PIP renewal ASD and mixing with people activity

[PocketSand]

I am filing in the renewal forms for DS1 who is 19 and at local uni whilst living at home.

The form has changed with more emphasis on aids, prompting, needing help from another person and asking when needs began and why throughout so I am having to adapt answers around the questions. But I am a bit stuck on mixing with people as the questions don’t seem to fit having a lifelong communication disorder. The question about when needs started and why has been replaced with a question asking about therapy or counselling. How have others dealt with this activity?

That question is still relevant to some with ASD even though autism is lifelong. Some people with ASD will have, have had or be waiting for therapies and/or counselling surrounding mixing with others. For example, SALT, OT, (adapted) CBT, animal-assisted therapy, specialist mentoring/coaching…

If it doesn’t apply to DS, that’s OK, he can still get points on that activity.

Yeah he had SALT and OT and lego therapy and life skills training and autism outreach when he was younger but I’m not sure how counselling or other talking therapies would help him now. So I’m not sure how to answer this question.

His autism impacts mixing with others but he is not in therapy. This can’t be that unusual.

On previous assessment his social communication disorder was taken into consideration in terms of mixing with other people but the questions seem to have been rewritten to exclude the difficulties he faces on a daily basis unless he receives counselling. I can see life skills training could be very useful but he doesn’t receive it and I have to deal alone when things go wrong.

You can explain what therapies (which doesn’t just mean talking therapies) DS has previously had.

The questions for activity 9 do not only ask about therapies and counselling. That is just one question. Other questions also ask about help needed, who provides support and what happens/would happen if those people weren’t there to provide support. You can explain other elements of DS’s needs related to mixing with others in these other questions. None of the other questions for activity 9 are about counselling or therapies. You can score points on that activity without receiving therapies or counselling.