Pip declined autism/ dislexia and anxiety

Alf

Hi I'm abbie. I have dislexia, autism and anxiety. Today I got the PIP desision through the post. It was declined. They only gave me 2 marks for having to use a overlay.  There report said I can do things that I can't and I know I should of got points on all bar questions 12. I sent in laods of evidence of my struggles and my diagnosis es. I just feel so useless. It's like the DWP/ PIP people think my diagnosis es aren't worse a look. My autism, anxiety and dislexia all impact my daily life but the don't see that. 
The PIP assessment was a phone call due to covid and I had a social worker help me communicate with them but apparently I didn't. 
And in there report it said due to having a B in mathematics I'll be able to budget without any help, which is not true , why else would I currently be having sessions to help with my budgeting, Bill paying, communicating, phone calls, and how to live independently with my 1 year old daughter. 

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

anisty

Hi it is really important to understand that p.i.p is not awarded for your disability, but how your disability affects you (as everyone has said)

Remember that the assessor wont know that, unless you explain to them the impact, keeping in mind how that relates to each descriptor.

I am not an assessor, or anything to do with dwp but, on the face of it, you have written a post here which is grammatically well constructed with a few spelling errors and it is really easy to understand what you are saying - so, if you are writing so well on your application form, this is going to go against you because, despite having dyslexia, your writing is very good.

If that post took you hours to construct and you needed someone else to help you type it up, well that is the kind of thing dwp need to know.

Similarly, it is very hard to understand how you can have achieved a B in maths, and yet not be able to budget.

Im not saying this isnt true - only that you would need to have a good think about what difficulties you run into with budgeting and how you managed to overcome these in order to do so well in your exam. You need to explain to dwp how this can be so they get a good insight into exactly what the problem is.


On a point of interest, my son who is autustic with learning difficulties has no maths qualification and was unable to say what change was obtained from a pound if 75p was spend - yet he scored nothing for the budgeting question either so you can see the severity they are looking for on that descriptor.

The fact you have a daughter - you dont say whether you are with a partner or not - but im afraid dwp will take the view that you are able to form relationships which will count against you for autism being a disabling condition.


Again, im not trying to say it is impossible to claim successfully because you have charge of a young child.

Only that, the fact you have a young child implies a certain level of ability.

Therefore, dwp need to know who is helping you look after your daughter and what help exactly do you need to look after her.

Autism is a spectrum, as i am sure you know,  and it is perfectly possible to have autism and have exceptionally good functionality so a diagnosis of autism will not automatically lead to an award. Dwp are going to need to see exactly what you cannot do, due to your difficulties.

If you have reports and assessments showing your diagnosis (eg a copy of your ADOS assessment, then do submit that even if it was done years ago - my son's report was 9 yrs old and they accepted it)


But i then went on to describe his difficulties in detail, and these were confirmed by a staff member at the centre he attends.

Obviously, if you have professionals involved in your support that can speak to dwp, this helps massively.

Im afraid if you are managing without professional input (social worker, support worker etc) then this is another thing that will go against you.


You need to detail who flagged you up as needing help with budgeting and is the person that helps someone that could add a supporting statement?


All the best




Edit to add - just re read your post about needing all the help to manage from your social worker - if your social worker can do a supporting statement detailing exactly what help is needed, that will really help.

If this goes to tribunal, you can ask to take your social worker with you for support too though they will want to speak to you, the fact an s w is with you could add weight.

Alf

I just found out that adult social services have done a report on my needs and issues and it means I'm eligible for a 'budget' to help me and support from them so I'm going to try get a copy of there report s and supports to help me with the claim. 

anisty

I just looked on my son's report and remember now what i wrote on his application form.

So my son has memorised the answers to certain sums. And can answer but he really struggles with the concept of what is a lot of money and what is a small amount.

When i noticed a lot of money had built up in his account, he mistakenly thought he was very rich and bought a load of computer stuff online, and very quickly his account was in trouble and i had to go and speak to the bank.

I then told him he didnt have that much money and he had to stop spending. Taking that literally, he never spent a penny after that!


His money has built again and i checked his balance recently. I said to him he had a lot in his account and asked him to guess how much.


He guessed £100 000!!!! In all seriousness!


So you see he really has no clue what he is doing, yet his report states there is no evidence that he has any cognitive difficulty causing him not to be able to work out change in a shop.


So you really will need to provide good evidence to score on this.