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Carer for my 20 year old son who has Autism - UC and ESA help please?

zuhara66

Hi my name is Anne, it is very nice to meet you all. I am the carer for my 20 year old son who has Autism and I am just about to embark on the nightmare that is claiming ESA and Universal credit for him.
He is a full time student and has an award for PIP for life. So I cannot believe the government is so uncaring that disabled people have to attend an interview at the job center just to have someone tell them if they really are disabled or not! I don't know what my doctor will say when I ask him for a medical note for my son .
Ha anyone else been through this with their child? I am worried as my son gets very anxious about going to new places and if it is very busy and noisy he will not cope. I really am so confused by it all. Thank you, sorry if I sound a bit hysterical.

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poppy123456

Hi and welcome,

The appointment at the job centre will just be to confirm his identity which everyone has to attend, this is normal procedure for everyone.

PIP isn't awarded for life and the longest award is 10 years, sadly this doesn't automatically entitle him to limited capability for work. He will need to send in fit/sick notes from his GP to start the LCW process off. He will eventually receive a work capability assessment to fill in and return with all his evidence to support his claim. This evidence should state how his conditions affect his ability to do any type of work.

Once this is received he will most likely have to attend a work capability assessment. Once a decision's been made on this he will either be given LCW, LCWRA or be found fit for work. If the decision is LCWRA then he'll receive an extra £336 from the 4th month of his claim from when he sent in his first fit note.

Also do be aware that because PIP and a fit notes doesn't automatically entitle him to LCW then he may have to attend other job centre appointments but this will depend on his work coach. Some work coaches are very understanding and will turn off work commitments but this is the descretion of his work coach. If there are issues with this you can request a new work coach who will hopefully be more undertanding.

See link. https://www.entitledto.co.uk/help/Universal_Credit_Work_Capability_Assessment

Chloe_Alumni

Hi @zuhara66 and a warm welcome to the community, great to have you with us.

I hope Poppy has been able to help with the logistics. I imagine this is a daunting process for you as well.

You may find looking at other posts made in the parents and carers section helpful to read.

If there is anything else we can do to help you then please do let us know, we are always here.

Adrian_Scope

Hello @zuhara66. How are you getting on with this? Was your GP able to help with the fit note?

zuhara66

Hi, We are still waiting for our appointment with him, but I am hoping he will help us.
I am currently trying to get an appointment with our local citizens advice to help us with the esa and universal credits forms. They do have a drop in, but if we go and it is busy my son, because of his condition, will get stressed.
So everything is going slowly and in the meantime they are stopping some of my rent help and council tax because they say he is now a non dependent. The college is giving me a letter for the council tax, but I don't know if this will help with the rent.

Chloe_Alumni

Hi @zuhara66, I'm sorry things are moving slowly, but it's great that you are waiting for a citizen's advice appointment.

I hope the college will be able to support you with council tax. Here is what I have found about housing benefits and non-dependants (your son):

There is also no deduction made for a non-dependant if they are under 25 and on income support, income-based JSA, assessment phase income-related ESA or (unless they have any earnings) universal credit.

If you need any further information then please do let us know.

zuhara66

Hi Chloe, Well after waiting 3 weeks for an appointment we finally saw the doctor. He refused to give us a fit note. He said Sebastian was already unavailable for work a he is a full time student, and he believes he could do some limited work anyway. I tried to explain to him why it was needed, but all he kept saying was that he did not understand and the universal tax credit people would have to write to him to explain what they wanted. So now I do not know what to do. Should I just go ahead and make the claim anyway?

poppy123456

@zuhara66 for your son to claim limited capability for work under universal credit he will need a fit note from his GP, without this he will be unable to claim it. I’d advise making another appointment to see a different GP who will hopefully agree to the fit note. Universal credit do not write to any GP for a fit note, it’s the claimants responsibility to sent it in.

Chloe_Alumni

Hi @zuhara66, I imagine this is very frustrating! Are you able to make another appointment? Like Poppy said, hopefully a different GP will be able to help.

Please do keep us updated!

Julie77

I have the same problem with my daughter, she is 19 but mental she is 3 and we have a interview with the job centre and certainly doesn't like crowds and strangers

Chloe_Alumni

Hi @Julie77 and a warm welcome to the community! I'm sorry to hear she'll find the process stressful. Is there anything we can do to help?

Julie77

Well we are going to see how the interview goes tomorrow and then we will see if any other problems occur thanks

Adrian_Scope

Best of luck tomorrow @Julie77. Is it her initial interview appointment?

Julie77

Yes it is, so I will be overloading them with paperwork and the there is loads

Chloe_Alumni

I really hope it goes well tomorrow @Julie77!

poppy123456

Julie77 said:

Yes it is, so I will be overloading them with paperwork and the there is loads

All you will need at the first appointment is ID. Evidence for the limited capability for work should not be taken with you tomorrow, this will be needed once you return the work capability assessment form.

Julie77

They have told me to bring what I can as she doesn't have much Id other than birth certificate

Chloe_Alumni

I hope today goes well @Julie77 and please do let us know how you get on.

Adrian_Scope

How did you get on yesterday @Julie77?

Julie77

Not to bad had to to confirm identity through the social worker's and there were tech issues but got 2nd appointment next week where I have to supply a sick note for them. My daughter didn't cope with it all thou she had a mental breakdown

Chloe_Alumni

Hi @Julie77, I'm sorry your daughter found it really difficult, that cannot have been easy to see. I really hope the second appointment can go smoothly!