Children with Mental health issue's being assessed by Physiotherapists

ahmed

I have 2 Children who are Autistic during their transfer from DLA to Pip, They were assessed by an appointed assessor whose qualification is a Physiotherapist, How can that be allowed, over a year ago my Daughter was assessed by one of these Physiotherapists my Daughter had no idea what was going on and why she was being asked all of these strange questions. Actually my Daughter broke down during the assessment. The assessor gave her 5 minutes to calm down and she continued the assessment it was my Fault I should have halted the assessment straight away. the result of the assessment stated that my Daughter put into the Work related group. So that means she had to go the job Centre and be seen to look for work, I went to the Job Centre with my Daughter to support her. We sat with the appointed Job seeker assistant, The assistant said to me please sir would you mind asking your Daughter to take a seat over there for a moment while I have a word with you. I said ok. The gentleman said to me. Sir it is my opinion that your Daughter should not be here and has been put into the wrong Group, She should be in a support Group and not work related group he says the young lady has no Idea what we are talking about she did understand or comprehend what she was being ask. She has been wrongly assessed. The final outcome was eventually I had to take the DWP to a Tribunal in the city of London. When we entered the Tribunal we were told very quickly not even to sit down that we had won our case and that we are very sorry your Daughter has been put through this. We will be writhing to the DWP directly informing them of out Decision. It is very wrong that young people who have already been Diagnosed with a Mental health issue by a professional that they then have to be assessed by a physiotherapist. I ask my Self if some of these people who work for the DWP had a Child and suddenly realized that something was not right with them such as a mental health issue would they take them to a Physiotherapist. I don't think so yes they use Physiotherapists to assess our Children's Mental health state, By the way I asked the Physiotherapist if she had experience with Mental Health, Her reply was some.

Nystagmite

Awful. But I can't say I'm surprised.

I had a PIP assessment and the nurse (she just said she was a nurse) claimed she knew what Autism was. It was clear from what she wrote, she didn't have a clue.

ahmed

Hi my name is Alan, My Son is Ahmed he is Autistic and really cannot go out by himself. What the DWP has put us through has not only affected our Children but us as Parents. I spent Years with my Daughter who is also Autistic, She was gaining a lot of confidence and started to believe in herself until this appointment with an assessor who claimed she had some knowledge of Mental Health issues, However I told her I know you are a Physiotherapist and I can tell you now my Daughter does not have any Physical Disabilities she is Autistic and that can have an affect on her decision making like crossing a road or in a public place. they managed to regress my daughter to such a stage she did not want to go out again.

ahmed

She watched my Daughter have a break down during the assessment and did not care. I really do blame myself for not halting the assessment, I feel so guilty I can never forget it. But I took them to the tribunal and won. I will never give up on my kids. They cannot fight for themselves we have to do it.

Liam_Alumni

Hi @ahmed,

I'm so sorry to hear about the problems you have had - it certainly sounds like a stressful time. I'm glad that your tribunal was successful.

ahmed

thank you Liam, However it is not finished yet, My Son was also assessed more than a year ago. I believe he was also wrongly assessed the assessor did not want to see him. the assessment was a home assessment, I kept my son home, she seen my Son said hello and that was it. How can you make an assessment based on that then award him the low rate of Mobility. again I have to repeat it is not about the amount of money you get but doing the job correctly. the DWP just believes that if they give you something that you will be satisfied. 

Liam_Alumni

Hi @ahmed,

I'm sorry to hear that. If you're unhappy with the award of low rate mobility, have you applied for a Mandatory Reconsideration?

There's a handy video available on our website should you wish to find out more information about MRs:

ahmed

Hi am going to appeal my Son's award, should have done it long time ago. however when I phoned the DWP and asked advice from them about appealing their Decision to award my Son the low rate of Mobility. they first thing they said to me was ah if you do that be aware that you could loose the whole amount of your reward, I believe they just want to scare you off. However I have learned so much over the past couple of years listening to other people and reading. I am not being put off and I am going to appeal the decision shortly. Imagine my Son is Autistic and has a serious learning Disability he attends a special School for Children with Autism run by the NAS. My son cannot even cross the Road by himself. Made up my mind to appeal. Someone has to look out for people who cannot defend themselves. 

ahmed

I am new to scope, wish I had know about it before, love to read what other people think and perhaps maybe I can be of some assistance to other people also. I am so happy I signed up. Bless you all and I wish all of you the best in solving your problems. Alan

BenefitsTrainingCo

Hi Alan,

I completely agree with your decision to challenge your son's award - hopefully you will get that changed too. Do consider making a complaint about the assessment company as well. Both PIP and ATOS have complaints procedures you can find on their websites.

Because this has happened to both your children, your MP might be interested as well. Unfortunately it is quite common for the DWP to try to persuade people not to challenge decisions. There must be many people don't go ahead because of these phone calls.

Will

ahmed

Sorry for coming back so late, But thank you for the advice, I will surely take your advice, It is so important to challenge some of the decisions the DWP make, I really must stress it is not about the money, However if I am not here to fight for my Sons righst and he cannot do it himself, who else is going to do it. No for me it is about the  assessors doing their job properly. What I have witnessed in the past with my Daughter who is also Autistic being assessed was so heart breaking listening to some of the questions she was being asked, she looked so confused, it should not take more than an Hour for a person to work out that my Daughter should not have been treated in such a manner, within 5 minutes of the assessment the assessor should have realized that my Daughter was not up to the task, She seen how frustrated my Daughter had become, I blame myself for not terminating the Interview.