P ART C -Decision under Appeal The dec ision un der app e al is th e Mini stry of So c ial D " mini s t ry ' ') reconsid eration d e ci s ion of June 2, 201 4, o f five statu tory re q uireme nts of se ct io n 2 o f th e Empl Disabil itie s Act ("E APWDA") for designati o n as a perso that t h e app e l lant me t the age requi rement an d t ha appel la nt ' s i mp a irment i s l i ke ly t o continu e f o r at least two s at isfied tha t : • th e eviden ce e stablis h e s that the appel lant has • t h e a ppellan t ' s daily l iv ing act iviti e s (" D L A") are di rectl y and si gnifi can t ly restr ic ted eith e r conti that • as a result of t h o se r e stric tions, t h e appe l lant requ anot he r perso n , an assistive dev ice , or the se PART D -Relevant Legi slati o n E m ployment and Ass istance for P ersons w it h Disabili Employ me nt and Ass istance for P erso ns with Disabili EAA T003(10/06/01) I AP PEAL# evelopment and Social I nnov at io n (the whic h found that the a ppe llan t di d n ot meet t hree oy m e nt and Ass i s t a nce f o r Pe rsons Wit h n w ith di s abilit ies (" PWD"). T h e minis t ry found t in t h e o p inio n o f a me di ca l practi tio n e r t h e years. However, the ministr y w as n ot a severe p hysi cal o r m ental im pairment; , i n the opi n i on of a presc ribed prof es si on al, nu ous l y o r peri odi cally for e x t ended pe ri o ds; a nd ires t he s ign i fic an t help or su p e rvisi on of r v ices of an assistan ce an i m al. ties Act ("EAPW DA" ), sect ion 2 t i es Regula t ion ("EA PWDR"), sect ion 2
P A R T E S u m m a r o f F a c t s T h e i n f o r m a t i o n b e f o r e t h e m i n i s t r y a t t h e t i m e o f r e • T h e a p p e l l a n t ' s P W D a p p l i c a t i o n f o r m c o n s i b l a n k ) a l o n g w i t h a p h y s i c i a n ' s r e p o r t ( " P R " ) 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 o f 1 1 / 2 y e a r s , d • A n a d v o c a t e p r e p a r e d f o r m o f s u p p l e m e n t a r a p p e l l a n t ' s p h y s i c i a n w a s a s k e d t o a g r e e o r · t h e a p p e l l a n t r e g a r d i n g t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s p h y s i p r o v i d e d h e r r e s p o n s e s a n d s i g n e d t h e S M O T h e p a n e l r e v i e w e d t h e e v i d e n c e a s f o l l o w s : D i a g n o s e s • I n t h e P R t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s p h y s i c i a n d i a g n o s e a n x i e t y , a l o n g w i t h l e a r n i n g d i s a b i l i t i e s . P h y s i c a l I m p a i r m e n t • I n t h e P R a n d A R t h e p h y s i c i a n r e p o r t e d t h a p h y s i c a l f u n c t i o n a l s k i l l s , a n d t h a t s h e i n d e p e p h y s i c a l a b i l i t y . • I n t h e S M O t h e p h y s i c i a n i n d i c a t e d h e r d i s a g " i s o n l y a b l e t o s i t u p t o 3 0 m i n u t e s a t a t i m e M e n t a l I m p a i r m e n t • I n t h e P R t h e p h y s i c i a n w r o t e t h a t t h e a p p e l l a a b i l i t y t o c o p e w / s t r e s s , p o o r m e m o r y , l o w m • I n d e s c r i b i n g t h e d e g r e e a n d c o u r s e o f i m p a i g o o d e f f e c t w / m e d i c a t i o n o r c o u n s e l l i n g . E x p • T h e p h 