a g i n g h e r f i n a n c e s , a l t h o u g h i t t a k e s h e r " a b o u t h e r l i m i t e d v i s i o n . W h i l e b o t h t h e a p p e l l a n t a n d n t h a t h e r p a r e n t s p a y a l l h e r b i l l s , t h e p a n e l n t i s c a p a b l e o f m a n a g i n g h e r f i n a n c e s a n d a t h e A R t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t r e q u i r e s p e r i o d i c a s k s o f r e a d i n g p r i c e s a n d l a b e l s a n d m a k i n g n t a r y . T h e i n f o r m a t i o n p r o v i d e d b y t h e p h y s i c i a n o e s n ' t g o s h o p p i n g b y h e r s e l f b e c a u s e s h e c a n ' t m e n t a r y r e g a r d i n g t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s d i f f i c u l t i e s i n l s o n c l o t h i n g t o e l a b o r a t e o n t h e i n f o r m a t i o n i n c o u l d i n d e p e n d e n t l y p e r f o r m t h e t a s k s o f t h e n a i r e , t h e p h y s i c i a n w r o t e , " m a i n t r a n s p o r t a t i o n i s u s b u t o n l y i f s h e h a s t r a v e l l e d t h e r o u t e s e v e r a l ' t s e e l a n d m a r k s , c a n ' t r e a d t h e s i g n s a t a b u s d a r t s o m e t i m e s b u t t h i s t a k e s a b o u t 3 t i m e s a s i d e n c e a t t h e h e a r i n g w a s t h a t s h e c a n t a k e h e h a s t o g o b e c a u s e i t i s m o r e c o n v e n i e n t a n d l e h e r a b i l i t y t o r e a d b u s s t o p s i g n s i s v e r y i l i a r w i t h t h e r o u t e . A R a n d t h e A p r i l 2 0 1 4 q u e s t i o n n a i r e i s t h a t t h e t h e t a s k o f b a s i c h o u s e k e e p i n g , b u t t h a t s h e c a n
T h e e v i d e n c e o f t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s p h y s i c i a n i n t h e A R a p p e l l a n t t a k e s s i g n i f i c a n t l y l o n g e r t o p e r f o r m t h e D i n d e p e n d e n t l y m o v e a b o u t i n d o o r s . I n t h e A R , t h e p h y s i c i a n i n d i c a t e d t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n a n d i n t h e A p r i l 2 0 1 4 q u e s t i o n n a i r e , t h e p h y s i c i a n e m i n u t e s l o n g e r f o r t h e a p p e l l a n t t o p e r f o r m h e r p e r s F o r t h e D L A o f m e d i c a t i o n s , t h e e v i d e n c e o f t h e a p 2 0 1 4 q u e s t i o n n a i r e i s t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t c a n i n d e p e a s s i s t a n c e o f a m a g n i f i e r t o r e a d l a b e l s . T h e p a n e l a g r e e s w i t h t h e a p p e l l a n t t h a t t h e i n f o r m a q u e s t i o n n a i r e e l a b o r a t e s o n t h e p r e v i o u s a n s w e r s o d e t a i l e d e x p l a n a t i o n w i t h r e g a r d t o h o w t h e a p p e l l a n a c t i v i t i e s . T h e p h y s i c i a n r e p o r t e d i n t h e A p r i l 2 0 1 4 i m p a i r m e n t r e s t r i c t s h e r i n p e r f o r m i n g h e r D L A " d a i l H o w e v e r , t h e p a n e l n o t e s t h a t w h i l e t h e i n f o r m a t i o n t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t t a k e s s i g n i f i c a n t l y l o n g e r t o p e r f o r w h i c h t h e p h y s i c i a n s p e c i f i c a l l y i n d i c a t e s t h e a p p e l l p e r i o d i c a l l y f o r e x t e n d e d p e r i o d s a r e t h e t a s k s o f t h ( s h o p f o r p e r s o n a l n e e d s ) a n d t h e D L A i n s u b s e c t i o p e r s o n ' s p l a c e o f r e s i d e n c e i n a n a c c e p t a b l e s a n i t a w h i l e t h e a p p e l l a n t i s r e s t r i c t e d i n s o m e o f t h e t a s k s a l l o f t h e t a s k s a n d i s a b l e t o p e r f o r m s o m e o f t h e t a t a s k s w a s a l s o c o n f i r m e d i n t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s o r a l e v i d W i t h r e s p e c t t o s h o p p i n g , t h e p h y s i c i a n r e p o r t s i n t h r e a d i n g p r i c e s a n d l a b e l s a n d m a k i n g a p p r o p r i a t e c e v i d e n c e i n t h e A p r i l 2 0 1 4 q u e s t i o n n a i r e i s t h a t t h e s p r i c e s " o r " s e e t h e s i z e o f c l o t h i n g . " H o w e v e r , s h e i f o