ADHD influencer explains why she wants advantages for taxis and takeaways

Alina is a mental health influencer with over 100,000 followers on TikTok who explained why certain disability benefits are so important to people diagnosed with autism and ADHD

An autistic mental health advocate with ADHD has explained why she needs benefits to pay for taxis and takeaways. Alina, or AuDHDbaddiewithafatty as she goes by online, took to TikTok in an anxious state to explain to her 114,000 followers why she is “freaked out” about the proposed overhaul of the welfare system.

Last week, the Government announced plans to cut £5billion from the UK’s annual welfare bill by 2030. A key component of the proposed savings is making it harder to claim Personal Independence Payment (PIP), which will be confirmed on Wednesday during the Spring Statement.

There are 3.6million Brits claiming PIP, which is available to the unemployed and employed, and has two streams – daily living and mobility. The daily living element – worth £72.65 or £108.55 per week – is for people who struggle with daily tasks and is set to become harder to claim while mobility will remain the same.

The announcement shocked many claimants living with “invisibly disabilities”, such as ADHD and autism, and other conditions like depression. Alina explained: “I’m obviously really freaked out about this and I am doing what I usually do when I am faced with like an extremely difficult or crisis kind of situation which is pretend that it is not happening.

“If the PIP and disability cuts do go ahead, a bunch of disabled people are going to be in crisis. I don’t think that non-disabled people which I’m guessing are the people that are making these decisions… really understand how much more expensive it is to live with a disability.”

Alina listed the hardships she goes through because of her disabilities: “Because of my autism and ADHD, I struggle to do basic daily tasks. I struggle to feed myself, I struggle to get dressed.

“I struggle to make myself good and healthy meals. I struggle with chores greatly. I struggle washing dishes and laundry. I struggle with showers because of sensory issues, personal hygiene, self care, it gest really disgusting.”

She listed her extra costs: “I have higher costs with things like food. For example, I get paper plates and paper cups and single use cutlery and single use foil trays that I can just put in the oven and then throw it away.

“That’s what I need to do to accommodate my disability otherwise I cannot do life. I also buy readymade food more than a regular person which is a lot more expensive because of my issues with executive dysfunction.

“Also, I order food a lot more… because of the exhaustion that can come along with being AuDHD (autistic with ADHD), executive dysfunction and sensory issues.

“I tend to take Ubers and taxis more than the regular person because if I’m going somewhere right and I use public transport… With public transport there can be a lot of issues.

“Being autistic I have a smaller tolerance for little issues. I do have to taxi and Ubers more often so that I save myself from a meltdown sometimes.”

Are you anxious about losing your benefits? Email: dan.grennan@reachplc.com

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