PIP - interview for appointeeship

[loriesa]

My son is 16 in November and we got a letter saying he will need to apply for PIP instead of DLA.

I've never told him about receiving DLA because if he knew I was receiving money because of his conditions (Aspergers/Autism) he would think he's entitled to it personally. I did broach the subject hypothetically and it was clear how he felt. I can't work because I can't safely leave him home alone and have no family support, so the DLA really helps us. I understand PIP is normally paid to the applicant unless an appointee is arranged. I applied to be this and someone is coming out to interview both of us at home. My son wouldn't be able to describe his conditions in enough detail and doesn't realise his behaviour sometimes. I'm going to have to explain PIP to him.

Does anyone have an experience with such an interview? I don't want to say the wrong thing. Any suggestions?

My son has ASD . They came out... were in the house 10 minutes max..asked me a couple of questions ('can he manage his own money?' (no!) ) My son was around but not remotely interested, and I did say to the DWP man that if my son became able to handle his own affairs in a year or so then we could revisit it.

I was made appointee no hassle and no one has revisited anything. My son knows I get PIP for him and that it pays for his therapist (he also has OCD and she keeps him functioning) and the clothing and other items he eats ( he has pica ) and contributes to keeping him. He's 22 next month and I cannot honestly see he will ever be remotely independent as he needs a lot of support.

Don't panic..it's usually straightforward!

Exactly the same, was here 10 mins, think they asked DS a couple of questions then that was it.

Good grief. Mine is 16 in December and his current DLA award lasts until he is 16.5. Just got my 13 yo's renewed until the day before his 17th birthday.

But obviously I'll be facing this with both of them, before long.

I think the appointeeship thing is straightforward, but you will need to investigate power of attorney for medical matters and so on.

My ds is 16 in January, his award runs until the day before his 17th birthday. He is on the highest rate of care & lowest mobility, I'm dreading changing to PIP, I had enough problems getting mine.

My sons DLA award was until the day before he's 17 but I don't know if this still stands as I'm being told about the PIP stuff.

I know a lot of people have trouble with moving to PIP but I found it very straightforward.
Bearing in mine DS2 has had SN from birth (Global delay) and then ASD a few years later, we didn't have much in the way of diagnosis letters or anything. He had attended special school which i guess helped but I simply wrote reams... addressed every point with examplesof how he needed support and why. (For example I would expect a 17 yr old to be able to plan and make a journey independently to get to another town, manage a bus or train, cook a basic meal like egg on toast etc.. he can't do these things because he needs step by step instructions ..ie someone with him!)

I was very specific.. no exaggeration. My ds1 has a job in a supermarket now, 600m from our home.. he was supported into work and is successful (mostly) because his employers supprt his special needs and have made many adjustments for him... I put all this down, and he was awarded with no trouble. It's not always difficult, but you do need to be very clear about his difficulties, rather than his diagnosis.

The appointee interview for DS2 was fine. I asked him what he’d do if he had a bit of money and he said, “buy lots of sweets!” The assessor was very sympathetic.

His PIP interview was a bit surreal. They seemed to think that counting backwards in 7s from 100 meant he could handle money! They have a very rigid set of questions to go through. DS could read quite a complex sentence, so his reading/comprehension was apparently fine. I just asked him in front of the assessor what the sentence he’d just read meant. He had no idea.

Read up on all of the material about the assessment and while you have to let your DC answer the questions, don’t be afraid to qualify their responses by checking their understanding.

Like DS said he could cook! I asked him if he had ever used the microwave or cooker at home on his own. No. So he can cook (!) but only with supervision.

Same with using public transport. Yes, he does get the bus to college. But only after we’d practised a few times first. And he couldn’t cope with getting a different bus without practice. And doesn’t cope well if the bus is late, or full etc. So familiar journeys only.

Just be willing to be his advocate. The assessor was a physiotherapist FGS, knew nothing about autism. DS2 did get standard rate care and lower mobility for the max 10 years in the end, but only because I could qualify and expand on each of DS2’s answers.

Good luck.

DLA with continue until the PIP decision is made, BTW.

*will continue

Is it definitely asking you to make a claim for PIP or is it the annual letter giving the new rates that includes a paragraph about claiming PIP? If they require you to make a claim there will be a telephone number for you to ring for an application pack & a date by which you have got to have made a claim. When you have got the claim pack, it really helps if you have a welfare support worker to help you complete the forms, your local Autism groups will normally have someone who can help you, they know what the assessors are looking for, how best to word the answers & what evidence to send.

