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Moving from dla to pip

vickibee

GM my son has just turned 16 and I have to apply for PIP, I am his appointee and filled out the form on his behalf, it doesn’t lend itself to neurological conditions, the questions are more geared to physical difficulty.

I know my son would not engage with any sort of assessment face to face or phone so am I able to act on his behalf here too. I am fretting over the outcome and whether or not we will be awarded, we have tons of supporting evidence.

Advice appreciated TIA

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Comments

poppy123456

You are misundersranding the descriptors because they're definitely not aimed at just physical conditions. Lots of people claim PIP who don't have physical conditions, my daughter is one of them. I'd advise you to have a read of this before you start filling in the form so you can hopefully have a better understanding of the descriptors. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-independence-payment-assessment-guide-for-assessment-providers/pip-assessment-guide-part-2-the-assessment-criteria

Remember, PIP isn't awarded based on any diagnosis, it's how those conditions affect you against the PIP descriptors. It's very different to what DLA is.

As you're his appointee then you will be able to answer any questions on his behalf if an assessment is needed. Most people have assessments which are mostly done through telephone.

vickibee

Thank you this helps a lot, better get a move on with the form it needs to be back in a week

poppy123456

You can ring PIP to ask for some extra time to return the forms and they will give you an extra 14 days.

anisty

My son was always middle rate care and low rate mobility under DLA from age 3 right to 21yrs, never changed.

(Pip was slow roll out in our area which is why he stayed on dla til he was 21)

Like you, i was very concerned a pip application would not go well for him. However, it was a super smooth process (aside from taking a good 3 or 4 stressful months to get notice of his award)

He ended up having a paper-based assessment and got a long award enhanced both parts. So better off under pip than dla.

He is autistic with no physical disability at all.

vickibee

It is reassuring to hear success stories, my son is also MRC and LRM on DLA
he has autism, sensory processing disorder and dyspraxia plus severe anxiety. It’s really hard to put into words the difficulties he faces.I do have a lot of evidence, it was a squash to get in to their envelope, so here’s hoping for a paper based assessments as well
how long was the award for? Do you need to reapply? @anisty

vickibee

Will dla carry on until his award is considered

poppy123456

DLA will continue until a decision is made on the PIP, providing the forms are returned within the timescale. With his health conditions. (though it's not awarded based on a diagnosis)

There will definitely be several descriptors (at least) that he could score points for. For example, preparing a meal, washing/bathing, dressing/undressing, communicating verbally, Engaging with others face to face, making budgeting decisions and also following and planning a journey (mobility)

If he's successfully awarded then payments will start about 7 weeks after the decision. If his award is higher than the DLA you will not receive the difference between the 2.

My daughter has ASD, learning disability and social anxiety and claims Enhanced for both parts. My conditions are physical and there's more descriptors that apply to her than they do for me, so that's proof they are not just aimed at physical conditions.

vickibee

@poppy123456 thank you for yr reply, it is really helpful with such a difficult system to navigate.

anisty

My son got a 5 year award, @vickibee - and then it got extended until November 2026.

We won't need to go through pip again as we are in Scotland so he will be transferred to Adult Disability Payment.

Not sure how that will go!

L_Volunteer

Thank you @anisty for sharing your experiences with us. I am sure your experiences will be invaluable for anyone experiencing anything similar. How are you feeling about the transfer at the moment?

@Vickibee It is, indeed, a difficult system to navigate and it says more about the system than it does about you. Please don't hesitate to let us know if there's anything else we can do to support you

vickibee

If PIP got my form back on 04 April when can I expect to hear back from them? Does it take a long time?
as his appointee I am hoping that my son will be left out of the process as there is no way he would engage?

poppy123456

vickibee said:

If PIP got my form back on 04 April when can I expect to hear back from them? Does it take a long time?
as his appointee I am hoping that my son will be left out of the process as there is no way he would engage?

It could be anything up to several months, potentially longer. As his appointee if an assessment is needed then you'll be able to answer all the questions on his behalf. He will need to be with you though if it's a face to face assessment. Though most are through telephone, so you can ask for this, if the assessment is needed. His DLA will continue until a decision is made on the PIP.

vickibee

I have received a letter in the post today, unfortunately it’s not a decision, it looks like a it’s going to be a paper based assessment which is good as my son would not cope well with a face to face assessment. I did provide a lot of evidence, it wouldn’t fit in the envelope lol.

It does say they have enough information to make a decision so I am hoping it will come through soon. Fingers crossed.

Does anyone have experience of a paper based assessment, I suspect it’s very unusual ?

TIA

poppy123456

I’ve had experience of a few paper based assessment between myself and my daughter. They do happen but it’s rare.

vickibee

I am pleased to say that a decision arrived in the post today, I am surprised that he was awarded enhanced for both as I was hopeful for standard. It is only for 2 yrs though so I am guessing you have to go through the whole rigmarole again… his autism is not going to go away . In fact as he has got older his differences have become more noticeable when compared to his peers.

Hannah_Alumni

@vickibee I'm so glad to hear he has been awarded!

poppy123456

You can challenge the award length by requesting the Mandatory Reconsideration. (MR) You need to make sure you tell them that you're happy with the award itself and just want to challenge the length only. You need to state your reasons why you think he should have been awarded a longer length.

vickibee

Thankyou Poppy,
if I asked for MR is there any chance that the award could be looked and and potentially changed or is it just the award length Tharp would be considered?

Is it true that renewal is a more straightforward process than first claims ? TIA

poppy123456

The most likely outcome of any MR will be the decision stays the same anyway.

The review process is exactly the same as the first time. The only difference is it’s a shorter form. Don’t be fooled by that either because you should still treat it as a new claim and include as much information as possible, like the first time.