Move from DLA to PIP

Thanks for your thoughts Zem. My second point, and actually the one that worries the most, is that although the government will constantly claim that PIP will meet the cost of the disability and not the income issues, there is actually nothing to stop them from downgrading their DLA assessment, and therefore not needing the higher rate or indeed any rate of benefit. If somebody is the unfortunate position of losing their PIP then surely they will be forced to try and work and to have to undergo constant stressful job interviews just to maintain an income. And I believe it is already happening.

I completely agree with you that the starting point in order to receive base rate is is set too high for daily living and that many people wiith autism and similar conditions will be likely to fall through the gaping hole.

 Our grandson has been assessed as high functioning, academically able and fluent but at the same time, severely socially disabled, exhibiting damaging and violent behaviours and suffering crippling anxiety levels under the DLA system by his pschiatrist, social worker, special needs school and paediatrician. His rigid and obsessive behaviours have led to him being severely limited when it comes to taking part in society and consequently has limited our lives as well. We love him dearly and are doing everything we can to bring him up in a loving and supportive environment.

Our fear is that the PIP system will score him low because the questions do not explore the depth of his issues. For instance if he is asked how he manages with the bathroom he will report that he, of course, recognises the need to use the bathroom, can do what ever neccessary and then leave. His sense of 'self' however is nothing like ours and he doesn't see the need for most of the routines that the rest of have in order to take care of ourselves. So once he has left the bathroom we will invariably spend time clearing up the smearing, pools of urine, put the shower back together, fish the toilet roll out of the unflushed toilet etc. All this while trying to tempt a seriously cross and verging on violent young man to go back to the bathroom to clean himself up properly and to wash his hands.

If asked if he can negotiate a trip out on his own he will undoubtedly tell you that he is old enough to go out on his own and doesn't see why Grandma and Grandad are always on his case about it. Under normal circumstances he would be able to manage a familiar route and can cross the road safely. The problem is though, that anything out of the ordinary can upset and frighten him and he is liable to try to run home in a blind panic ignoring the roads completely. So we don't allow him to go out unaccompanied which can mean that when he gets upset he will turn on us in the street and then if he does run at least we can attempt to keep him in sight although its becoming harder as we get older.

I fail to see how a set of 'catch all ' questions are going to be able to assess this complexity fully, particularly as the assessor doesn't even need to be an expert in the field or even a doctor!

Thanks for your thoughts Zem. My second point, and actually the one that worries the most, is that although the government will constantly claim that PIP will meet the cost of the disability and not the income issues, there is actually nothing to stop them from downgrading their DLA assessment, and therefore not needing the higher rate or indeed any rate of benefit. If somebody is the unfortunate position of losing their PIP then surely they will be forced to try and work and to have to undergo constant stressful job interviews just to maintain an income. And I believe it is already happening.

I completely agree with you that the starting point in order to receive base rate is is set too high for daily living and that many people wiith autism and similar conditions will be likely to fall through the gaping hole.

 Our grandson has been assessed as high functioning, academically able and fluent but at the same time, severely socially disabled, exhibiting damaging and violent behaviours and suffering crippling anxiety levels under the DLA system by his pschiatrist, social worker, special needs school and paediatrician. His rigid and obsessive behaviours have led to him being severely limited when it comes to taking part in society and consequently has limited our lives as well. We love him dearly and are doing everything we can to bring him up in a loving and supportive environment.

Our fear is that the PIP system will score him low because the questions do not explore the depth of his issues. For instance if he is asked how he manages with the bathroom he will report that he, of course, recognises the need to use the bathroom, can do what ever neccessary and then leave. His sense of 'self' however is nothing like ours and he doesn't see the need for most of the routines that the rest of have in order to take care of ourselves. So once he has left the bathroom we will invariably spend time clearing up the smearing, pools of urine, put the shower back together, fish the toilet roll out of the unflushed toilet etc. All this while trying to tempt a seriously cross and verging on violent young man to go back to the bathroom to clean himself up properly and to wash his hands.

If asked if he can negotiate a trip out on his own he will undoubtedly tell you that he is old enough to go out on his own and doesn't see why Grandma and Grandad are always on his case about it. Under normal circumstances he would be able to manage a familiar route and can cross the road safely. The problem is though, that anything out of the ordinary can upset and frighten him and he is liable to try to run home in a blind panic ignoring the roads completely. So we don't allow him to go out unaccompanied which can mean that when he gets upset he will turn on us in the street and then if he does run at least we can attempt to keep him in sight although its becoming harder as we get older.

I fail to see how a set of 'catch all ' questions are going to be able to assess this complexity fully, particularly as the assessor doesn't even need to be an expert in the field or even a doctor!