Dealing with anxiety about PIP

redwitchnan

Hi All...I am the carer for my 14yo Autistic grandson..he has lived with me for 5 years now..he is on the spectrum..a high functioner..has adhd single side deafness and maybe PDA..all I hear about is the horror stories regarding PIP...
I am also the main carer for my 35yo son who has paranoid schizophrenia with psychotic breaks...who is also worrying about PIP....how can I deal with this the anxiety levels in both are high at the best of times but my son has been camped out at my house since before Christmas spending 20 hrs a day sleeping ..a sign that the depression is gaining a hold....

Alex

Hi @redwitchnan, welcome to the community.

I'm sorry to hear you're having an anxious time. Are you currently in the process of applying for PIP?

Whilst there are lots of negative stories about changing to PIP some people move onto PIP without any problems. 

Whatever happens - we're here to support you. If you need any advice on filling in the form, attending appointments, dealing with the outcome or if you just want a chat!

We have some excellent benefit advisors who can help you with any questions: 
https://community.scope.org.uk/categories/ask-a-benefits-advisor

And the community has lots of people who have been through the PIP process who can support you. 

redwitchnan

Hi Alex thank you for your welcome..both my son and grandson are in receipt of DLA but that Will all change soon as I understand..my son's soon I expect and my grandsons when he's 16...it's all very worrying for my son who is a paranoid schizophrenic...his depression  is really bad at the moment

mrsdogsbody

Sorry to hear how much you are having to cope with. Can you not get your son to see someone medical to help him with medication or therapy so it's easier for you and grandson.  Tell him if he refuses that he's not helping his own family and you can't cope with much more and then where will you all be.
your grandson will need to apply for pip at 16 but there's others things to sort before then in his case so ignore it as they change the rules etc we've rules when  there's a budget!  So take one day at a time. You are doing amazing to cope with this but have you asked for a carers assessment from your authority as you may find they can help you all by social workers or advice etc, free service too so see if you can get one.  Also Facebook pages have carers pages that maybe good for you too.

redwitchnan

Hi mrsdogsbody my son is under the mental health team and he actually lives in his own place but he has been with me since the week before Christmas bedding down in his nephew's room ..sleeping 20+ hours a day...I'm happy with this even if it's not ideal cos I can keep an eye on him 're eating taking his medication etc I think the worry is that has gonna be assessed by someone who just reads of a sheet rather than understanding the complexities of his condition..I did say that his key worker is the one to go with him to any interviews he has to attend as she knows his condition...how can these people assess what they don't know about...

WaterLily

Hi redwitchnan,
If my PIP application had gone the way that I had wanted it to, I would probably have never come on a forum like this. 
You only hear of all the horror stories because people need advice on appeals etc. Very seldom do you hear of people coming on to a forum to say that they were successful first time, no trouble. 
There are a lot of applicants that get the award they are entitled to, you just don't hear about them. 

Matilda

And the success rate for appeals is over 60%.  A couple of months ago Disability Rights stated that the success rate is now 68%.