Challenging PIP decision for autism

Nader

Hi all
I hope you can advise. My daughter has autism and when she turned 16 in 2018 she had to move from DLA to PIP. The PIP award was denied. She is 'high functioning'. We didn't challenge the decision at the time (28th September 2018), probably because we weren't thinking straight due to my personal physical difficulties which consequently resulted in me having to stop working (I claim UC now).

We had simply accepted that our daughter is not eligible for PIP, until reading a news article a few days ago to the effect that due to a high court ruling in December 2017 DWP may have judged incorrectly in denying PIP awards to claimants who could not undertake unfamiliar journeys unaccompanied.  Autism is one of the disability categories listed. This is a portion of the article:

Claimants should have been awarded the standard mobility rate of PIP if their psychological distress meant they were unable to undertake any unfamiliar journey without having someone with them.

But instead the DWP had been underscoring people for this part of the assessment, meaning some didn't qualify for the mobility rate of PIP at all.

Some qualified only for the daily living rate - and if they weren't eligible for that either, they received no PIP whatsoever.

The department is now reassessing claims and making adjustments . . . 

That pretty much describes my daughter's situation. In view of the above, can we still challenge their decision, or is it too late now?

Thanks for your time in reading this. I'm grateful for any advice.

Nader

@woodbine
Thanks for that. I had considered making a new claim, but I'm not sure if I could, since her condition isn't new or deteriorated. Who do you think would be best to contact for advice in this particular case?