Claiming PIP for 16 yr olds who get DLA.

[DeloresJaneUmbridge]

I’ll put this in SN as well but just wanted to post something positive which might reassure other parents of teens approaching 16 who get DLA currently.

My son was 16 in December and I was told at that point to claim PIP for him.

Someone from the DWP came out to see us and signed me up as DS’s appointee as he isn’t able to manage money yet.

I put the claim in at the end of February with all the evidence etc.

Heard yesterday that he’s been awarded enhanced rate care and mobility until 2024.,

Am still in a state of shock as I was expecting him to be called for a Face to Face assessment but they seem to have decided that isn’t needed. To be fair they did have copies of all his speech therapy assessments and occupational therapy input plus some stuff from his school .

So it was quick
It was relatively painless apart from the form which as we all know is hellish.

Thank you for sharing this. We are about to do the same for my DS who is going to turn 16 in August. Hoping we have a similar experience.

thanks for that. we have yet to face PIP for dd who is now an adult. I am hoping it will be ok.

We have just had similar for ds2 (HFA and anxiety issues) and did not have a face to face interview either. I did send in lots of supporting evidence though and the GP insisted on seeing ds2 before he would fill in his form (in the end did a home visit as ds2 refused to go and see him in his surgery). I was dreading it having read all the stories on AIBU but the process was not as bad as I feared and his award is for six years so a few years respite before I have to tackle it again.

Another one here no problems. Just filled lengthy form in and sent a couple of hospital letters and it took about 3-4 weeks, I was amazed. DS is deafblind CP and epilepsy. Try not to worry too much.

Same here. I was very surprised, tbh, as DD1 has ASD, ADHD and debilitating MH problems but is cognitively and physically able (IYSWIM). So many of the questions on the form were quite hard to answer. Yes, she can dress herself but needs a lot of prompting to do so, can feed herself but has limited ability to prepare food as planning is very difficult. It's impossible to know what she would be like without the extremely high level of support she gets from family life.
She's also very vulnerable so I had requested that she wasn't given a face to face assessment. I had already applied to be her appointee.
We didn't have much recent evidence and nothing eg from the GP but I sent in what we had after getting advice from their helpline and had a phone chat with someone from the DWP that turned out to be her assessment. She's just been awarded enhanced rate pip with standard rate mobility for three years (to the end of school essentially). She had middle rate care and low rate mobility DLA before.
I had delayed applying until the last minute due to all the horror stories and concerns about the impact of putting DD through the process, but apart from the appointee home visit she wasn't involved at all.
I'd like to think this is a positive sign of change and improved understanding at the DWP but that seems optimistic. I think we've been lucky.

Bloody hell just written tons and deleted it - but I'm so desperate for a friendly face :-(
Ds turned 16 in Dec and we've been claiming DLA. Put in PIP claim - I;m his appointee - HF ASC. I filled in his form - very very detailed of help he needs - basically needs prompting (constant, frequent) to do anything. Eg wash, get dressed, eat anything but junk, budget etc. We're going through a huge shitstorm of anxiety, school refusal etc. He hadn't been for 3 weeks when we got the appointment - there's more but I'm going to save this....

Had face to face appointment - I requested he wasn't present was told that's not possible. Couldn't delay it as we already had to cancel one as letter came so late :-( I said to assessor I didn't want to discuss in front of ds and I wished to speak but he addressed ds anyway with questions that were so loaded eg you can do... can't you? Ds is such a people pleaser with strangers and agreed to most things but due to the anxiety/his low self esteem etc I hardly felt I could then say 'no you can't ds'. Did ask if ds could leave in the end and I explained what a day to day is like for him. Just got decision letter back and he scores 0. FUCKING 0. The decision letter says the assessor had decided has no problem with anything. Hang on - will save and pop and get letter.

Despite me being his appointee as he is not able to deal with his own claim and me stating that due to his Autism my ds is not self aware and is not capable of giving an accurate portrayal of himself and how his autism affects him every day - anyway we've always put a positive spin on it - they seem to have completely ignored info on form and relied on the questions asked at face to face and even those don't seem to be accurately recorded.

Just saving hang on

So I rang (on hold for about an hour) and asked for reconsideration. Gave all my reasons. Then read that we could ask for a copy of the report so rang again. Again took about an hour to get through and requested this. So will see when get this. But basically when asked about money he says any he has goes on sweets and wires (tech obsessed) and he can't budget or save. Letter says because he cam use online app and buy sweets and food that's ok??? It says he does not cook - he said he can't cook and doesn't. Basically it's saying "you have said you have difficulties preparing food, taking nutrition, washing and bathing, budgeting etc (basically all the things explained in great detail in the form with examples, time it takes etc eg it takes about 2 hours of prompting to get ds to shower EVERY TIME it says "I have decided you can manage these activities unaided"

He has decided. Based on a few loaded questions that didn't even ask well do you need prompting etc because DS would have admitted it if asked.

