Hi, my name is Fiona1974! What questions might the DWP ask my autistic son?

Fiona1974

I’m so pleased I have found this forum having just received notification my autistic sons DLA will be changing from his 16th birthday next year. I want to put myself as his appointee as there’s no way he’d be able to manage his own finances and be responsible for notifying them. I just wanted to ask of people’s experiences of speaking with the DWP as my son wouldn’t handle speaking/seeing to them very well. Could I ask what sort of questions they ask? Thanks in advance for any advice ?

chiarieds

Hi @Fiona1974 - & welcome to the community. There's some info in the following link about becoming an appointee: https://www.gov.uk/become-appointee-for-someone-claiming-benefits

The next link may be helpful about claiming PIP with mental health problems. Please see: https://www.mentalhealthandmoneyadvice.org/en/welfare-benefits/pip-mental-health-guide/help-with-your-pip-claim/how-to-fill-in-the-pip-form/

Questions with PIP will be about how your son copes with activities of daily living, including how he engages with other people, budgeting, & if he needs help to plan, or undertake a journey for example. These are all detailed in the link above. Have a look through the 2nd link & come back with any questions any time. Hope this helps.

Cher_Alumni

Hello @Fiona1974 and welcome to our community.  We can definitely help you out as you transition to PIP and look at becoming an appointee.  It's great that you found us.

I've leave you in the expert hands of our members, and have moved this post to our PIP, DLA and AA discussion group to help people spot it easier

Good luck and please let us know how you get on.

Fiona1974

Thank you ? 

poppy123456

HI and welcome,

You will first need to start the PIP claim off, he won't just be transferred across automatically. To become his appointee you need to ring DWP to ask them to start this process off. Under normal times they usually send someone to your house to fill out the form and to check everything else is ok.

When i became my daughters appointee the forms were filled out very quickly and it was all completed within a few weeks. You need to give them your bank account details for the money to go into, if he's successfully awarded.

The forms you receive from DWP with then be in your name, not your son's. When filling out the PIP forms you need to fill them in as if you are your son because it's him you're talking about, not yourself. You will be resonsible for reporting any changes, filling out forms and ringing DWP if there's any problems. They won't ever need to speak to your son, infact they won't be allowed to discuss anything related to his claim with him.

Once you receive the forms for the PIP application you need to fill them in with as much relevant information as posisble about how your son's conditions affect him. Then add a couple of recent real world examples of what happened the last time you attempted that actvitiy for each descriptor that applies to him.

His DLA will contine to be paid until a decision's been made on the PIP providing they receive the forms on time.

Hope this helps.

Fiona1974

Thank you! This is really helpful info x

janer1967

Hi and welcome glad you have found the info helpful and good luck with becoming your sons appointee 

Keep us updated and ask if you need anymore help 

Tori_Scope

Welcome to the community @Fiona1974 I'm glad the above advice has been helpful. Please feel free to stick around and ask any further questions you might have, or join us for a chat in our virtual coffee lounge.