PIP for teen with eating disorder & anxiety

[BagpussSaggyOldClothCat]

Hi, dd17 is ill with an eating disorder, dysmorphia and anxiety with some SH st times. It's been going on for around 14 months now. She's dependent on me day to day for prompting to eat, cleaning her room, doing her washing. She struggles to anywhere alone, can't use public transport, can't attend sixth form so studies online and can't even talk to her tutors so I do it all for her, can't be left alone at home for more than an hour as she panics. I often wonder if she'd leave the house if it was on fire without me physically pushing her out. She often feels worthless and needs constant reassurance that her life is worth living. Her friends seem to be disappearing. Our lives are incredibly difficult.

She certainly seems to qualify for PIP but due to her ED there's no way she could go through the face to face assessment as she gets massively triggered by any talk of her meals, eating rules or weight. Even our camhs appointments can affect her and they are professionals in ED. I can't put her through anything that would be detrimental to her health.

Does anyone have experience of this and how she can claim PIP without needing to speak to anyone about her eating difficulties? I also think I could also claim carers allowance as I can't work at all and I'm also suffering some MH difficulties as caring for someone like dd is hard and draining.

I'd really appreciate any help, advice and personal experiences. Thanks

Sounds a bit like my DC who is a bit older than that. They get PIP. I don’t know how you would get it without her having an assessment though. All the same things. Problems with eating thought it’s due to OCD and will only eat certain foods, can’t cook, wash, go on transport, bad anxiety, has problems talking to people and social events so doesn’t go anywhere etc. we filled in the forms and they came and did an assessment. My DC had to increase her medication and we had to be with her and she struggled but she got it. Just did a Renewal and am hoping they won’t want to do another assessment. We didn’t get it at home because of the problems with travelling . Last time there was a renewal they did a phone assessment. She will still have to talk to them about it though

That should have said we DID gets the assessment at home

Thanks. It's the assessment that worries me as dd is highly sensitive to any talk about food or weight. She would need her assessment done by someone who understands ED. She's also quite devastated by how her life is going at the moment and talking about it would be really upsetting. Even talking to me brings out her feelings of worthlessness and wanting it all to end. We need help but I also need to protect her.

I got PIP for my adult child. They have high function autism and anxiety. They didn't have an interview. I am their appointee so I spoke to someone for a few mins on their behalf.
On the form there is a space to put any requirements if a meeting is required (its not always required) and you could explain there.
I'd definitely recommend applying. My adult child doesn't go out alone and needs someone for support. They got given pip with no appeals

I know what you mean. I don’t know if they would send somebody that knows about ED though. Somebody else might reply and help on that. The assessor we had was not trained in mental health. They were a physiotherapist

It is worth applying, some of the things you mention in the OP aren’t relevant so it’s worth looking at the criteria so you know exactly what you need to focus on.

If necessary you can become DD’s appointee so you can manage the claim on DD’s behalf and speak for her. You could ask for a paper based assessment which if you have enough evidence they would hopefully agree to.

It's catch 22.
You can get someone very clued up. I did for ds3. She was an autism expert. I also got an awful woman who was not exactly empathetic about my cancer.
You can also become an appointee but due to her age they may still want to talk to her. They did in limited capacity to my son.
It's luck of the draw.

Thank you everyone. I can only start the process and see what happens. She washes and dresses fine. Where she scores highly is not being able to feed herself properly, she just wouldn't eat without supervision or would choose apples and grapes for every meal. She can't communicate with strangers alone - I attend appointments and advocate for her. She'd never answer the door to the postman for example. She certainly can't leave the house alone or catch a bus. She won't go in a friends car, I have to take her everywhere. It's only after reading through the different categories that I can see how poorly she is.

Thats how 2 of my children are. Both have selective mutism and would not cope alone outside the house.
It makes them vulnerable.
Your daughter certainly deserves and should get PIP.
Good luck

Definitely apply. The fact that she can't deal with the assessment can be backed up with other examples and evidence from medical professionals who know her case.
I recently appealed and won to score higher on the section about social interactions (needs to be specifically me in certain situations not any third party).
Different conditions from your dd but happy to speak by dm to give examples of wordings used

I am my autistic sons appointee, he had his first assessment at home when he was 16, he didn't say a word, had his head with a hood up on the kitchen table, either grunted, did a thumbs up/down or pointed at me in answer to every question. He got awarded enhanced care and notability as he too would not eat without prompting and cannot leave the leave the house with a carer, he has just been reassessed and had went straight through with no further assessment.

Good luck.

My Dc gets pip and we had no assessment at all. I told the DWP they couldn't cope with it, but we did have lots of evidence about needs and reports which state they've just been observed at school rather than directly assessed due to their difficulties engaging with strangers.