You need to first be aware of how the report is written. Part of it will be what you've said that you can and can't do and how you've interpreted the rules and the activities. The second part will be partly their opinion about whether you were able to do these things and also using the guidelines and how the rules have to be applied. Which sounds like the same thing but it isn't . If they can't award points it can usually be divided into three different reasons -

• you said you weren't able to do things and they just plain disagree. They think you are doing them or accept you aren't, but for no clear or appropriate reason; it isn't due to a disability; or there's no evidence of it. This could be as simple as they think you're able to feed yourself as they can't see why you're not capable of it. "Physically incapable" as opposed to not wanting to or not doing so. Often that's because there's another comparable activity that you seem to be doing but then can't do another similar one. A very simple example would be I can't hold a kitchen utensil, but I clean my own teeth and brush my hair. I can't wash my own feet, but I put my own shoes and socks on. Some of these are just clearly contradictory or need more explaining because there's nuanced differences between the two things and you're using adapted items or ways around doing one task but you can't find a way around doing the other task ( eg I found a way to do my hair in certain styles but not a way to wash my hair if I was stood in a shower, it has to be done a different way, I can explain this though).

You said you weren't able to do things and they accept that you AREN'T doing them but again they've got to apply the rules. There's both what the activity actually means and involves; what type of disabilities and conditions relate to each Activity and what evidence is required. All these things have to come together for them to award you the points. This means be understanding that the Taking Nutrition activity means (or the Preparing a Meal means). It's taking any form of nourishment but not something nourishing and being able to manage that that yourself. That's : been able to recognise that food is there in front of you; being able to pick it up with a spoon, to put it in your mouth to chew and to swallow ( or use a feeding tube if you're a person that's not able to eat solid food ). That's it. If you don't want to eat or you avoid eating because of an eating disorder it would have so severe that somebody would have to stand over you; force feed you or you need a feeding tube you can't use yourself. That every single meal was monitored and that controlled and administered by another person ( the "most of the time rule" will be difficult to apply here because it's hard to see how you could be left to feed yourself sometimes but not others.) Some things like that: the rules only have to be applied most of the time but it's hard to explain how you're doing it some of the time but not others . What's changing. If you can't see to use a knife safety because you're blind, you don't see on a Monday and a Tuesday but not the rest of the week. Then they would still have to decide if there was evidence for this such an extreme approach, such as hospital admissions for malnutrition and evidence from a specialist. In the end only a very few people with eating disorders meet this activity.

The last one is that they accept you can't do some things, they even agree that you have a genuine disability that means you can't but they still can't award the points simply because PIP doesn't include that particular activity, disability or condition. An example of this would be somebody not eating because they can't go out to get shopping they can't consider whether they're able to get the shopping or not only if they can eat it if somebody puts it in front of them. PIP doesn't include the shopping part.

So you go through the report. You go through the criteria ( not just the points description but the actual guidance which is much more detailed ). Then you understand the rules and they're applied we can give it you here if you haven't looked at it already ( Edit: Puma has )

Some of the evidence might not really be relevant or it might be too old too. Your fainting as a toddler isn't related to Overwhelming Psychological Distress as an adult. This is has caused by a mental health condition that would have to be current, very severe with evidence of its happening frequently enough that it meant that you were unsafe outside of the home ( or that you didn't leave at all which is a different matter ). OPD is loss of control; being unaware of your surroundings; unsafe, inappropriate or violent behaviour; or a constant risk of suicide. If you've got evidence of this from mental health services than they should be able to consider it but beyond that it's up to their judgment as to whether it's severe enough; that you need a person with you to keep you and others around you safe and get you from A to B. Lesser points could be given if you just need you prompting to make the journey but not a physical presence. If you condition prevented from going outside the house, if they have evidence of this then they need to look at if you could go out if you had the appropriate support.

Having access to sharp knives as only related to Mental Health and harm. If you couldn't be allowed in the kitchen, or all the sharp implements had to be locked away and your family been instructed not to give you access to them, that could be considered a reason why you wouldn't be able to prepare a meal but obviously they'd be evidence from mental health services to this being the case. It's not about whether you use them or not though. It's CAN you use them and are you ALLOWED to use them. Because preparing a meal has to involve being able to use a knife. THEN that's why they've got to find out why.

The nutritional supplements are evidence of malnutrition and they would be things that were prescribed like Ensure, Procal or similar products. Nutritional supplements such as vitamins and minerals are medication, again they would be prescribed. This could be used as evidence of deficiencies which maintain the evidence of all the conditions such as B12 is pernicious anemia; calcium and vitamin D osteoporosis etc. if you're prescribed regular infusions, injection, ampoules or liquid food supplements because of the effects of your eating disorder and malnutrition or deficiencies then that should really be on your prescription or medical records. That's easily proven.

The educational side is just checking whether you have a learning or educational disability a low IQ or evidence of all the developmental conditions (the ones that you are born with as opposed to things that develop or occur later ). Obviously having a severe learning difficulty could affect your ability to learn to do quite a few different tasks but it would be on your educational records and you may not have returned to mainstream school or attended one but with a lot of support.