PIP assessment for 15 years old with autism..advice plz

LADYXXMACBETH

I've had a letter from the DWP saying that my son will be moved from DLA to PIP payments. I've asked to be his appointee as he has no budgeting experience and will spend it on coca cola and video game currency. 
The issue I have is that my son thinks he can do everything. If the assessors interview him and say something like can you make a meal yourself? he will say "yes" he can make basic meals like a pot noodle or a microwave ready meal but a regular meal he needs supervision. Likewise when they ask if he can travel alone and plan a journey he will say "yes" he might be able to go to the local shop, but even then he has been known to wander somewhere else. 
He is not independent but believes he is. I would love it if he could do all these things. He goes to a special school where they put independence at a high priority, but he's very vunerable and has been in trouble with overly trusting people in the past. 
I want him to be independent and so try and make it so he thinks he is, for example he won't wear appropriate clothing for the weather and so I take his jumpers away in the summer so he hasn't a choice but believes he's making his own choice. This may sound odd but it works. 
I don't want to sit with an assessor and tell them that he can't do things when in his own mind he can. He still requires a lot of care but Im worried the PIP assesment doesn't take into consideration the learning disability he has and he won't understand the complexity of the questions being asked. 

toomuchinfo

Hello, does your son agree to you being his appointee? Try to make him understand why you want that because when I became my son’s appointee someone came out from the DWPto see if they thought that he was in agreement and that he would be unable to act for himself. As it happens my son screamed and went upstairs crying so she said that she had seen enough to make the decision that I could be the appointee.

When you are filling in the PIP claim form explain about supervision and prompting and how he can do things in certain conditions if you have prepared thing to enable him. It’s usual for autistic people to lack insight into their condition so you will have to try and explain as best you can what you have to do to enable him and to keep him safe because he is vulnerable.

LADYXXMACBETH

Thanks for that. He's already a bit anxious about the assessment but obviously I don't want to sway him and make him feel cruddy. He is currently getting middle care and lower mobility but I've heard tales of people.literally getting no PIP despite their children being quite disabled.
We shall see hopefully the school can help me. 

Spoonie_Turtle

The form is much more important than the assessment, so you need to make it very clear how little insight he has and explain what he can do and can't do, and how/why - so with the jumper example, he can't make that decision for himself therefore he should not be deemed to be capable of dressing independently.

Hopefully some others will have some practical advice for if he has an assessment, but ultimately if the assessment doesn't go well and they end up making the wrong decision, having a thorough application form gives a good basis for challenging the decision.  It would probably help to explain on the form just like you have here, as well.

If you haven't already read up on it, it will be helpful to understand how PIP is assessed and what descriptors he should score (and thus what an appropriate award would be).
A brief overview: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/pip/help-with-your-claim/how-decisions-are-made/ (including the PDFs)

Full guidance: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-independence-payment-assessment-guide-for-assessment-providers/pip-assessment-guide-part-2-the-assessment-criteria

The key issue with PIP is whether someone can do an activity "reliably" - safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly and in reasonable time.  So for the cooking example, pot noodles and ready meals would not be an acceptable standard (in fact the test is actually whether someone can prepare and cook a simple meal for one using fresh ingredients - definitively not a ready meal) and they would look at whether an aid such as a visual prompt, or supervision/assistance/someone else prompting would enable him to prepare and cook this theoretical meal.  Likewise wearing inappropriate clothes for the weather is not 'to an acceptable standard'. 
https://pipinfo.net/issues/reliably

I'm sure you'll be fine as you've been through it for DLA, it's just a matter of tailoring it to a more specific set of criteria.

peteuk

Do you have any supporting documents, OT assessment, school reports, care plans. 

Good luck...

funny_bunny

PIP assessments is about how his condition affects his daily living and why he needs care so you need to explain that in details with example (jumper example) as much as you can, supported by letters from doctor, school, prescription any medication even paracetamol etc. will strengthen the case. Take your time to write, once done make a copy to keep. Speak to your son and explain the whole thing and why, so both of you are on the same page at the interview. 

If DWP rejects or don't take the appropriate decision in his favour, appeal.

Good luck. 

missnosey122

Get a much as you can by way of paper work to back your statements, letters from doctors consultants his school include any reports that shows when he got into trouble it maybe embarrassing but it gives a true reflection on his reactions good luck 

dizzyblonde82

My son turned 16 in December 21 and has had to move over to PIP from DLA, I was very anxious about completing the form and the assessment. I typed up the answer to each question and referenced each section on the form. It's so difficult writing about what they struggle with, my son doesn't travel on his own anywhere but would love to get a bus into town and in his mind he could manage that but in reality he still holds my hand when crossing a road even when no traffic around. His school wrote a statement for the application and I included all relevant medical letters from CAMHS, GP, Paediatrician, LD service etc.

I completed the form in January 22 and had a call from an assessor in April 22 to provide additional information on certain questions, they said they would request a decision to be made without my son having to attend a face-2-face assessment. We received his PIP decision on Saturday and he has been awarded enhanced for both daily living and mobility until 2028.