Hi, my name is jodaley!

jodaley

Hi , i' ve just had the letter saying I need to change from DLA for my son who is autistic, to PIP before he is 16. I can nominate myself to be his appointee to answer their questions, but I m obviously highly suspicious of the process. Is there anywhere I can get help from to do the application to ensure he receives something. We re already facing financial collapse since the move to Universal Credit , losing hundreds since November and spiralling us into unmanageable debt and hardship. Protected payments does n t seem to apply , even though I requested it.This further loss will finish us off. Any organisations apart from Citizens Advice who can help? Thanks and regards.

Jimm_Scope

Hi @jodaley, welcome to our community 😊. I'm sorry to hear you had such issues with migrating to Universal Credit. You certainly are not alone, and I understand wanting someone knowledgeable about the process to help with your childs move to PIP.

Turn2Us have an adviser search here: https://advicefinder.turn2us.org.uk/?_gl=1*1b0t2yw*_ga*MTkzODYzODcwNy4xNzEyNDkwMzg4*_ga_E1WBSX9YR8*MTcxNzkyNzMxMS41LjAuMTcxNzkyNzMxMS4wLjAuMA..&_ga=2.200272939.402205040.1717927311-1938638707.1712490388

It will show up Citizen's Advice in the results, but it will also highlight other organisations in your local area that should be able to help!

If you would like to read up a bit about the transition from DLA to PIP for those turning 16 we have an advice page here: https://www.scope.org.uk/advice-and-support/moving-to-pip-when-dla-ends#Changing-from-DLA-to-PIP-at-16-click

I'll just move this to our PIP section incase you do have any further questions for our community about PIP!

poppy123456

For your UC claim TP doesn't apply in your case when you claim UC through a change of circumstances, known as natural migration. TP only applies when you claim through managed migration once you receive the letter asking you to apply.

Please remember than PIP is completely different to DLA and claiming one doesn't automatically entitle you to the other. When filling out the forms you should include as much relevant information as possible, without telling his life story.

You should also include a couple of real world examples of exactly what happened the last time he attempted each descriptor that applies to him. Adding detailed information such as where he was, what exactly happened and did anyone see it.

I totally understand how daunting the form filling process is but the best person to fill them out is yourself because you will know everything there is about how his conditions affect him. It's been known so many times for advance agencies to give such little information in the forms. Citizens Advice have a guide online that may help. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/pip/help-with-your-claim/fill-in-form-pip/

It will also help for you to have some understanding on the descriptors and what they mean before you even start to attempt those forms. Please take sometime to have a read of this. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-independence-payment-assessment-guide-for-assessment-providers/pip-assessment-guide-part-2-the-assessment-criteria#daily-living-activities

If you need extra time to return the form you can ring PIP to ask and they will give an extra couple of weeks. Please make sure you send any relevant evidence with the form because they rarely contact anyone for this.

If you have his Autism assessment report then it will be worth sending that. If it's anything like my daughter report then it does go into a lot of detail. When I first sent hers for her PIP claim what I did was go through the report and use a highlighter maker to highlight the areas which applied to the descriptors I thought applied to her. Her report is very long and I didn't want to risk them not reading the whole report.

If an assessment is needed (most have them) then you will be able to answer the questions on his behalf as his appointee.