Published on 12, July, 2020
My Son who is 23 now has been in receipt of DLA since his diagnosis back in 2006, He used to get Middle component for daily living and lower for mobility. He has recently been reassessed for PIP. He was refused after the assessment , and after the Mandatory reconsideration request.
We now face an appeal that I myself am not prepared for and don’t feel I even have the strength to take on, he scored zero for everything even though I have to do ‘everything’ for him, such as cooking, washing/drying his hair , even down to clipping his finger and toenails. Accompanying him to doctors/hairdressers. Prompting to wash, and asking for his clothes he has been wearing a week, looking at his bleeding Unbrushed teeth and smelling his bad breath and body odour.
I feel the assessment went badly because he answered questions he shouldn’t have with the wrong answers, and didn’t realise the consequences of just saying yes or no to shut the assessor up. He is very naive
He has a small job at Sainsbury’s which he only has because I work there myself and got him the job. Without me he would cease to function, he does not leave the house aside from the 2 shifts a week he works, or socialise with anyone, he does not wash unless it is to go to work. He plays games all day and hides away in his room. He does not care or understand responsibility and I worry what will happen to him when I am not around anymore. He is very stubborn and will not try new things, does not like any change to routine. His mental age could be compared to a 13 year old boy. Him having this extra money would be a crutch for him that we need the security of.
The assessor reported he had good eye contact, even though She barely looked at him, she performed a mental state exam? How can she possibly know what is going on inside an autistic adults mind , their expressions often blank and emotionless. They were told how his disability affects him and they chose to ignore most of it and say ‘ I have decided you can’ even though I say he can’t ? How do you win such an argument?
I feel so desperate because he looks ‘normal’ to the average persons. He travels too and from work with me , he cannot go out on his own and would not do so. Yet the assessor decided he can plan and follow the route of a journey unaided , even though he cannot ? And would not , he has not recently seen any specialists for autism, as it is a lifelong condition and not likely to change. I am worried I do not have enough evidence and don’t know where to begin to get any ? He received all the support in school and through college , could they offer any evidence? ,All I seem to have is my word that he is hard work and needs my help every day. And a diagnosis report from 2006.
Any advice would be hugely appreciated , I now have about 3 days to complete the appeal forms and send it off as I’ve ignored it for over 2 weeks because I can’t cope. Thank you
should still be eligable for universal credit/job seekers.... so long as he isnt above the savings limit...when i was on it the limit was only 5k but i think they increased it to 12k, so if he has less than 12k in savings he absolutely is eligable for universal credit so long as he agrees to look for work and convinces them he is doing that
this is hard because having the job works against him as they can just say that is proof he functions and can also say he gets about with that as evidence too.this is the classic case in disability, where if you try to help yourself you actually get nothing. like that story of a leg amputee who taught himself to walk and get around still and they declined him because he could then get around. it doesnt seem to help by helping yourself.
The real people that need it are getting refused, but the druggies and alcohol people are still getting their benefits .
Part of the government policy to get the vulnerable off benefits and working as beggars on the streets.
My son has had DLA most of his life diagonosed with autism at the age of 2. I also received carers allowance .
He is now 19 and hd a review in Sept 2023. We were refused DLA and Carers .
I re applied and have just got refused again. What can I do he has no source of income , and he couldn’t hold down a job because of his attention span .
My son is 19, we used to get DLA and Carers for him. We recently had an assessment done and he was refused all benefits . I re appealed and have been refused again.
What can I do now ? `He has no attention span and could not hold down a job.He has no income at all.
I am 39 was diagnosed with autism last year. I left school when I was 14 messed around doing very little with very few people. I've lived alone for 15 years but I wouldn't have left my parents if it was possible to stay and I know what I know now....And what I know now is life is a pain sometimes. Very isolating. I am literally alone all day every day at the moment so if your son thinks of quitting his job remind him years are long things when the time is spent doing nothing except play games and watch tv !!!!. The older you get the less help and services there are so kids and younger people with autism should try reaal hard to keep themselves in the system that everyone else is in.
Benefits are required to remain in society and functioning sometimes and social services should be but dont always help with accessing the community. Since turning 18 all I've really achieved is staying alive somehow. And the fact im alive is largely in part to learning how to claim benefits. Or rather ive learned a bad lesson that stuck...and should say ive learned how to cover their claim forms in blood and then appear in front of judges to explain the distress caused by stupid repeated letters forms appointments is totally unnecessary and very harmful. When the condition and or situation hasn't improved since ooooo I dont know, birth, 6 years old, why keep saying the same things over and over again and keep sending them the same evidence over and over. Ive no idea. But all anyone can do is go with the process and hope they get the benefits they are entitled to.