r p u r c h a s e s a n d c a r r y i n g p u r c h a s e s h o m e . W h i l e a p p e l l a n t r e q u i r e s a c a n e f o r o u t d o o r m o b i l i t y , w h i c h s t o r e , a n d i n t h e A p r i l 2 0 1 4 q u e s t i o n n a i r e , t h a t t h e a p a n e l f i n d s t h a t t h e m i n i s t r y r e a s o n a b l y c o n c l u d e d t h p h y s i c i a n r e g a r d i n g t h e d e g r e e o f r e s t r i c t i o n i n t h e s e W i t h r e g a r d t o p e r f o r m i n g h o u s e w o r k , t h e p h y s i c i a n h o u s e k e e p i n g a n d t h i s i s r e a f f i r m e d i n t h e A p r i l 2 0 1 4 d u s t o r t e l l w h e t h e r d i s h e s a r e c l e a n e d p r o p e r l y . H o p h y s i c i a n r e p o r t s t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t i s i n d e p e n d e n t a l a u n d r y a s s h e h a s m e m o r i z e d t h e s e t t i n g s o n t h e m T h e e v i d e n c e i n d i c a t e s t h a t w h i l e t h e a p p e l l a n t i s r e D L A , s h e i s l a r a e l v i n d e o e n d e n t i n m o s t t a s k s . T h e E AA T 0 0 3 ( 1 0 / 0 6 / 0 1 )I A P P E A L " a n d t h e A p r i l 2 0 1 4 q u e s t i o n n a i r e i s t h a t t h e L A o f m o b i l i t y o u t d o o r s , a l t h o u g h s h e i s a b l e t o t c o u l d i n d e p e n d e n t l y p e r f o r m h e r D L A o f s e l f c a r e l a b o r a t e d o n t h i s b y w r i t i n g t h a t i t t a k e s 4 5 -6 0 o n a l s e l f c a r e r o u t i n e . p e l l a n t ' s p h y s i c i a n i n b o t h t h e A R a n d i n t h e A p r i l n d e n t l y m a n a g e r h e r m e d i c a t i o n s , b u t r e q u i r e s t h e t i o n p r o v i d e d b y h e r p h y s i c i a n i n t h e A p r i l 2 0 1 4 f t h e p h y s i c i a n i n t h e P R a n d A R , o f f e r i n g t ' s v i s u a l i m p a i r m e n t r e s t r i c t s h e r d a i l y l i v i n g q u e s t i o n n a i r e t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s v i s u a l y . " p r o v i d e d b y t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s p h y s i c i a n i n d i c a t e s m s o m e o f h e r D L A , t h e o n l y t a s k s o f D L A f o r a n t ' s i m p a i r m e n t r e s t r i c t s h e r c o n t i n u o u s l y o r e D L A i n s u b s e c t i o n 2 ( 1 ) ( a ) ( i i i ) o f t h e E A P W D R n 2 ( 1 ) ( a ) ( v ) ( p e r f o r m h o u s e w o r k t o m a i n t a i n t h e r y c o n d i t i o n ) . F u r t h e r , t h e p h y s i c i a n r e p o r t e d t h a t u n d e r e a c h o f t h e s e D L A , s h e i s n o t r e s t r i c t e d i n s k s i n d e p e n d e n t l y . I n d e p e n d e n c e i n s o m e o f t h e e n c e . e A R t h a t o n l y t w o o f t h e t a s k s u n d e r t h i s D L A , h o i c e s , a r e r e s t r i c t e d a n d t h e p h y s i c i a n ' s e r e s t r i c t i o n s a r e c o n t i n u o u s a s s h e " c a n ' t r e a d s i n d e p e n d e n t i n g o i n g t o a n d f r o m s t o r e s , p a y i n g t h e p h y s i c i a n i n d i c a t e d i n t h e A R t h a t t h e w o u l d i m p a c t h e r a b i l i t y t o g o t o a n d f r o m t h e p p e l l a n t " d o e s n ' t g o b y h e r s e l f " s h o p p i n g , t h e a t t h e r e i s n o t s u f f i c i e n t d e t a i l p r o v i d e d b y t h e o t h e r t a s k s o f t h e s h o p p i n g D L A . r e p o r t s r e s t r i c t i o n s i n t h e t a s k o f b a s i c q u e s t i o n n a i r e a s t h e a p p e l l a n t i s u n a b l e t o s e e w e v e r , f o r t h e t a s k o f d o i n g l a u n d r y , t h e n d t h e a p p e l l a n t c o n f i r m e d t h a t s h e c a n d o a c h i n e . s t r i c t e d i n s o m e o f t h e t a s k s t h a t c o m p r i s e h e r p a n e l t h e r e f o r e f i n d s t h a t t h e m i n i s t r y r e a s o n a b l v
