Moving from DLA to PIP

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longmars

Hi there

My son is moving from DLA to PIP now that he's turned 16years old. we haven't received the paperwork yet but I am anxiously awaiting it.

My son has autism, PDA and cerebral palsy - its managed pretty well and he's in a fairly good place at the moment and has worked hard to make adaptions so he can function as independantly as possible. A lot of the time he refuses help so he does smell as unable to clean himself properly for example. I am worried as filling out the form is going to trigger him and he's going to struggle to complete the form - he feels he needs no help and doesn't understand the help he receives compared to his friends.

Does anyone have any advice on how to support him filling out the form and not smashing his self esteem in the process, especially as he denies and refuses a lot of help.

Jimm_Alumni

Hi @longmars, first of all welcome to the community! 😊 I hope we can help you out with this. Moving from DLA to PIP can be quite a change. I also understand the mindset of not wanting any help from your son. I was certainly similar when I had Crohn's disease at 19! Having said that however, you can sit down and complete his form with him. So you aren't doing it just yourself and taking it from him, but doing it with him. I'm not sure the best way to go about it, but perhaps there's some way to explain that the money from PIP is for him to use as he would like? It is meant to be for the extra costs that come with being disabled, but it will be his money.

We do have an advice section on moving from DLA to PIP if it helps inform you of the process: https://www.scope.org.uk/advice-and-support/moving-to-pip-when-dla-ends#Changing-from-DLA-to-PIP-at-16-click