I would chase everyone yo can for evidence or any information that may be even just slightly useful. A fairly easy piece of evidence will come from obtaining all medical records GP holds. The psychologist might have left notes there but they are worth googling if not. Any paperwork you get, highlight past problems that still apply today and send that to court. Also in the past I've given the court print outs of NAS campaigns and other information on autism. It seemed to help because a lot of professionals are still clueless about the impact autism can and does have on people.Don't be surprised if anxiety and depression become a bigger topic than the problems your son experiences.
He does have proof of diagnosis and a report which they have already had, it was sent with the original claim. Should I Add a copy of this in again ?
He used to have treatment about his bowel troubles, such as constipation, or soiling his bed without knowledge. He still has those troubles but the older he’s got , the more he’s refused to do things such as go the dentist, or doctors , or even have his eyes tested.
There was a psychologist that used to come round and see him at home, I could try to find her again?
I will drag him down to the GP as well and see what I can do , it’s almost like they aren’t happy unless we’re down there every week wasting appointments and time. And taking loads of pills :/
His bedroom is very messy and smelly at the moment so I could look in to that . Thank you
you write that your son hasn't had any treatment for his autism recently. Has he had treatment in the past though ? do you have any proof of diagnosis and a report detailing problems autism causes. If so this would be useful in court. If you don't have anything of this nature perhaps there is a way you or your sons GP can confirm he doesn't go to doctors because he cannot engage with them or manage treatment. Alone its not going to win your case but it will hopefully show the judge nothings going to get better or change in the near future.
To win you're going to need to prove that the the dwp mechanic that carried out the assessment either lied didn't listen or made mistakes in their report. And most of the time theres little way to prove anything because its your word against theirs. And often people with autism and their families are isolated and do everything they can themselves. Even when they ask for help from the dwp or social services they don't get much if any at all. However it might be worth asking the council for a needs assessment just to get their report. It might not be worth the paper its written on in terms of getting your son services, but you never know a good and knowledgeable social worker might exist in your area and might take note of travel problems accessing community issues and I dont know, an ultra clean or ultra messy bedroom. Other than that all you can do is look at pip descriptors (pipinfo . net) and write down all that you think are relevant, how, why. Thankfully the court experience is less stressful than what the DWP put people through. The court will also make reasonable adjustments such as providing a quiet room. The dwp provide no adjustments or help for anyone no matter their disability or struggles.
Already that advice about the dentist is a brilliant idea ! He hasnt been in years and they would be horrified if I took him in and they saw the state of his teeth and gums now. I would never have thought of that!
I hope they would be able to provide me with such a report easily.
We are based in Tamworth , am in the process of picking apart the reconsideration notice and contradicting everything she has said , doing my best. Will contact citizens advice if I have too, I would even go as far as contacting his college from 4/5 years ago and asking proof that he did have support , even though the assessor says he did not receive any support . When I said he did before , he does not attend the GP’s office. His doctor doesn’t even know him, I don’t know what I could get anyone to say about him.
I will start with the dentist though thank you :)
Firstly, rest assured that the appeal courts are independent from and are usually much more reasonable than the assessors. I suspect the system relies on many people being too overwhelmed to appeal to be perfectly honest. My friend's assessor outright lied on his last assessment. >>What area are you based in? Some areas have a welfare rights service (here's Leicester's as an example https://www.leicester.gov.uk/your-community/benefits-and-support/advice-and-guidance/welfare-rights-service/), they provide free advice and help and in some areas may even represent you at the appeal. Citizens advice may also help you (here is their page on PIP appeals https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/pip/appeals/your-hearing/), as can a variety of local and national autism groups.His dentist could even provide evidence to support you re. the difficulty of getting him to maintain his teeth, as an example of the amount of care he requires.You need to write everything you have written here down for the appeal, especially the bit about how his naivety and discomfort at the hearings makes him try anything to shut up the assessor. You need to make sure to be specific and challenge the individual points in the assessor's report- "They said he can do X, actually he can't because Y".Hope this helps, good luck to you both! It's a godawful system, but you can get somewhere with the appeals court. It's not banging your head against a brick wall like it can be with the initial assessment/appeal. x