I am fucking fuming. Fuming that I have dragged my son into this hideous ordeal of proving that he needs help everyday to manage his everyday living. Without me prompting him he would not wash, clean his teeth, shave, get dressed, go to bed, eat anything but crisps and biscuits and any money (whatever it's meant for) would go on whatever whim popped in his head at that moment (including knives - he bought them on the internet - I suppose that demonstrates financial competence)

I'm fuming that it was up to him to accurately explain how his autism affects him. He even asked him - how does your autism affect you and ds said he didn't know. I'm fuming that the system is set up to deny people with hidden disabilities the extra help they could get because they can't articulate it in the required manner. Poor ds. He doesn't understand the system - he thought it was all over when the appointee lady did her initial visit :-( It's like he's been tricked by a system set up to do so.

AND I KNEW THIS WOULD HAPPEN. I FELT SICK IN THAT APPOINTMENT. I COULD HEAR IT HAPPENING AND DO NOTHING THAT WOULDN'T HURT MY ALREADY HURT DS.

Thank you if you've read this - I do believe this is my longest mn post ever. I haven't highjacked have I? I came across this and hoped I'd found some kindly souls.

@Dontfuckingsaycheese

Please take heart, you need to get some help to appeal.
Online guides from CAB or Benefits and Work, actual CAB or Welfare Rights appointment.

Go to MR and expect to be knocked back because the DWP assume their assessor's report outranks every bit of evidence, then go to Tribunal, their decisions are independent, fair and unbiased.
The Judge apologised to dd for having to attend tribunal as the panel all agreed there was enough evidence in the initial application to award enhanced rates of both. He also said he's have made DWP apologise to dd if they'd bothered to turn up. She was awarded enhanced rate of both with the 'It is inappropriate to fix a term' proviso which means she'll have a 'light touch' review in 10 years.

I compiled extracts from quite a few sources and put a long couple of posts together recently, so where it says "I" it doesn't refer to me, www.mumsnet.com/Talk/feeling_depressed/3548163-DLA-turning-to-PIP-advice-please There may be something in those posts that will help you put your appeal together.

The awful treatment doesn't stop with PIP assessors, autism and its co-morbids are so misunderstood. My dd has lots of other issues on top of her ASD and was told recently by a very specialist NHS physio that it's "perfectly acceptable" to stand for 2 hours whilst trying to prepare her own meal that involves no cooking.

Even the DWP aren't that bad in their "timely manner" definitions

You CAN do it, it's not a walk in the park but you CAN help him to get the support he needs. Find out as much as you can, provide as much documentation as you can. Is he in school, can SENCO write and say that he'll agree with whatever anyone suggests just to end the conversation and get out of a difficult communication situation? My dd does that. Also can SENCO write about school refusal and include anything about his difficulties which will help you provide evidence that's not just "mum says"

@BlankTimes

Many thanks for your reply. I am starting to regalvanise - filling in form and the face to face were gruelling enough but then to get this response - I have now got a copy of the report and basically most of it saying you say (and that is actually me (appointee) and ds) that you do not complete any of these things without a lot of support (prompting, supervision etc) but they have decided that because ds is in mainstream school, doing GCSEs and can use a computer (his special interest) then has no problem with anything else. (eg washing, budgeting, preparing food.....) Nothing in our life is timely :-(

I am trying not to get too hung up on everything but in the report it claims that 'mother reports that he needs nagging'...... I

There is no mention of the extreme circumstances the assessment took place in. And they were fully aware and should have it all on record - ds hadn't gone to school for 3 weeks (and still isn't in) but apparently all is well.

I am going to ask for a reconsideration. I am getting advice from a benefits advisor who helps with this sort of thing - prev citizen's advice.

It's just it's come at such a shit time - ds refusing school and he has his GCSEs in a few weeks. But apparently he has no problem.

If only...............

Oh we had all that 'attended mainstream school so therefore can have no problems with anything' rubbish.

The assessors take one thing like attending mainstream then build up a whole fabrication around it "proving" that the person has suddenly become NT.

The other one for mobility is if you say you have a dog, they automatically assume you do all its walks and care therefore you have zero mobility needs.

The system's horrible, glad you've got your mojo rising to fight them at their own game, and you've got some help, I had to do ours on my own apart from online guides.

Deep breaths, lots of facts about why he can't do what his peers can, explain the same thing over and over, find as much backup evidence as you can, you'll be fine.

Good Luck!

p.s. Mandatory Reconsideration, expect to be knocked back again, aim for Tribunal and you'll have a fair hearing.

@BlankTimes thank you :-) You really start doubting yourself! Yeap back on it.