There are good online guides for completing PIP forms, lots of good advice on MN too, search for PIP.

If you are asked directly if he can do any of the tasks listed in the descriptors and you know he can't do the task fully without support, do not answer with 'Yes, but' because that may well just be confirmed as applicant can do this task. Always answer with 'No, because...' then qualify.

Definitely ask for a copy of the assessor's face to face report so you can see what they've said and you can challenge it if necessary.

It really does depend on who your assessor is and their knowledge of autism. Some people sail through the transfer from DLA to PIP, others eventually end up at Tribunal.

Just broached the subject with my son, he lit up at the thought of free money for him! I'm trying to talk him around to allowing me to be his appointee but he's digging his heals in.

You need to be explicit in telling the interviewer how he would spend the money if he had it. And why you should be in control of it.

The interview itself is no big deal. And every dla claim goes over to pip at 16 no matter how long dla was awarded for. It will continue as will carers until a decuon is made up to 3 months after.

Just broached the subject with my son, he lit up at the thought of free money for him! I'm trying to talk him around to allowing me to be his appointee but he's digging his heels in

There's an old thread here www.mumsnet.com/Talk/special_needs/2096106-DLA-PIP-Appointee-advice-please?pg=1

I hope this gives you some hope from one of the posts there about the appointeeship interview by streakybacon.
"Very straightforward. Asked for ID from both of us and asked ds if he felt able to manage his own financial affairs. He gave some daft answers which illustrated perfectly that he couldn't "

Google turned this up about appointeeship, it's obviously for people who don't have a family member as appointee to deal with their affairs. It's a long shot, but perhaps showing your son that there are organisations who act as appointees and how much they charge for it may persuade him that you're a better option. www.moneycarer.org.uk/services/appointeeship

Good Luck

I found a chat with Scope very helpful. Even though our son does not have cerebral palsy they were happy to advise me. (Who enjoys talking about your child in front of them in this way btw). Scope told me that many parents found it helpful to write a note to give to the interviewer first, explaining for example your son's response when you broached the subject with him recently and adding any relevant information on his handling of money.
The Scope advisor also said that sometimes our young people can sound more capable than they are or give positive sounding answers out of a desire to say the right thing for the interviewer and Scope advised me that if that's possibly the case with your son you can explain this in the note that you hand the interviewer at the start of the interview. An experienced interviewer will ask the young person what she/he would spend the money on but if you know that your son might give a plausible answer to that question you could explain this in a note. I'm sure Scope would be happy to talk things through with you and you should definitely talk to autism groups too. All the best.

I had the same issue - I knew he wouldn't manage someone coming out because he hates talking about his needs and also no way would he offer up the chance of free money for crap.

So I didn't apply, they paid him the money for a couple of months and he spent it all. We now struggle more to pay for the stuff we were funding.

I definitely am not comfortable talking about him negatively infront of him. His confidence is low as it is. I cant understand why we are put in a position where we have to do this. It's hard enough writing it all down, I felt so guilty when filling out the DLA forms, he'd be heartbroken if he knew the things I had said.

Are they coming out regarding becoming an appointee - these visits are done by visiting officers from DWP who are just assessing if your son could manage his own affairs and whether you are a competent person to act for him. As you've been doing it for so long, shouldn't be an issue with that and as said upthread, just a few questions from you about what he would do with etc might be a very good idea. It's nothing to do with actual entitlement to benefit.
Everyone on DLA has to move over to PIP once they turn 16. For the last couple of years or so DLA has been paid to 17 to ensure that no one falls off benefit nothing to do with PIP claims taking so long to process at all Best of luck

Yes this is the appointee visit. I'm trying not to put words in his mouth. He did say to me that he doesn't want to have to fill forms in until he's older. I don't know what the right answers are. What is he supposed to spend the money on?

Sorry for delay in replying - in theory, he spends the money on whatever it's spent on now I guess? So whatever it's used for to support him, could ask him how he'd feel if he didn't have it?
What I was trying to say was, the people who will be coming out aren't there to do a medical assessment, or question his current entitlement to benefit. They are just there to see how he would be handling his own finances. His entitlement to DLA will run until his 16th birthday anyway, with you as the claimant. Whether he decides he does or doesn't want to continue, you have a few months at least to try and sort it out.