autistic son has turned 20 and has to now apply for ESA

stressed_mummy

HELP
the dreaded change of life turning 20

Son has lifetime dla at high rate just recieved a lovely form from ATOS "limited capability for work questionnaire" which looks like a DLA form....in disguise. Do I really need to fill this in on his behalf . Its a standing joke that they wanted a sick note from our doctor Autism and serious mental health issues isn't a sickness its a disability!!

we lose child benefit and tax credits but our family hasn't changed in fact it has got harder as he gets older

epitome

If you want him to have ESA he will need to get fitnotes from a doctor until he has passed the ESA assessment.

You will need to apply for ESA -if you haven't already done so-
If you have the ESA50 that suggests that you have already done the application for ESA

And if you have done that you must already know that to be paid he needs fitnotes.

To answer your question.... if you want him to have the best chance of passing the assessment you will have to fill in the ESA50.

If you don't fill in the ESA50 and return it by the deadline you run the risk of having his ESA claim closed for "failing to return questionaire".

There is a chance if you don't return the form that the claim will not be closed because his condition is a mental illness. But I'm not 100% sure if the mental illness exemption applies if there is an appointee on his file.

Anyway... Do you want to run the risk of him failing the assessment or having his claim closed just because you don't want to fill in the ESA50? It's up to you.

xylophone

his condition is a mental illness

No - autism is a developmental disorder.

http://www.autism.org.uk/about-autism/autism-and-asperger-syndrome-an-introduction/what-is-autism.aspx

help4help2013

does lifetime DLA still exist any more? will he still not assessed for PIP in the future?

stressed_mummy

help4help2013 wrote: »

does lifetime DLA still exist any more? will he still not assessed for PIP in the future?

Yes at some point it will be PIP just another hurdle to cross

stressed_mummy

xylophone wrote: »

No - autism is a developmental disorder.

http://www.autism.org.uk/about-autism/autism-and-asperger-syndrome-an-introduction/what-is-autism.aspx

Yes but he also has mental health issues as well

stressed_mummy

epitome wrote: »

If you want him to have ESA he will need to get fitnotes from a doctor until he has passed the ESA assessment.

You will need to apply for ESA -if you haven't already done so-
If you have the ESA50 that suggests that you have already done the application for ESA

And if you have done that you must already know that to be paid he needs fitnotes.

To answer your question.... if you want him to have the best chance of passing the assessment you will have to fill in the ESA50.

If you don't fill in the ESA50 and return it by the deadline you run the risk of having his ESA claim closed for "failing to return questionaire".

There is a chance if you don't return the form that the claim will not be closed because his condition is a mental illness. But I'm not 100% sure if the mental illness exemption applies if there is an appointee on his file.

Anyway... Do you want to run the risk of him failing the assessment or having his claim closed just because you don't want to fill in the ESA50? It's up to you.

I must admit some of the questions are "loaded" looks like this will be my job on Saturday:sad::sad::sad:

osdset

stressed_mummy wrote: »

I must admit some of the questions are "loaded" looks like this will be my job on Saturday:sad::sad::sad:

Tread carefully, ATOS have a terrible reputation for completely disregarding mental health issues, to be fair they don't fully understand physical ones either!