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 h a s t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s s p e a k i n g a b i l i t y i s " s a t i s f a c o m m e n t i n g " S h e h a s a g o o d c o m m a n d o f E A l s o s t r u g g l e s w / r e a d i n g + w r i t i n g . " • I n t h e P R a n d A 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 i m p a c t s t o 3 o f 1 4 c a t e g o r i e s o f c o g n i t i v e a n d a t t e n t i o n / c o n c e n t r a t i o n , a n d e x e c u t i v e . S h e c a t e g o r i e s : b o d i l y f u n c t i o n s , m e m o ry , m o t i v a s h o w e d m i n i m a l o r n o i m p a c t s . • I n t h e S M O t h e p h y s i c i a n a g r e e d w i t h t h e a p p t h e a r e a s o f e m o t i o n s ( a n x i e t y / d e p r e s s i o n ) , a T h e p h y s i c i a n d i s a g r e e d t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t s u f u n c t i o n s ( t h e p h y s i c i a n c o m m e n t e d " s h e h a s d i s a b l i n g " ) , e x e c u t i v e , m e m o r y , m o t o r a c t i v i t y E AA T 0 0 3 ( 1 0 / 0 6 / 0 1 )A P P E A L # � c o n s i d e r a t i o n i n c l u d e d t h e f o l l o w i n g : s t i n g o f t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s s e l f r e p o r t ( w h i c h s h e l e f t a n d a s s e s s o r ' s r e p o r t ( " A R " ) b o t h s i g n e d b y t h e a t e d J a n u a r y 2 7 , 2 0 1 4 . y m e d i c a l o p i n i o n ( t h e " S M O " ) i n w h i c h t h e d i s a g r e e w i t h a n u m b e r o f s t a t e m e n t s m a d e b y c a l a n d m e n t a l f u n c t i o n i n g . T h e p h y s i c i a n o n M a y 3 0 , 2 0 1 4 . d h e r a s h a v i n g m o d e r a t e s e v e r e d e p r e s s i o n a n d t t h e a p p e l l a n t h a s n o l i m i t a t i o n s i n t e r m s o f n d e n t l y m a n a g e s a l l a s p e c t s o f m o b i l i t y a n d r e e m e n t w i t h t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s s t a t e m e n t t h a t s h e b e f o r e s h e h a s t o s t r e t c h a n d m o v e a r o u n d . " n t " h a s l i m i t e d a b i l i t y t o c o n c e n t r a t e , l i m i t e d o t i v a t i o n a n d i s e a s i l y o v e r w h e l m e d . " r m e n t , t h e p h y s i c i a n w r o t e t h a t " P t h a s n o t h a d e c t a p r o l o n g e d c o u r s e ( y e a r s ) . " n o d i f f i c u l t y w i t h c o m m u n i c a t i o n , b u t i n d i c a t e d c t o r y " a n d h e r r e a d i n g / w r i t i n g a r e p o o r , n g l i s h b u t h a s t r o u b l e p u t t i n g t h o u g h t s i n t o w o r d s . t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s m e n t a l i m p a i r m e n t c a u s e s m a j o r e m o t i o n a l f u n c t i o n i n g : e m o t i o n , a l s o r e p o r t e d m o d e r a t e i m p a c t s t o a n o t h e r 4 t i o n , a n d l a n g u a g e . T h e r e m a i n i n g c a t e g o r i e s e l l a n t ' s s t a t e m e n t s t h a t s h e h a s m a j o r i m p a c t s i n t t e n t i o n / c o n c e n t r a t i o n , a n d l e a r n i n g d i s a b i l i t i e s . f f e r s m a j o r i m p a c t s i n t h e f o l l o w i n g a r e a s : b o d i l y m o d i n s o m n i a , w o u l d n o t c o n s i d e r t h i s , a n d l a n g u a g e .
