Hi, my name is haras321! Need advice and I am curious about PIP.

haras321

Hello
I was hoping for some advice please? I am 51 and have struggled for years with my mental health.  I have always felt like a square peg in a round hole.  I loathe social situations, become extremely stressed in loud and crowded areas but the main one is not understanding. I cannot process information. I hide it well and had a career in the NHS but it was a daily struggle.  I'm educated but school was a struggle. I have not worked now for 20 years. I felt safe being at home as a stay at home mum but now I need to find work.  I had one interview last week and had to leave. I couldn't breathe and ended up having a panic attack with the interviewer.  It was devastating. I know I'm not fit for work but financially I'm struggling.  I am curious about pip.  My GP thinks I may be autistic but the wait for an assessment is up to 3 years.  I began feeling relief at the suggestion of autism as it would be an end to decades of not fitting in in this world but when I heard of the 3 year wait I sank again. I cope. To the outside world I cope because I have to. I have 3 daughters.  The only one to see the real me has been my fantastic GP.  I go to the shops to buy food because I have to , inside I want to scream, I cannot give eye contact.  I go to parents evenings but as soon as the last appointment is over I literally run to leave. I avoid collecting my medication from the chemist as its so busy, I don't understand my pension details , financial concerns baffle me etc.  Would I be able to apply for PIP without a referral to date or a diagnosis?  
My 17 year old is my double in every way.  She has recently been referred for assessment and the way she describes how she feels in the world is the exact same as the way I feel.  I wish I had thought of this years ago. It would explain so much and maybe living wouldn't be so painful.
I feel very lost at the moment and desperate so please any advice would be great.
Thank you for listening.

chiarieds

Hello @haras321 - & welcome to this friendly & supportive community. We have many lovely members who are on the autistic spectrum, & what you describe sounds so very similar to their experience of not getting a diagnosis until adulthood. I'm sure you'll get to chat to some of them.

About PIP, it doesn't matter if you have a diagnosis or not, so don't let that stop you looking into it; many claim PIP, again with similar problems to yours. The only downside is that it can take some time to find out if you might be awarded PIP. Have a look through this website, to see the activities/descriptors that are looked at: https://www.mentalhealthandmoneyadvice.org/en/welfare-benefits/pip-mental-health-guide/help-with-your-pip-claim/how-to-fill-in-the-pip-form

There's info about PIP, & how to claim here: https://www.gov.uk/pip

You can also check to see if you may be able eligible for other benefits by putting your details into this calculator: https://benefits-calculator.turn2us.org.uk/

Albus_Scope

hey there @haras321 and welcome to the community. 

I can see you've had some excellent advice already, but I'd like to add in you can kick start the ASD assessment process with Right to choose. You just fill the forms in, hand them to your GP and the waiting list is often lots shorter and all done via video call. I got my late diagnosis autism assessment done in about 8 months this way.   But what you've described is very similar to how I react to the world around me, so I can empathise. 

Here's a link for the Right to choose I was talking about.  Other companies are part of the scheme too, but these seem to be the most popular. 

https://psychiatry-uk.com/right-to-choose-asd/