Moving from dla to pip

[Gameofbones]

My daughter has just turned 16, she has ADD, social communication issues and anxiety.

Up until now she has been in receipt of DLA, now she has been moved to make a PIP Application.

Has anyone got any experience of this? And what we can expect? I’m not sure how to show a disability that is literally called an invisible disability!

We are awaiting a second ASD assessment. She has never had an EHCP because she was never ‘a problem’ at school.

Hi Gameofbones. We were in a similar position when our daughter turned 16 this January. She has Autism, ADD and struggles socially. The PIP application is quite daunting but there is a lot of information online to help you. Unlike DLA the PIP allowance is in your daughters sole name and the application form and any telephone calls to the DLA should be made by your daughter. In our case this would have been impossible for our daughter due to her difficulties so I rang them to explain this and was recorded as her appointee so I could speak on her behalf. What I would suggest is that you complete the application forms and include all supporting evidence(Dr's letters, school letters etc)as this will support your application greatly.Make sure you fill in the form comprehensively and list all the help and support that your daughter needs on a daily basis (emotionally I found it very difficult to do this so I broke it down into sections over several days;) Make sure you complete every section and provide evidence for each one. Our daughter does have an EHCP which we included but in terms of diagnosis a Dr's/Paediatricians letter would help.
In normal years your daughter would then be called for an interview to discuss her claim(again you can attend this appointment as her appointee).Due to COVID they were not conducting face to face interviews when we submitted our daughters claim and we received a letter to say that her DLA would continue until a face to face appointment could take place.
Hope this helps. Don't forget to return the form by the deadline as they will stop her current payments x

Thank you. I have been made her appointee and they are sending the forms through.

We had a camhs appointment today and she just said very few words so I’m hoping that is enough or will they keep on and on at her? Her anxiety literally renders her unable to speak.

I had two very different experiences with the transfer from DLA to PIP for my children. For ds who has autism and had been in receipt of HR care and Mobility since his third birthday it was a nightmare. They decided that because he could subtract 7 from 100 at his face to face (assessed by physio ) and played computer games he wasn't entitled to PIP despite reams of evidence showing he was. At Tribunal twelve months later the panel were very critical of DWP who had no reasoning for what they said were bizarre decisions his award was reinstated at Enhanced daily living and enhanced mobility so the same award he'd had previously.
For my daughter I was understandably pessimistic. On paper she is more able than my son. I sent back the form, the following day I got a call from a LD nurse who asked a couple of questions (what type of school was named on her EHCP and had she sat GCSEs), said there was no need for a face to face and I'd get a decision in six weeks. Her award came back in four and she had the same rate as she'd had for DLA.
From my expeience it seems to be the luck of the draw dependent on whether the person assessing has any knowledge of the disabilities that the child has.

You've had some very good advice so far.

Do use the CAB or Benefits and Work guides.

PIP is a very onerous process, it's not awarded for the type of disability, it's awarded on how the claimant can or can not do certain tasks.

There are ways of describing difficulties which DWP will acknowledge, whereas if you are not aware of certain terms like being able to do something 'reliably, repeatedly, safely and in a timely manner' your explanation may be discounted.

Do expect to be refused at first, no matter how well you completed the forms. It's very common.
Expect Mandatory Reconsideration also to be a no.
Press on and do attend Tribunal where you will get a fair hearing by an independent panel.

Don't give up!

Did it for son. I pproached the form in a similar way to the way I had done his DLA form and probably wrote too much extra information.

Provided you meet the deadlines for sending the ckaim back the DLA will continue until you get the decision. We asked for an extension as the form arrived the day before we went on 2 weeks holiday so I rang straight away and they granted an extra 2 weeks without any problem.
We were not contacted at all for a face to face.

For example she is off school now.

Every day I come home from work I have to ask have you brushed your teeth. She says no she forgot and will have to go and do it. Have you washed today? No goes and does it.

Unless I’m there reminding her to do things she doesn’t do it. Is this the kind of thing?

With DLA I just write everything down and send along with the doctors letters this feels now like I have to prove her and it’s so difficult!
Surely they will just say well she is being bloody lazy’!

Unless I’m there reminding her to do things she doesn’t do it. Is this the kind of thing?
Yes, that's called 'prompting' when someone is unable to do those things without another person reminding them all the time.
There's a big difference between being unable to do the things and being unwilling or lazy, that's what you need to get across.
The CAB have a template for a diary and one of the daily things on it is
"Has anyone reminded or prompted you to carry out any of the tasks below?
Who did this and why, and what would have happened if they hadn’t."

Do use the CAB guide and/or join Benefits and Work to get access to theirs, they help so much about including things in your PIP form that you'd never have thought of.

The PIP claim is very different to DLA.

You won't have support letters to back up what you say for things like prompting, because the authors aren't with you at home and don't see what goes on. Only family do.

Most of us just get on with it and don't think we're advocating because it's just part of our daily life, but when you see what we need to do every day for our DC just to keep them on an even keel, it's loads.

You'll likely be advised by other people to 'tell every day as though it's your worst day' but please don't do that, just tell it like it is, in accordance with everything the form asks.

Is she emotionally immature, if so, detail that. Is her daily life different to her peers if so, detail that. does she need help following verbal instructions and/or written instructions, detail everything like that.