I APPEAL# DLA • In the PR and AR the physician reported that the appellant has not been prescribed any mediation or treatments which interfere with her ability to perform DLA, and that the appellant lives alone and is the sole caregiver for her 3 young children. • In the AR the physician indicated that the appellant independently manages all tasks associated with the following 5 of 10 prescribed DLA: personal self-care, basic housekeeping, meal preparation, management of medications, and use of transportation (the physician marked 2 tasks -using public transportation and using transit schedules and arranging transportation as "N/A"). • With respect to daily shopping, the physician indicated that the appellant is independent with all tasks except she requires periodic assistance with going to and from stores ("sometimes needs friend to go w/her to store due to anxiety." • With respect to manage personal finances, the physician indicated that the appellant independently manages the tasks of banking and paying rent/bills, but that she needs continuous assistance with budgeting ("poor budgeting -gets in financial difficulties.") • With respect to the DLA of "relate to, communicate or interact with others effectively" ("social functioning'), the physician indicated the appellant independently makes appropriate social decisions, interacts appropriately with others, and is able to secure assistance from others. The physician reported the appellant requires periodic support/supervision with developing and maintaining relationships ("very difficult for her") and dealing appropriately with unexpected demands ("poor ability to deal w/unexpected situations"). The physician indicated that the appellant has marginal functioning in terms of her immediate and extended social networks. • In the SMO the physician agreed with the appellant's statement that she requires continuous assistance with social functioning. The physician disagreed with the appellant's statement that she requires continuous assistance with going to and from stores. With respect to the appellant's statements that she requires continuous assistance with budgeting and paying rent/bills, the physician commented "pt has been doing this herself for 9 yrs!" • In her oral testimony on appeal the appellant stated, through her friend, that she has very bad social anxiety and her friend has to go with her everywhere whenever she leaves her home. She stated that she cannot go out in public by herself and so she can't work. • In response to questions from the panel, the appellant responded (either herself or through her friend) that: ► She can independently help her children with homework, prepare their meals, prepare them for school, and do housework. ► She needs her friend to go with her whenever she leaves her home -for grocery shopping and all appointments. ► She has relied on her friend in this way for the past 5 years. Her friend spends at least 5 hours a day with her, every day. ► Her friend provides her transportation needs. ► The physician does not know the appellant well, and the physician provided her own answers in the application forms rather than what the appellant was telling her. ► The physician has tried the appellant on 5 or 6 different medications in the past year. ► The physician has referred the appellant to a psychiatrist, with the first appointment scheduled for next month. EAAT003(10/06/01)
Hel p e The ph ysi cian reported th at the ap pe llant doe impairment, and that she does not have an assistance • In the AR, in re sponse to the qu e stion as to appellant in the c o m munity, the physician wrote "w/ that help her. Would requir e more social suppor curr e n t ly receives, the physi c i an wrote "pt has few fri Admiss ibility of Additional Information In their o ral testimony the appellant an d her friend pro i m p airment. This in f or matio n generall y provi de s additi or ig in al PW D application. Accordingly, the pan el has ad support of infor m a tion an d records that were before the ministry at the time ac cordance with s. 22(4) of the Employm ent and Ass The min istry re lie d o n its reco n s i de r ati o n dec isi on an EMT 003(10/06/01) I APPEAL# s n ot requ i r e an y prostheses or aid s f or her animal. what help/supervisio n w ou ld h elp to maintain the f am ily in community, pt h a s few friends t s." Asked to d e scr ib e w hat help t h e appellant ends diffi cu l t to maintain relationships." vided additio n al i nform ation regar di ng her o nal detail with respect to matt ers raised in the mitted th is new i n formation as being in of r econsideration, in istan c e Act. d sub m itt e d no new in f or m ation.