c o n c l u d e d t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s p h y s i c i a n d i d n o t p r o i m p a i r m e n t d i r e c t l y a n d s i g n i f i c a n t l y r e s t r i c t s h e r a b p e r i o d i c a l l y f o r e x t e n d e d p e r i o d s o f t i m e , a s r e q u i r e H e l p w i t h D L A I n h e r s u b m i s s i o n s , t h e a p p e l l a n t r e p e a t e d t h e i n f o r A R a n d t h e A p r i l 2 0 1 4 q u e s t i o n n a i r e t h a t s h e r e q u i r a s a m a g n i f i e r a n d b i n o c u l a r o r m o n o c u l a r f o r r e a d i n a m e l y h e r p a r e n t s a n d h e r b r o t h e r . I n i t s r e c o n s i d e r a t i o n , t h e m i n i s t r y n o t e d t h a t h e r p h c o m p u t e r , b i n o c u l a r s a n d a m a g n i f i e r . H o w e v e r , t h t h a t [ D L A ] a r e n o t s i g n i f i c a n t l y r e s t r i c t e d . . . i t c a n n o f r o m o t h e r p e o p l e . [ T h e a p p e l l a n t ] d o e s n o t r e q u i r e T h e l e g i s l a t i o n r e q u i r e s i n s u b s . 2 ( 2 ) ( b ) ( i i ) t h a t i n t h e o f t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s r e s t r i c t i o n s , t h e a p p e l l a n t r e q u i r e s t h a t a p e r s o n r e q u i r e s h e l p i n r e l a t i o n t o a D L A i f , i n a s s i s t i v e d e v i c e , t h e s i g n i f i c a n t h e l p o r s u p e r v i s i o n o a s s i s t a n c e a n i m a l . T h e p a n e l n o t e s t h a t t h e l e g i s l a e n c o m p a s s e s t h e u s e o f a n a s s i s t i v e d e v i c e , s u c h a W h i l e t h e p a n e l f i n d s t h a t t h e e v i d e n c e o f t h e p r e s c r o b t a i n s a s s i s t a n c e f r o m a s s i s t i v e d e v i c e s a n d h e r f a r e a s o n a b l y d e t e r m i n e d t h a t , a s d i r e c t a n d s i g n i f i c a n D L A h a v e n o t b e e n e s t a b l i s h e d , i t c a n n o t b e d e t e r m D L A a s a r e s u l t o f t h o s e r e s t r i c t i o n s , a s d e f i n e d b y s C o n c l u s i o n H a v i n g r e v i e w e d a n d c o n s i d e r e d a l l o f t h e e v i d e n c e t h e m i n i s t r y ' s d e c i s i o n t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t w a s n o t e l i g s u p p o r t e d b y t h e e v i d e n c e . T h e p a n e l t h e r e f o r e c o n E AA T 0 0 3 ( 1 0 / 0 6 / 0 1 )A P P E A L I v i d e e v i d e n c e t o e s t a b l i s h t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s i l i t y t o p e r f o r m h e r D L A c o n t i n u o u s l y o r d b y s u b s e c t i o n 2 ( 2 ) ( b ) o f t h e E A P W D A . m a t i o n p r o v i d e d b y h e r p h y s i c i a n i n t h e P R a n d e s a w h i t e c a n e f o r h e r o u t d o o r m o b i l i t y , a s w e l l n g , a n d t h a t s h e r e q u i r e s h e l p f r o m h e r f a m i l y , y s i c i a n r e p o r t e d t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t u s e s a c a n e , e m i n i s t r y f o u n d t h a t a s i t " h a s b e e n e s t a b l i s h e d t b e d e t e r m i n e d t h a t s i g n i f i c a n t h e l p i s r e q u i r e d t h e s e r v i c e s o f a n a s s i s t a n c e a n i m a l . " o p i n i o n o f a p r e s c r i b e d p r o f e s s i o n a l , a s a r e s u l t h e l p t o p e r f o r m D L A a n d s u b s . 2 ( 3 ) ( b ) p r o v i d e s o r d e r t o p e r f o r m i t , t h e p e r s o n r e q u i r e s a n f a n o t h e r p e r s o n , o r t h e s e r v i c e s o f a n t i o n i s n o t l i m i t e d t o h e l p f r o m a n o t h e r p e r s o n i t s t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s c a n e a n d m a g n i f i e r s . i b e d p r o f e s s i o n a l e s t a b l i s h e s t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t m i l y , t h e p a n e l a l s o f i n d s t h a t t h e m i n i s t r y t r e s t r i c t i o n s i n t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s a b i l i t y t o p e r f o r m i n e d t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t r e q u i r e s h e l p t o p e r f o r m e c t i o n 2 ( 3 ) ( b ) o f t h e E A P W D A . a n d t h e r e l e v a n t l e g i s l a t i o n , t h e p a n e l f i n d s t h a t i b l e f o r P W D d e s i g n a t i o n i s r e a s o n a b l y f i r m s t h e m i n i s t r y ' s d e c i s i o n .
You are being directed to the most recent version of the statute which may not be the version considered at the time of the judgment.