Husband got no points on PIP, appeal advice?

Sarah2909

I am currently asking for a review of my husband's application for PIP for both ADHD and ASD as he got no points!! Any advice would be so helpful. Thank you 

Jimm_Scope

Hi @Sarah2909! Welcome to the scope community, there's a lot of helpful people here so we'll try to offer what support we can

PIP applications can be a very stressful experience, the assessors have specific criteria that must be "met" and even then they assessors must have the opinion that they affect the person more than half the time. As someone who also has ADHD and went through a PIP application years ago I really understand how you can reach this point. I remember I put down how I kept forgetting to take my medication (for my Crohn's) and this was making my Crohn's disease much worse. Alarms and reminders weren't helping. When asked why I kept forgetting I said I didn't know, as I wasn't diagnosed at the time, so they just marked me down as not having trouble managing treatment. Despite regularly forgetting my medication.

I'm firstly just going to move this discussion over to our PIP forum and then ask a few questions if that's okay. They'll help us understand and answer your situation.

Have you received just the assessment report or also the decision letter? How long ago did you receive them?
I see you asked for a review, does that mean you already submitted a Mandatory Reconsideration or not?

These will help us understand where you are in the process better. While you wait for answers here I will also signpost you our advice page on challenging a PIP decision - Appealing a DWP decision | Disability charity Scope UK

Sarah2909

Thank you so much for your response. We got the letter with the decision last week and its the mandatory review I am applying for. He had a 90 minute telephone assessment and basically on every question she bullied him until he said he could do things. I'm a nurse so I filled in the initial application form and none of that information was taken into account, literally it was the physical activities of daily living. Its so very frustrating as although my husband works, the effects these conditions have on him (also us!) are constant and there is no cure as you know. He has lived all his life struggling and finally has got a diagnosis but been knocked back at the first hurdle. We told the nurse on the phone, he is horrific with money and can not manage to organise it all and relies on me, but she wrote can manage complex money situations! Nothing could be further from the truth! 
Hopefully I'll get some hints on here. I am so glad I came across it today. Thank you 

rebel11

You need to request your review in writing (use the form suggested in the link), give 'real world' examples as highlighted by Jimm. Be prepared to Appeal because only 23% of MR are successful, but 73% Appeals are successful.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/pip/appeals/mandatory-reconsideration-pip/

Jimm_Scope

I will say I unfortunately don't have much time left today, I will write more tomorrow.

But writing down 'real life' examples and sticking by them in the assessment really helps. I didn't put down what I wrote above in my first application, I just wrote "sometimes forget medication". In my second application I put down real world examples, exactly what happens (I forget my crohn's medication X often, and this is how it affects me, which can then affect these other criteria) but with specifics.

I only have the time to write one examples, but you mentioned finances. I am also awful with finances, not just the ADHD but I've built up a lot of anxiety and stress dealing with finances because I struggled with them for so long.

A real world example for me is that when I first moved into my own place I fell into such deep council tax arrears I had collectors and more to deal with, because I struggled to budget from my ADHD. I listed how it *still to this day* causes me stress and anxiety to deal with and that most of the budgeting is done by my partner otherwise I could easily fall back into arrears. If I did not have them to do the budgeting (i.e if I did not get the support/aid) I would not be able to financially function.

Were you able to be there at the last assessment? Perhaps if there are any future assessments like this your presence will be able to prevent them attempting to coerce your husband into downplaying problems. I know in my first assessment I was given leading questions to downplay how I was affected, at the time I also just downplayed how poorly I was doing without being lead to it.

I'll pick this back up tomorrow morning.

chiarieds

Hi @Sarah2909 - & welcome to the community. Just to add to all the help above, there are a couple of links that I hope may help. The first shows what the assessors are looking for, & illustrates the concept of 'reliability,' which is very important. It's a long read, which nonetheless I'm sure you'll find helpful: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-independence-payment-assessment-guide-for-assessment-providers/pip-assessment-guide-part-2-the-assessment-criteria

This 2nd one 'may' help. It's about the PIP assessment, but is still relevant for a Mandatory Reconsideration (MR) if it reminds you of one thing you're so used to coping with/your husband struggles with, but didn't mention, which is so easy to do. https://www.mentalhealthandmoneyadvice.org/en/welfare-benefits/pip-mental-health-guide/help-with-your-pip-claim/how-to-fill-in-the-pip-form/

Please don't ring for a MR, but rather put it in writing, & a letter is fine. Say where you think your husband should have got points & why. Give one or 2 of those real world examples as to the difficulty he faces for each applicable activity/descriptor, i.e. when did it happen, where sas he, what exactly happened, did anyone see this, & were there any consequences to him attempting/doing an activity?
Say if he can't do an activity 'reliably' (that very important word), i.e. safely, to an acceptable standard, repeat as often as one would reasonably expect, or if it takes him much longer than someone without a disability.
Remember to put your husband's name & National Insurance number on each page of his MR. Keep a copy, & get a free Certificate of Posting from your Post Office when sending it off.....but not before hearing back from Jimm!

Sarah2909

Thanks so much. These are so helpful. I was with him on the telephone assessment but she just wasn’t listening and kept asking to be quiet and let David answer. David wouid go to the GP for something serious and if they asked him if he was Ok he wouid say yes. He seems to have little concept of what is OK and what isn’t. Probably after 46 years of functioning with ADHD and ASD and no one advising him about support for this. We’ve only been married a few years and it took me years to chip away that he needed support and then a 2 year waiting list. I can give many examples, particularly money ones with bailiffs at the door! 

Jimm_Scope

Hi @Sarah2909, I cannot say if this applies to your husband, but when I talked to a therapist about how I would never ask for support until I was essentially dying they mentioned a possible reason. ADHD can often come with something called "rejection sensitivity disorder", where those who have RSD feel strong emotional pain at rejection. Even the lightest of rejections. This can often end up causing a coping habit that means you avoid anything that the person with RSD thinks could cause a form of rejection. Such as asking to help or support, as you manage to convince yourself that it might bother or inconvenience them, a slight form of "rejection". So you avoid it entirely.

This is my experience with ADHD and RSD, I'm not saying your husband is in this same scenario. I am not a health professional. It just sounds very similar to my experience so I thought I'd explain it.