PA RT F -Rea sons fo r Panel De c isi on The issue on thi s app eal is whe the r th e m i ni s tr y's deci PWD was reasonabl y su pporte d by the e vidence or wa enac tment in the circ u mstanc es o f the app e llant. I determi ning th at the a p pell ant doe s not have a seve op in io n o f a p r escri bed profe ssional the appellant's im restri c t her fr om performin g DLA eithe r con tinuousl app e l lant d o es not require hel p to pe rf orm DL A as a r The r elevant legislatio n i s as follows: EA P WDA: 2 ( 1) I n this secti on: "assi stiv e devi ce" m e a n s a dev i ce desi gne activ it y tha t, be ca use of a s evere mental o per form; "da ily li vi n g activi ty " has the pres "prescrib ed p r of essional " has th (2) The minister m ay des ignate a p er so n di sab iliti es f or th e pu rposes of thi s Act if me ntal or p hysi c al im p airm ent t h at ( a) in the opini on of a m edica years , and (b) i n th e opinion of a prescribe ( i) dir ectly and si gnificant living activi ties either (A) c o ntinuo usly, (B) periodically for exten (ii) as a result of those restricti those acti v it ie s . (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 pe r form i t, the person requ i (i) an assistive device, (ii) the significant help or supervision of another person, or (ill) the services of an assistance animal. EAA T003(10/06/01) I A PPE A L# s i on to den y the app ellant d es ignati on as a s a re asona ble appli cation o f the applic abl e n par ticul ar, was the m i ni s tr y r e a so n able in re ph y sical or mental i mpa i rment, and that in the p airm e nts do not d irectly an d sign ific antl y y o r p eri od ica lly for ex t en ded periods, an d t hat the es ult of t hos e re s trictio ns ? d to e n abl e a p e rson to perf or m a d a ily li v ing r ph y sical im pa i r m ent , the pe r son is u na ble t o c ribe d meaning; e prescrib ed mea n ing. who h as r e ache d 1 8 years of age as a perso n wi th the ministe r is s atisf ie d tha t the p erson has a severe l prac t iti oner is like l y t o c ontinue for at least 2 d prof e ss ional ly restricts the pers on's a b ili ty t o per for m daily or ded pe r iods, and ons, the person requires hel p to pe r for m t o a dai ly livi ng activity if, In order to r es
E A P W D R s e c t i o n 2 ( 1 ) : 2 ( 1 ) F o r t h e p u r p o s e s o f t h e A c t a n d t h i s r ( a ) i n r e l a t i o n t o a p e r s o n m e n t a l i m p a i r m e n t , m e a n ( i ) p r e p a r e o w n m ( i i ) m a n a g e p e r s o ( i i i ) s h o p f o r p e r s o ( i v ) u s e p u b l i c o r ( v ) p e r f o r m h o u s e a c c e p t a b l e s a n i t a r ( v i ) m o v e a b o u t i n ( v i i ) p e r f o r m p e r s o ( v i i i ) m a n a g e p e r s ( b ) i n r e l a t i o n t o a p e r s o n f o l l o w i n g a c t i v i t i e s : ( i ) m a k e d e c i s i o n s ( i i ) r e l a t e t o , c o m m ( 2 ) F o r t h e p u r p o s e s o f t h e A c t , " p r e s c r ( a ) a u t h o r i z e d u n d e r a n e ( i ) m e d i c a l p r a c t i t ( i i ) r e g i s t e r e d p s y ( i i i ) r e g i s t e r e d n u r ( i v ) o c c u p a t i o n a l t ( v ) p h y s i c a l t h e r a ( v i ) s o c i a l w o r k e r , ( v i i ) c h i r o p r a c t o r , ( v i i i ) n u r s e p r a c t i t ( b ) a c t i n g i n t h e c o u r s e o f b y ( i ) a n a u t h o r i t y , a I n d e p e n d e n t S c h o o ( I i ) a b o a r d o r a f r d e f i n e d i n s e c t i o n i f q u a l i f i c a t i o n s i n p s y c h o l o g y a r e a c o n d i t * 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 a p p e l l a n t a d v a n c e d n o a r g u m e n t w i t h r e s p e c t t o T h e m i n i s t r y ' s p o s i t i o n a s s e t o u t i n i t s r e c o n s i d e r a e x e r i e n c e l i m i t a t i o n s t o h e r h s i c a l f u n c t i o n i n , a n E AA T 0 0 3 ( 1 0 / 0 6 / 0 1 )I A P P E A L # e g u l a t i o n , " d a i l y l i v i n g a c t i v i t i e s " , w h o 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 o r a s e v e r e s t h e f o l l o w i n g a c t i v i t i e s : e a l s ; n a l f i n a n c e s ; n a l n e e d s ; p e r s o n a l t r a n s p o r t a t i o n f a c i l i t i e s ; w o r k t o m a i n t a i n t h e 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 y c o n d i t i o n ; d o o r s a n d o u t d o o r s ; n a l h y g i e n e a n d s e l f c a r e ; o n a l m e d i c a t i o n , a n d w h o h a s a s e v e r e m e n t a l i m p a i r m e n t , i n c l u d e s t h e 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 o r f i n a n c e s ; 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 f f e c t i v e l y . i b e d p r o f e s s i o n a l " m e a n s a p e r s o n w h o i s n a c t m e n t t o p r a c t i s e t h e p r o f e s s i o n o f i o n e r , c h o l o g i s t , s e o r r e g i s t e r e d p s y c h i a t r i c n u r s e , h e r a p i s t , p i s t , o r i o n e r , o r t h e p e r s o n ' s e m p l o y m e n t a s a s c h o o l p s y c h o l o g i s t s t h a t t e r m i s d e f i n e d I n s e c t i o n 1 ( 1 ) o f t h e l A c t , o r a n c o p h o n e e d u c a t i o n a u t h o r i t y , a s t h o s e t e r m s a r e 1 ( 1 ) o f t h e S c h o o l A c t , i o n o f s u c h e m p l o y m e n t . * * * * * * 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 i o n d e c i s i o n i s t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t d o e s n o t d t h a t t h e e v i d e n c e i n d i c a t e s t h a t n o d e r e e o f
p h y s i c a l i m p a i r m e n t e x i s t s . P a n e l D e c i s i o n S e c t i o n 2 o f t h e E A P W D A s p e c i f i e s t h a t a s e v e r e i m p r a c t i t i o n e r . I n t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s c a s e , h e r p h y s i c i a n i m p a i r m e n t . T h e p h y s i c i a n ' s e v i d e n c e w h i c h w a s e x t e n t t o w h i c h s h e m a y b e a b l e t o s i t w i t h o u t h a v i n n o l i m i t a t i o n s t o h e r p h y s i c a l f u n c t i o n a l s k i l l s . B a s e d o n t h e e v i d e n c e , t h e p a n e l ' s v i e w i s t h a t t h e d o e s n o t h a v e 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 . S e v e r e M e n t a l I m p a i r m e n t T h e a p p e l l a n t ' s p o s i t i o n i s t h a t h e r d e p r e s s i o n , a n x m e n t 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 r g u e s t h a t s h e a t p a i d e m p l o y m e n t . S h e a l s o s t a t e s t h a t h e r p h y s i u n d e r s t a n d t h e e x t e n t o f h e r i m p a i r m e n t . T h e m i n i s t r y ' s p o s i t i o n , a s s e t o u t i n i t s r e c o n s i d e r a e s t a b l i s h a s e v e r e m e n t a l i m p a i r m e n t . T h e m i n i s t r y e m o t i o n a l l i m i t a t i o n s i m p a c t h e r a b i l i t y t o f u n c t i o n o p r o v i d e d n o d e t a i l a s t o t h e t y p e s o f m e d i c a t i o n o r c P a n e l D e c i s i o n T h e p h y s i c i a n p r o v i d e d a d i a g n o s i s o f c h r o n i c d e p r e p h y s i c i a n i d e n t i f i e d a n u m b e r o f m a j o r a n d m i n o r i m c o g n i t i v e a n d e m o t i o n a l f u n c t i o n i n g , b u t t h e e v i d e n c t r a n s l a t e d i n t o s i g n i f i c a n 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 S e c t i o n 2 ( 1 ) ( b ) o f t h e E A P