@Dontfuckingsaycheese this was the experience I was expecting. I'm really sorry to hear you and your DS have had such a shit time. We were definitely lucky.
Good luck for your MR/tribunal.

I got a bit of advice from an advisor and have put in the MR but prepared to go for tribunal too...

Many thanks all for the supportive messages :-)

I second getting any paperwork at all from teachers etc ..does he see any professionals other than teachers? They want to see evidence backed up by others ..I went to MR for my ds and was fully prepared to go to tribunal as I know I was right :) in the end they agreed prior to tribunal ,he was already in support group for ESA. My DS doesn't have asd but personality disorder and mental health and is a very vulnerable young man ..if it wasn't for us he would be homeless as he would never phone or speak to others ..all this is documented. You do have to try and view as an outsider as as a parent you get use to their behaviours ,but I tried to ' compare' my son to others his age and that made it a little easier ...also for £20 a year subscription I would recommend signing up to 'benefits and work' online ..fantastic advice etc ...when you get your report ,go through point by point and give your reasons ...they said my son had bank acct and he bought a couple of games so he was fine ....but he never ever went to the shops ,never bought any gifts for family ,never paid his mobile phone bill ,never went to the bank etc etc I could go on ... you get the idea ...hth

Hi there Dontfuckingsaycheese - love the name lol......How did you get on in the end with the claim? Ive just done my sons, havent had the decision yet but got the assessors report and know its going to be a big fat NO POINTS, oops sorry just 2 points...Basically they think because my son took gcse's and now in 6th form he can do everything, it didnt help that he sort of said he could! but I tried to explain that it was like a trivia pursuit for him and being the brainy person he is gave a right answer, it doesnt matter that he cant/wont socialise, go out, go to the local shop, cook - oh hang on, getting a piece of bread out and sticking some crisps in it is preparing a meal excuse me, shower for an hour but trying to encourage/keep telling and then shouting for him to get out doesnt seem to matter that he needs help from behind closed doors, he does online banking - ph hang on nope thats scratching off a card for his online steam gaming that i have to get because he wont go into a shop let alone on his own, and apparently he can plan and follow an unfamiliar route on his own because he told her he can use his phone, her example was 'could he find his way back from Wales' (we live in bristol, he obviously no idea on how far it is) he said yes, , which means to him yew look theres the directions but the assessor dont quite get that yes he can do that but he wouldnt be able to physically do it.....anyways rant over, pissed off and stressed out I now have to go through all the forms again and try and reword it so the idiots can understand - thats not likely to happen....hope you got yours sorted :)

tutbloodytut re 'plan and follow an unfamiliar route '

yes he can do that but he wouldnt be able to physically do it

We had that, when I pointed out making a real journey alone was not possible either planning or physically completing it, DWP told me points are awarded for the ability to plan, not the ability to physically complete a fictitious journey.

I think that since our award, there may have been caselaw on this, it's worth researching.
pipinfo.net/activities/planning-and-following-journeys

If you want a reply from Dontfuckingsaycheese who may or may not notice this old thread is currently trending , it's best to use the @ sign which then gives a dropdown menu of all the posters in the thread so you can choose who you want to be notified.

this is a post I was literally wanting to come on and begin. My DS is almost 15, and gets DLA.
He has what would have previously been referred to as Asperger's (I refuse to use the term high-functioning, sorry!) and my worry is that he is not even aware of how much he can't cope with, so how on earth would he be able to convince an assessor that he needs support? He knows things make him upset, things make him angry etc, but wouldn't be able to articulate it to a stranger. He would probably just shrug.
He would also be extremely embarrassed discussing his hygiene etc with someone, and I don't blame him. I'm concerned in case it actually sets him back and humiliates him being asked questions. When you spend years drumming it into them that it doesnt define him, and it doesnt actually make him "different" from us, then it seems really shit to tell him he then has to be "assessed" to see if those difficulties are "bad enough" to determine if he gets some money. And if he has to be told "Nah, your struggles aren't actually that bad," it could really set things back.

Ooh I didn't realise this was an older thread.

@SpanishFly

You can claim PIP for him as his appointee.

www.gov.uk/become-appointee-for-someone-claiming-benefits
"Personal Independence Payment (PIP) - contact the PIP new claims line"
www.gov.uk/pip/how-to-claim

Before you do, have a good look at the forms and online help, (CAB is free, Benefits and Work guides you need to join for a year) read through past threads on MN, search for PIP, to get an idea of how difficult it CAN be, some people sail through, others seem to have have every obstacle put in their way.

Basically, learn about the system, get all your supporting evidence ready before you claim, if you are refused, appeal and appeal and go to Tribunal.
Good Luck

Oh wow, thanks for the brilliant advice. Yes I've got time to read up on it. I had thought he had to apply himself so it's good to know that isnt the case. I really appreciate your help x