DLA to PiP for 16 yr old

km21

Hi, 
my son has almost come to the end of DLA and in the next few weeks will have to apply for PIP.
I am concerned as amongst his other issues he struggles to talk to people and i am worried how he will answer question on a telephone interview about his various conditions. He is almost 16 but is emotionally and special ed needs of a 10 year old. Any advice greatly appreciated

Lisatho11987777

@calcotti may be able to help or @janer1967 i am not fully up to speed on this sort of thing 

calcotti

Normally assessments are face to face but for obvious reasons are having to be done by phone. You are allowed to be with him when this happens but you would be expected to let him speak. 

Have you actually completed the health form yet or are you just looking ahead. If you haven't done the form yet it is really important to be as comprehensive as you can when describing his difficulties and the support he needs. You can obviously include information about his difficulties on the phone as part of the information.

You may want to look at whether it is appropriate for you to be his appointee for benefits purposes https://www.gov.uk/become-appointee-for-someone-claiming-benefits. If you were an appointee you could speak and act for him - but DWP will only permit this if they are satisfied that he cannot act for himself. 

janer1967

Great advice as above 

km21

the dla asked me in Nov 20 if he needed an appointee, but i hadn't heard anything after that. i rang DLA today and they said that it is on his system that I've applied to become an appointee. ive not had any follow up from anyone to confirm if i am an appointee or not. my son has significant problems with verbal reasoning & communication including processing what to say. if he speaks he will say yes or no to a stranger just to get them to shut up. i do have a speech therapist report that states he has communication difficulties associated with autism. i dont know if that it any use