W D R p r e s c r i b e s t w o D L A 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 o r f i n a n c e s i n t e r a c t w i t h o t h e r s e f f e c t i v e l y ( s o c i a l f u n c t i o n i n g ) . T h e p h y s i c i a n ' s e v i d e n c e i n d i c a t e s t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n d e c i s i o n m a k i n g i n t h a t s h e i n d e p e n d e n t l y m a n a g e s ( m a k i n g a p p r o p r i a t e c h o i c e s ) , m a n a g e p e r s o n a l m e f u n c t i o n i n g ( a p p r o p r i a t e s o c i a l d e c i s i o n s ) a n d m e a l 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 r e q u i r e s c o n t i n m a n a g i n g p e r s o n a l f i n a n c e s , b u t i n t h e S M O t h e p h d o i n g t h i s h e r s e l f f o r t h e p a s t 9 y r s ! " T h e p h y s i c i a n h a s 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 o e s o f s o c i a l f u n c t i o n i n a , b u t h a s p r o v i d e d n o i n f o r m a t i o E M T 0 0 3 ( 1 0 / 0 6 / 0 1 )I A P P E A L # p a i r m e n t m u s t b e i d e n t i f i e d b y a m e d i c a l h a s p r o v i d e d n o d i a g n o s i s o f a p h y s i c a l n o t c o n t r a d i c t e d b y t h e a p p e l l a n t e x c e p t t o t h e g t o m o v e a n d s t r e t c h i s t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t h a s m i n i s t r y r e a s o n a b l y d e t e r m i n e d t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t i e t y , a n d l e a r n i n g d i s a b i l i t y c o n s t i t u t e a s e v e r e c a n n o t l e a v e h e r h o m e a l o n e , a n d s o c a n n o t w o r k c i a n d o e s n o t k n o w h e r w e l l e n o u g h t o f u l l y t i o n d e c i s i o n , i s t h a t t h e e v i d e n c e d o e s n o t a r g u e s t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s c o g n i t i v e a n d n l y " s o m e w h a t " , a n d t h a t t h e p h y s i c i a n h a s l i n i c a l t h e r a p y t h a t h a s b e e n t r i e d . s s i o n , a n x i e t y a n d l e a r n i n g d i s a b i l i t i e s . T h e p a c t s r e l a t e d t o t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s d e g r e e o f e d o e s n ' t s h o w t h a t t h o s e i m p a c t s h a v e t ' s a b i l i t y t o f u n c t i o n . t h a t a r e s p e c i f i c t o m e n t a l i m p a i r m e n t m a k e ( d e c i s i o n m a k i n g ) , a n d r e l a t e t o , c o m m u n i c a t e o r t i s 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 w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e d e c i s i o n m a k i n g a s p e c t s o f d a i l y s h o p p i n g d i c a t i o n ( f i l l i n g / r e f i l l i n g / t a k i n g a s d i r e c t e d ) , s o c i a l p r e p a r a t i o n ( m e a l p l a n n i n g ) . I n t h e A R t h e u o u s a s s i s t a n c e w i t h t h e b u d g e t i n g a s p e c t o f y s i c i a n w r o t e t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t " . . . h a s b e e n r e q u i r e p e r i o d i c s u p p o r t / s u p e r v i s i o n w i t h a s p e c t s n a b o u t t h e f r e q u e n c v o r d u r a t i o n o f t h e r e a u i r e d
