Published on 12, July, 2020
hello I am newly coming to terms with being autistic waiting for diagnosis
looking back on my life events and more and more details make sense now realising autistic
looking for connections support understanding with condition
its hard getting the right support i find to support with condition understanding it validating experiences learning with benefits housing any help really besides the internet because due to the nature of our condition we are unlikely to be connected to or know someone to help
at my assessment i want to ask about finding someone who will help me with providing evidence for benefits
how is everyone and what is your story?
best wishes
goldenbirds said:at my assessment i want to ask about finding someone who will help me with providing evidence for benefits
You might find these NAS links useful perhaps:
thanks for this I actually need a person though to act as evidence and speak for me about how my condition affects me someone i trust to help me apply for what I need. so many people say they'll help but when it comes down to it don't actually bother or do it half arsed i need someone good who will support me with it well ongoing
Firstly - welcome to the forum, goldenbirds.
My recommendation would be to book an appointment with your local Citizen's Advice Bureau - many of which have at least one disability specialist (mention this when booking an appointment). Aside from being very helpful themselves, they usually have very good knowledge of what other local services are available. Through them, I was put in touch with a local disability advocacy organisation - which I think would fit what you are looking for.
The advocate that I was assigned through them was an absolute blessing. He was able to walk me through all of the benefit application process, to act on my behalf when telephone calls etc. were required, and to accompany me to medical assessments and tribunal hearings and keep records of the proceedings. Through him, I discovered special discretionary rules for local authority benefits that I simply would not have heard of any other way.
It's only fair to say that such services are very oversubscribed and have limited resources; so they very often have long waiting lists, and the help may only be available for a limited amount of time. However, it was well worth being patient and persistent, as their help was absolutely crucial to having a much more stable life nowadays - there's no way that I'd ever have got through the benefit claim process, nor my successful appeal against an initial PIP rejection, without them.