Is there anywhere that gives help with examples of how to word PIP answers please?

dannistar

Hi  is there anywhere that gives help with examples of how to word pip answers please? My son is 16 and being asked to go from DLA to PIP. please could I ask you are kind with your answers/responses as I’ve been watching here a while & asked a couple of questions and I’ve seen (although not on any of mine) some people be really abrupt and worrying with the way they respond this has put me off asking for help here  thank you - 

Cher_Alumni

Hi @dannistar - I hope you and your son are keeping well,

As conditions impact people in different ways, an example might inadvertently lead you into filling in the form in a certain manner, overlooking the varied ways your son is impacted by his condition in relation to the PIP activities. 

I appreciate that a template can be helpful to get the ball rolling, but the key pieces to remember when filling in your claim form are:

• to familiarise yourself with the PIP activities and descriptors, identifying which points you believe your son should score and providing evidence to support that.  Visit this Citizens Advice table of PIP activities, points, descriptors to have a look.
• to provide 2/3 detailed accounts of the last time your son tried one of the PIP activities, including who was there, where it happened, what the activity was, what his difficulties were and how others had to assist him to complete the task reliably.  Remembering that unless your son can carry out an activity reliably, that is safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly and in reasonable time then a particular descriptor can't be satisfied.

Also, have you accessed any support from a welfare representative with the PIP process?  If not, I'd highly recommend you do that.  You can find someone local to you via the Advice Local website, entering your postcode and selecting 'welfare benefits' from the drop down list. 

I'm sorry to hear that some of the responses on our community have deterred you from posting to ask for help.  If you want to discuss this further, privately with a member of the team, please email us at community@scope.org.uk. 

In addition, remember you can report anything you think breaches our house rules by clicking the flag icon at the bottom of the post or comment, typing your reason for reporting the post and clicking the ‘send report’ button.  Or you can choose to not see the posts of specific members - if you need any help with this just give me a shout.

I hope that's helped and have a great weekend - Cher.

dannistar

Thank you. 

janer1967

Hi there

Following the advice given above is a great way to approach the application 

There is no right or wrong way of wording the response just say it as it is and give detailed real examples 

Good luck for your son claim 

Lots of people get awarded with no issues you just don't read them on a forum 

dannistar

Thank you. 

chiarieds

Hi @dannistar - may I just add a few things to the great advice Cher has given above. I have looked back & see your son has CP but also some mental health problems. The following site is about completing a PIP claim if you have these problems, & I hope you find it useful. 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/

Keeping a diary, for say a week, can be useful in identifying the difficulties your son faces. Sometimes you're so used to providing assistance/supervision without thinking about it for example. You can just use this diary as a prompt, or send it off with your claim pack to illustrate what a typical week is like for your son. With this, or any other pages you may add at the end (often more space is needed to answer a question fully giving those all important couple of detailed real life examples as mentioned above), ensure you put your son's name & National Insurance number on each page.

You can also ring the PIP enquiry line, tel: 0800 121 4433 & ask for an extension, & they will automatically give you another 2 weeks to complete the form. However do return it at least a week before your new deadline as the post can be delayed currently.

Do just try to tackle a few questions at a time as it all seems a bit daunting, but you'll get there. Lastly, good luck.

dannistar

Thank you all for being so helpful & kind. 

dannistar

How do I message someone privately/directly please ? 

janer1967

Hi 

You need to have 25 posts to pm somebody and you have 12

Once you reach 25 you click on the envelope under your name then enter the person username without the @ in front 

Not all members accept pm they can select not to 

Or you can put @ before a user name to tag them but the comments will appear for everyone to see 

You can also post on their wall by clicking on username but again this can be seen by others 

chiarieds

Click on your user name, which opens up a new window. You will see 4 small symbols under your name. Click on the 2nd symbol from the left, then, right at the top you will see 'New message.' Click on that & you will see a box opens up on the left. Type in the recipients user name (but don't put @ in front or it). Type your message, then 'Post reply.'

Edit: Didn't look at the number of posts you've done. You could ask a person by tagging them, i.e. put an @ directly before their user name, if they wouldn't mind you private messaging, but you would need them to message you first. If they do that, then you can reply.

Cher_Alumni

@dannistar Just to add to others advice about private messaging (PM'ing) - it's 25 points needed rather than 25 posts to do this.  You can accrue points by interacting on the community and posting, etc.  At the moment you have 16 points (you can check your points total on your profile page), so it shouldn't be too long until you have enough.  If you visit our online community guidelines it has a little more detail on PMs and other aspects of being a member

dannistar

Thank you 

dannistar

My son has CP which for him affects all his limbs. His hands don’t have strong motor or fine motor grasp/grip, he also has cognitive issues along with memory loss so for the instance of preparing & cooking a meal he is unable to safely chop, peel or open packaging tins or cans. Is that the type of thing id say? 

I’ve found the local carers centre who can help me fill in the forms when needed but I want to gather as much as possible in my head so im prepared. 

Thank you all. 

janer1967

Hi again 

You need to explain why he cant do the tasks,  what consequences would be eg burn or cut himself 

Who does it for hin , can he do it safely reliably and repeated 

Any real examples of what happened when he last tried to do tasks 

Making a daily diary can help write down what he does everyday and what others do for him as you often forget the little things 

You can use the diary to prompt the form filling or send it in as evidence 

atlas47

Hi @donnistar

Make sure you give real world or lived, examples, of what happened when your son attempted to say chop up food.

Where injuries resultant, was chopped items, landed on kitchen floor.

Repeat this for each descriptor, even though you may think you are repeating yourself, this is important.

I would also suggest, that you seek welfare rights advice, from say CAB.

Keep us informed, we are to here to help, as much as possible.

Best wishes

dannistar

Thank you both so helpful 

dannistar

I do feel like it will be a lot of repeating so thank you for saying this is ok to do.

dannistar

We have an older son who has more needs and we didn’t do any explaining etc and he got enhanced but maybe that’s because his condition shows it’s obvious he’ll never be able or maybe we were extremely lucky 

janer1967

You were probably lucky 

We are just telling you from everyone experience 

The better the application is the better chance you have putting time into it initially saves time later on so you don't end up with the incorrect award 

dannistar

Thank you @janer1967 I appreciate any positive friendly advice

dannistar

Ok received letter today to say please ring pip as DLA is ending so we rang & they sending the ‘how your life is affected’ form in post.
I’m now even more anxious because it’s time ?
I will be back for more support if that’s ok please & thank you.