s up port. Th e phys ician has also indicated t hat t h e r espect t o bo th her imm ediate and exte nded s ocial needs. The panel note s tha t the app ellant has on l y recently been scheduled appointment has no t y et oc cur red. It may provi d e ev ide nc e to sup por t t h e a ppellant's appli c ati th at it has currently . C onsidering the e vid e n c e as a whole , t h e panel concludes that t ha t it does not demon strate a s eve re m enta l impa irment. S ignificant Restr ict ions t o DLA The le gislatio n -s. 2( 2)( b ) (i) of t he EAPWDA -r equire and signi ficant restric t i on s of DLA in consid erat io n case the a ppel lant' s gene r a l practitione r . This d oesn't m factored i n a s r equire d to provide c lar ific at i on of th e lan g uage mak es i t c lear that t he prescr i bed p r ofessional's de t e rm i n ation a s to whether it is "sa tisf ied". The le gislatio n req u ir es that a se vere impairmen t directl ability to pe r fo r m D L A eithe r c ontinuousl y o r period m ean s th at there must be a cau sal link betw ee n the res tri cti on mus t also be significant. Fi nall y , t here i s direct a nd signifi c a nt restriction may be either cont inuous exte n ded ti me. In her ent l y, an y a nalysi s o f per iodici f req uency. All othe r things be i ng e qua l, a re s tri ct i on si gnif ica nt than one whic h occ urs s e v er al tim e s a week. e v i dence indi c a t e s that a rest riction arises pe r iod i cal requ ire e vid e n c e of th e duration and f req u e ncy o f the r legislative criterion is met. T here are references in the e vi dence to th e impact ability to work at paid employment. The panel notes that employability is not a statutory cr regarding PWD designation -the focus of the legislation is on the ability to perform DLA. The physician's eviden ce indicates that t he appellant indep DLA. In the two areas where the physician has indicated the appellant requires perio going to and from stores and aspects of social functioning-the physician has provided no information on the frequ enc y or du ration of the re quired assistance. confl icting evidence with respect to the appellant's ability to manage the task of budge in t h e A R tha t she r e quires con tinuous assistance and then commen doing this herself for the past 9 yrs!" The physician's evidence is, however, substantially consistent in the PR, the AR, and the SMO. EAAT 003(10/06/01) �APP EAL # a pp ellant is f unctioning -albei t ma rginally -wi t h networks to an e xtent su ffici ent to fu l fill h er basic re fer re d to a psychiat rist a n d h e r f i r st be t hat th e psyc hia tr ist 's assessm ent wil l on, but the p ane l can o nly rely o n t h e evidence th e mini st ry reas o nably d etermined s the m i n i s ter t o substa ntia lly assess dir ect of the opinion o f a p r e scr i b ed professional , in this e an th at other e v i dence sho u ldn 't be profe ssional e v iden c e , but the l eg i s l at i v e opinion i s funda m e ntal to t he m in is try' s y and signifi cantly rest ricts the app ell ant's ically f o r ext e n de d period s. The t e rm "di re ct ly" se vere im p airment a n d the restrict io n. T he direct a compon ent related t o t ime o r du r ation. The o r pe r i odic. If i t is pe ri o di c it must b e for an ty m ust a lso include conside ra tion of the t hat only ari se s once a ye ar is less l ikely to be Ac cordingly , in c irc umst an c es w h er e the ly, it is entirely ap pro pri ate for the minis try to e stri cti o n in o r der t o be " s a ti sf i e d" that this the appellant 's medical conditions hav e on h er it erion endently manages a lm o s t all a s pects of all dic assistance The physic i an has prov ided ti ng, indicating ting in the SMO that " she's been
