Autistic child moving from DLA to PIP

MyOnlyPost

Hi

My son is autistic and my wife and I currently claim DLA for him. In April he turns 16 so his award ends in September and he is able to apply for PIP. He is high functioning and attends mainstream school (with a 1 to 1). He has progressed immensely in the past 4 years since his (quite late) diagnosis but still has some serious issues with anger and self esteem as well as general awareness of his surroundings. He finds it difficult to talk to strangers, or even casual acquaintances and extended family, but sometimes he surprises us by entering into a full blown conversation with someone he's barely talked to before. I have looked at the descriptors and filling in the form as if it were his worst day ever he would easily qualify, the problem is that how he reacts to any given situation can vary day by day. A minor incident ( e.g.a friend cancelling plans) he may brush off sometimes but then on the wrong day he may throw chairs, tip tables etc. or has a major meltdown with screaming, shouting and crying accompanied by vitriolic self loathing, all within a controlled environment. The form doesn't allow for these distinctions so is it right to fill the form in as the wrong day, bearing in mind it is these wrong days that may cause difficulty in holding down a job?

We have discussed with him claiming PIP and at first he was very reluctant as he doesn't want to see himself as disabled, which I can fully empathise with. Most importantly we have discussed that it gives him some financial independence and we have told him to think of it as a safety net, that it doesn't stop him working and having a productive career but it takes some financial burden away and will help with money pressures in the future.

I am very aware that a diagnosis alone will not be enough to be awarded PIP so what I want to know is, what evidence should I be collecting now for his claim in September? When he goes to 6th form college no-one there will know him like his current support workers and SENCO. He hasn't seen a paediatrician since he was diagnosd and we don't see his GP about his autism, we just deal with it. CAMHS haven't been involved since he was 11 and we have no help at all from social services, so there is a very small pool of witnesses to his outbursts.

Bogalot

You don't fill in the form solely based on his bad days, you give an overview of his needs across all days. PIP is not about holding down a job, it is about the additional costs incurred as a result of his condition.

You can ask his current support workers etc for letters explaining his needs, they don't have to provide them but no harm in asking. If there is no need for additional support then you'll just have to be honest about that.

Confuseddot

If you can get a report from his current support workers before the end of school year to help with your application. Also keep a diary for a month or two and then you can tell how many good/bad days he has and what help he gets.

MyOnlyPost

Bogalot wrote: »

You don't fill in the form solely based on his bad days, you give an overview of his needs across all days.

The form I looked at a few months ago was very black and white with multiple choice answers e.g

Engaging with other people face to face.
9 a. Can engage with other people unaided. 0 points
9 b. Needs prompting to be able to engage with other people. 2 points
9 c. Needs social support to be able to engage with other people. 4 points
9 d. Cannot engage with other people due to such engagement causing either - (i) overwhelming psychological distress to the claimant; or
(ii) the claimant to exhibit behaviour which would result in a substantial risk of harm to the claimant or another person. 8 points

Any or all of the above depending on mood and external factors, but that option isn't there.

Bogalot wrote: »

PIP is not about holding down a job, it is about the additional costs incurred as a result of his condition.

Again using this example then c is where he is most often, however I don't see how this incurs any monetary cost to him as the social support he needs is provided by school (at their cost of course), family or friends. Even on the days when he would qualify for D there is no money that could be thrown at it that can help him.

I am not trying to be awkward, I appreciate your response, but based on the very definition of what PIP is for I cannot see any relevance to question 9 so why is it there? I can see no possible way in which financial aid could help someone with social difficulties in a face to face situation like this, as social support by definition has to be human interaction and then the only way a cost could be incurred at his expense would be to employ someone to help him, maybe I am missing something?

Confuseddot

I think you may have looked at the marking scheme rather than the form.

This is what the form looks like
http://www.disability-equality.org.uk/uploads/files/6ef6dfdf99313a6e5c96fec6ddeb22cb.pdf

[Deleted User]

As well as answering the questions there is plenty of scope to outline his problems on the forms or on additional pages, can you find a charity that deals with autism they may well be able to give good advice on PIP.
The problem with PIP is that the application forms are shorter then DLA ones were, and we used to moan about the 40 odd pages for DLA .

NeilCr

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/pip/help-with-your-pip-claim/fill-in-form/

Some guidance and information on fillling in the PIP form

I agree that you should seek help with completion.

rockingbilly

I will add a bit more. It is fine if you can get some professional independent confirmation of the difficulties. But at an assessment if the assessor believes, based on what he/she sees/hears/deduces when questioning the claimant that the claimant can do more than what the evidence suggests, he/she as well as the DWP Decision Maker can disregard that evidence and rely on the assessors opinion instead.
In a nutshell, you can claim what you like on the form, you can submit evidence from anyone, but at the end of the day if the claimant does not handle the assessment well all of the evidence submitted can be disregarded.
This is what happened to me with my DLA claim and assessment years ago. I actually talked myself out of an award despite compelling evidence being submitted - I gave more information than was asked which was interpreted wrongly - in their minds I was contradicting what was said in the evidence.

Ames

Actually variable conditions is one of the areas where PIP is better than DLA. PIP has a rule that it's how someone is most of the time.

So if he meets x criteria more than 50% of the time, that's the one that you should aim for, explaining in detail how and why it applies and how much of the time.

MyOnlyPost

Thank you all for your responses. I will look at the links and read through the form today. We had help from WeSail to fill in his DLA form but due to funding cuts they no longer offer that service.

One of my main worries has been how he will do in an interview as it could either be extremely distressing for him, or he could answer questions positively if in a good mood, without considering that the question doesn't just relate to the immediate situation

rockingbilly

MyOnlyPost wrote: »

One of my main worries has been how he will do in an interview as it could either be extremely distressing for him, or he could answer questions positively if in a good mood, without considering that the question doesn't just relate to the immediate situation

That is what I believe is wrong in the PIP process. You are entirely reliant on the quality of the assessor and how much the assessor places on his/her own observations despite the evidence submitted.
I have a copy of a report dated 2 years ago from a Consultant to my GP. In it it clearly states that my mobility is extremely limited. Yet depending on what and how I say things at the assessment and, how much I am believed I am more than likely to be refused the mobility element. Yes I can walk over 100 metres, but in doing so I am very slow and in pain almost from the start but I push myself through it as I will not give in.