Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi,
I am new to the forum as my daughter was only diagnosed with Austistic Spectrum Disorder last summer, after a year and a half of assessments. We applied for PIP last April (I am her appointee) and have just been sent a letter saying she will not receive it, despite never going out alone and not being able to cope with communication with people other than her immediate family, and that is limited. She scored 4 points for 'engaging with other people face to face' and 4 points for 'planning and following journeys'. Zero points for everything else, despite a face to face assessment where I explained that she goes out on average once a week, sometimes less, and is always accompanied. She has lots of sensitivities, particularly with food.
Has anyone else experienced this? I am preparing an appeal. It says on the covering letter ' I realise you have a disability or health condition and receiving this decision isn't the news you were hoping for'. It's a joke.
May I ask if anyone has a different opinion on whether your child should attend the Tribunal? My 16 1/2 year old daughter's is at the end of this month and I just don't know how she'd cope with it. I've asked representatives of Cerebra and Citizens Advice, and they've both said she doesn't need to be there as I'm her Appointee. It wasn't going to be an issue as she's in her GCSE year at school so I wasn't going to take her out for a day, but the Tribunal date has been set for the Easter holidays! Any advice appreciated.