to do a change of circumstances on pip or wait for review?

alyssajade230

I originally applied for pip in aug 2021 and was awarded with may 2022 with it backdated first attempt, I knew based on my difficulties that I would have got more points / should have it I had more evidence when I originally applied. Ive now been diagnosed autistic with adhd which I have been on and off camhs wait lists for since I was 14 but not diagnosed with either until the past 5/6 ish months. If I do a change of circumstances I knwo I might lose the whole award (I am willing to fight for it) but I do not know where I stand due to the 12 month thing where it has to be present for at least 12 months or something like that. Does that mean I cannot do a COC until its been 12 months post diagnosis even though these are conditions that have been present my whole life just not diagnosed until now? it mentions in my diagnosis reports that I saw camhs and they were going to assess but my school lost the paperwork so I wen back to square 1. Does anyone know where I stand here as dont want to do a coc and the dwp to disregard the new evidence

poppy123456

For PIP you must have had the difficulties for at least 3 months and expect them to last at least a further 12 months. 

Im sure that you haven’t recently experienced the difficulties just because you had a diagnosis. 

ASD doesn’t just go away and as you said you’ve been waiting quite a while for an assessment for this. PIP isn’t about a diagnosis. It’s how those conditions affect you against the 12 PIP activities. 

When is your review due? 

alyssajade230

My review is due october 2024. I had previous evidence for it showing difficulty but nothing specific to pip descriptors, since diagnosis officially of autism and adhd the reports are around 10 pages long each and detail every struggle I have in relation to those conditions ie money management, needing prompting for a multitude of activities going back to when I was 10 ish too as well as social struggles along with it being officially noted now that I will not interact with unfamiliar people at all in social settings unless I am with someone very familiar e.g. partner or close friend as i still shut down completely but I didn't have the evidence to back all of this up before I do now though

poppy123456

I’m very familiar with ASD assessment reports because my daughter has one, hers is about 20 pages long and goes into a huge amount of detail related to the PIP descriptors too. 

If you do decide to report changes (it’s your decision) then what I’d advise you to do with that report is to highlight (with a highlighter pen) the parts that are relevant to the PIP descriptors.

Doing this will make sure they read those parts. I’m not saying they don’t read the reports but this will make sure they stand out. I did this for my daughters review back in 2019. 

alyssajade230

thats a good idea thank you! just wondering by chance do you know if my original claim was done by post if I do a coc or wait for review is there a way to change it to do it online? if unsure I will see if i can get in contavt with pip to ask but it would be much better as last time I struggled fitting paperwork into envelopes and I know even in a big envelope id struggle to fit asd and adhd reports in, id have to fit about the same amount of medical notes too

poppy123456

I’m not aware of CoC and being able to fill the form in online. As far as I’m aware this is only for first time claims and not everyone cans the chance to fill them in this way. 

I sent my daughters ASD report and learning disability report for her review without any problems. 

For the medical notes if they all say the same thing you need to ask yourself if sending those will be helpful. Multiple pieces of evidence all saying the same thing isn’t helpful. Less is often more. 

Becky93

One thing relevant to whether it's worth it to report the change in circumstances is what is your current reward vs what reward do you think you should be getting.

For example I am currently getting enhanced daily living and standard mobility, and think I have a good argument my condition has worsened to the point I should get enhanced mobility today, but I haven't bothered reporting it on the basis I had to fight tooth and nail to get my initial award at tribunal, I'd likely have my reward taken away first and end up back at tribunal if I tried this, so I am just going to wait until I re-apply next year instead.

Your circumstances may be very different however if you a) feel you are heavily under awarded right now and b) if you got your reward the first time from the DWP without tribunal. This is especially true with your new diagnosis.