How to answer PIP descriptors for a 16-year-old moving from DLA

[TheOpalFox]

I have a disability and my son has adhd. He’s 16 and moving from dla to pip. I have heard it’s hard for people to get pip from Dla. ? How would u answer the descriptors plz. ? Thanks

Just because someone with ADHD alone is eligible for PIP doesn’t mean they haven’t been honest and it doesn’t mean they haven’t provided robust evidence.

OP obviously has robust evidence of need. Otherwise her appeal to SENDIST for an independent specialist placement wouldn’t have been upheld.

Sorry I have it as do my children with the full spectrum of extremes and I don’t see how medicated ADHD with no other disabilities or treatments easily qualifies for PIP. My other children have a range of diagnoses including severe ADHD, one receiving high level services that doesn’t hit the points needed for PIP . It doesn’t add up, the descriptors don’t lend themselves to solely medicated ADHD and no additional services. It’s a bonkers system if somebody who is blind by contrast needs face to face assessment.

Firstly, no-one but you has used the word ‘easily’. PIP applications aren’t easy for anyone. They are stressful.

Secondly, just because you don’t understand how others with only ADHD can be eligible doesn’t mean they can’t be. They absolutely can be. I have given one example, but there are other ways.

Thirdly, the pp doesn’t mention when her DS2 transitioned to PIP. If it was prior to Covid, far more were F2F, which may explain that. Relatively few people had other types of assessments then. Also, a F2F doesn’t necessarily mean the disability and the functional impairments are in doubt, so even if it is since Covid, it doesn’t mean the level of impairment is believed to be low. Which you can see by her DS being awarded enhanced of both components with either fixed 10 year award or a light touch review (it could be either from how she has worded her post).

Hi OP,

Start with keeping a diary for 7 days for the support you give your DD, you can then use this as the basis for your answers.

Contact the citizens advice as they will be able to help you complete the form.

Well you didn’t show, you just listed numbers without details of which are meaningless.

@TheOpalFoxI work for DWP (not PIP) but I deal with claims who receive PIP. If I am totally honest, the system is awful. It really depends on the decision maker that you get and how fair they are! My mum was declined PIP, yet I see people everyday receiving PIP that have the same disability. Same as my nephew when he turned 19, he has Asperger’s, was decline PIP, yet I see people get PIP with the same thing. Do it as his worst day when you have that appointment. The system is so unfair, a job I definitely do not agree with and angers me every single day! Even with myself and my anxiety and panic disorder, when I have had health assessments at work, I have had one person basically say “deal with it” and another person be a lot more understanding who was able to grant me what I needed. If your child is declined PIP, you can appeal it, worst case tribunal.

Anyone who understands PIP will know what the numbers and letters mean. They aren’t meaningless. You seem to be so adamant you understand PIP and seem to be so certain in exclaiming who is eligible and who isn’t I presumed you understood. If you don’t, then the tables are available via google if you wish to understand.

I do understand pip but you haven’t shown need qualifying for the points in those descriptors or the evidence provided. Anybody can post random numbers.

It’s straightforward but the thresholds are not the same. Answer questions honestly and consider his ability in each area, and you have to say if he could do something not whether he does eg could he prepare food for himself that is appropriate for a 16 year old to do - not prepare a 3 course dinner from scratch, so things like can he be trusted to remember to turn off burners for instance. For hygiene, it’s a case of does he need help (unlikely) does he need prompting because otherwise he wouldn’t do it? And so on. Most adults with ADHD do not meet the threshold because they do not have a condition (s) that incur extra costs which is what pip is designed to cover. Be truthful, but adhd is a very wide diagnostic term so you need to specify how it affects your son (as opposed to my dd who needs no help, has a really good job etc. adhd isn’t always disabling.

My son is 16 and moved from DLA to PIP last month. I used AI to help me write the answers by inputting the question and then listing how each criteria applied (or not) to him. I found this helpful because AI knows the criteria and writes it in a way that is useful to the assessors. I also provided a copy of his EHCP, medical records and reports, OH reports, copies of his diagnoses etc.
I then had two phone calls ( one was about two hours, one about an hour), which were really thorough. I am his DWP appointed advocate, although they spoke to him briefly - which actually helped because then the assessor understood his difficulties directly.
The window you get for completing the form is only about two weeks, I think I probably spent two or three days on the form (it’s a long form!)
Anyone who thinks it’s easy has either never actually been through the process and/or has absolutely no idea what it is like to live with a disability/parent a child with a disability.

That wasn’t what your post said. You said “I’d love to know how you can reach the points needed for PIP when medication alleviates many of the symptoms of ADHD for the vast majority of the day!” I have shown how someone can score enough points.

Besides, I can hardly post photos of confidential information online. But the evidence used was the YP’s EHCP, including some evidence listed in K, the diagnostic ADHD report, an email from the college, and an email and a risk assessment from the LA’s transport team.

Most adults with ADHD do not meet the threshold because they do not have a condition (s) that incur extra costs

PIP eligibility isn’t based on what, if any, extra costs someone has. Although some with ADHD do face extra costs.

This is not fraud at all. It doesn’t alter your example or invent one for you. You put it in in your words and It just shows how it fits in with descriptors. It doesn’t make anything up. You still have an assessment and need to provide evidence. Most people struggle with wording things properly. This just helps.

Agree Hollieberri
Its no different to using a spellchecker.
Why are people so weird about AI?

No you don’t. You be honest about what affects the person and if it isn’t all the time you give percentages, eg I cannot do this 75% of the time in a week / month / year. Stop encouraging people to commit fraud.

You answer everything truthfully. Don't underplay any difficulties nor exaggerate. Put details about the reasons why he struggles to do things. Not just the names of his illness.

Like for example don't just say 'because of his ADHD he can't do it'. You could say 'his ADHD makes him feel (whichever) way, he does this or that if he tries, He needs (this) level of support for (this/these tasks) from this person or piece of equipment'

I hope he gets the award he needs. X

@Her53ff43there is a slight problem with that - the DWP criteria refer to being able to complete tasks safely, repeatedly within a normal’ timeframe etc. If the DWP framework is used does this mean AI written, following advice of citizens advice etc, completed by a carer? If a person requires support with every day tasks why is it suspect that they require support with filling in a complex form? Without support the person is likely to miss out information that is not specifically asked for and so provide decision makers with an incomplete and inaccurate picture of real needs. I fill in the forms for my DC and make sure to ‘fit’ my response to the generic and scripted terms used by the DWP. I am not lying or exaggerating, I am just presenting information in the required format.

You really aren't able to see that your opinion doesn't constitute fact? Many of the young people in my DDs' special school will have 'just' ADHD. It's 'just' ADHD that has resulted in them being excluded from or not coping in other educational settings. Like all conditions, ADHD symptoms range from significant to highly debilitating.

If someone has mild arthritis in their ankle but can still walk 10 miles per day and complete all ADLs as long as they take some ibuprofen, they won't qualify for PIP. That doesn't mean that someone who has arthritis in many joints and is highly impacted by it won't qualify for PIP, and saying it's 'arthritis' gives no meaningful information about whether the individual would qualify or not.