T h e p a n e l n o t e s t h a t w h i l e i t i s t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s e v i d e w i t h o u t t h e s u p p o r t o f h e r f r i e n d , t h i s d e g r e e o f d e p e v i d e n c e . T h e a p p e l l a n t ( t h r o u g h h e r f r i e n d ) s t a t e d r a t h e r t h a n a c c e p t i n g w h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t w a s t e l l i n g 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 , w h e r e t h e p h y t h e p a n e l h a s g i v e n t h e p h y s i c i a n ' s e v i d e n c e g r e a t e C o n s i d e r i n g t h e e v i d e n c e a s a w h o l e - i n c l u d i n g t h p s y c h i a t r i s t a n d w h i l e a c k n o w l e d g i n g a d e g r e e o f r e a s o n a b l y d e t e r m i n e d t h a t t h e e v i d e n c e i s i n s u f f i c i 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 h e r D L A i s s i g n i f i c a f o r e x t e n d e d p e r i o d s . H e l p w i t h D L A T h e a p p e l l a n t ' s p o s i t i o n i s t h a t s h e r e q u i r e s h e l p f r o l e a v e h e r h o m e . T h e m i n i s t r y ' s p o s i t i o n i s t h a t s i n c e i t h a s n o t b e e n 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 t b e d e t e r m i n e d t h a t P a n e l D e c i s i o n F i n d i n g s t h a t a s e v e r e 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 D L A e i t h e r c o n t i n u o u s l y o r p e r i o d i c a l l y f o r a n e x t e n d " h e l p " a s d e f i n e d b y s e c t i o n 2 ( 3 ) ( b ) o f t h e E A P W D A p r e c o n d i t i o n h a s n o t b e e n s a t i s f i e d o n t h e b a l a n c e o A c c o r d i n g l y , t h e 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 t h e a p p e l l a n t r e q u i r e s h e l p w i t h D L A a s d e f i n e d b y s C o n c l u s i o n T h e p a n e l a c k n o w l e d g e s t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s m e d i c a H o w e v e r , 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 f i n d s t h a t t h e m i n i s t r y ' s d e c i s i o n f i n d i n g t h e a p p e l l a n a p p l i c a t i o n o f t h e l e g i s l a t i o n i n t h e c i r c u m s t a n c e s o f m i n i s t r y ' s d e c i s i o n . E M T 0 0 3 ( 1 0 / 0 6 / 0 1 )I A P P E A L # n c e t h a t s h e c a n n o t l e a v e h e r h o m e f o r a n y D L A e n d e n c e i s n o t r e f l e c t e d i n t h e p r o f e s s i o n a l t h a t t h e p h y s i c i a n p r o v i d e d h e r o w n o p i n i o n h e r . S i n c e t h e l e g i s l a t i v e c r i t e r i o n r e q u i r e s t h e s i c i a n ' s e v i d e n c e d i f f e r s f r o m t h a t o f t h e a p p e l l a n t r w e i g h t . e e v i d e n c e t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t h a s n o t y e t s e e n a r e s t r i c t i o n , t h e p a n e l c o n c l u d e s t h a t t h e m i n i s t r y e n t t o s h o w o n t h e b a l a n c e o f p r o b a b i l i t i e s t h a t n t l y r e s t r i c t e d e i t h e r c o n t i n u o u s l y o r p e r i o d i c a l l y m h e r f r i e n d t o p e rf o r m a l l D L A t h a t r e q u i r e h e r t o e s t a b l i s h e d t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s D L A a r e 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 f r o m o t h e r p e r s o n s . f i c a n t l y r e s t r i c t s a p e r s o n ' s a b i l i t y t o m a n a g e h e r e d p e r i o d i s a p r e c o n d i t i o n t o a p e r s o n r e q u i r i n g . F o r t h e r e a s o n s p r o v i d e d a b o v e , t h a t f p r o b a b i l i t i e s i n t h i s c a s e . a b l y c o n c l u d e d i t c o u l d n o t b e d e t e r m i n e d t h a t e c t i o n 2 ( 3 ) ( b ) o f t h e E A P W D A . l c o n d i t i o n s a f f e c t h e r a b i l i t y t o f u n c t i o n . e v i d e n c e 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 t i n e l i g i b l e f o r P W D d e s i g n a t i o n i s a r e a s o n a b l e t h e a p p e l l a n t . T h e p a n e l t h e r e f o r e c o n f i r m s t h e
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.