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Applying for PIP. Can anybody tell me about their experiences?

Ilove2crochet

Good afternoon everyone. I hope you are all well.

Just a bit of background about me. I am 29 and live with my husband and my little boy. I have severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss, diagnosed when I was aged 10 years old, a speech impediment (lisp), and I also have social anxiety, mainly due to my deafness.

I've never claimed any disability benefits before, especially PIP. I have started to apply for different jobs but I openly admit my disability because I need adaptation ie, especially when using the telephone and all alarms must have flashing beacons because I cannot hear it.. I feel like I am not given a chance because of my hearing impairment.

I have bad, bad social anxiety and I cannot mix up or interact with people very easy. I have to keep asking people to repeat themselves and they get frustrated. It's even worse when everyone wears mask and I am always telling them to put it down as I have to lipread.

I've been told that I should apply for PIP because of my deafness. It does cause anxiety and depression, which I've not been diagnosed with. By the end of the day, my head hurts because I am constantly trying to listen to people. I do have hearing aids and although I am so, so thankful for getting them free from NHS, they do not help me whatsoever. I've tried private aids, they're no better either. I get by without wearing them because when I do wear them, they're uncomfortable with constant background fizzing. It's exactly like tinnitus. There's nothing the audiologist can do about it due to my severe lack of hearing.

Anyway I am rambling on! Just wanted to ask, what happens when you telephone PIP to make a claim? My husband will be calling on my behalf as I cannot work out the relay UK app. Do you think I would be eligible for it and do I need proof that I suffer from social anxiety or can I put a personal statement? I'm completely new to all of this.

Thank you so much for reading if you've gotten this far

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Comments

calcotti

Ilove2crochet said: Anyway I am rambling on! Just wanted to ask, what happens when you telephone PIP to make a claim? My husband will be calling on my behalf as I cannot work out the relay UK app.

You will need take part in the call but can then authorise your husband to speak.
You will need to provide details of your NI number, bank account details, your GP etc. You will not be asked any detailed information about your health or how it affects you.
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/pip/help-with-your-claim/how-to-claim/

To be eligible to receive PIP you need to score enough points when assessed on your ability to do the PIP activities to the required standard.
https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/personal-independence-payment-pip/pip-points-system

poppy123456

Hi,

One thing to bear in mind is that PIP isn't awarded based on a diagnosis. What matters is how your conditions affect you against the 12 PIP activities. Have a read of this. https://pipinfo.net/

When filling out the forms you should add a couple of real world incidents of exactly what happened the last time you attempted that activity for each descriptor that applies to you.

Include information such as where you were, what exactly happened, did anyone see it and what the consequences were. You should aim for at least half an A4 side of paper per activity that applies.

It's not about your ability to work, people claim PIP and work.

The backlogs are huge for PIP right across most of the country so from applying to having a decision is about 10 months. You should expect an assessment by either telephone or face to face because most people have them.

Tori_Scope

Welcome to the community @Ilove2crochet

I like your username!

I hope you've found the above replies helpful in understanding the PIP process a little better.

I can see that you've also mentioned you're struggling to find work at the moment. It's unfortunate that not all employers are understanding. I was wondering whether you might perhaps be interested in accessing one of our employment services. Perhaps you could take a look and let us know what you think?

Raindrops1999

Hello there,

It's worth noting that Personal Independence Payment ISN'T based on your diagnosis - but rather how it affects your daily living and/or mobility. However, it does sound like you could fit the PIP descriptors and points. Here's a link to the table of descriptors and their points:

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/Global/Migrated_Documents/adviceguide/pip-9-table-of-activities-descriptors-and-points.pdf

If you have a look at that, you'll have a rough idea of what you could score points on.

I have mental health issues, autism, and physical health issues. From DLA to PIP, I scored a big 0-points. The assessor lied through the entire report saying I could do everything (which of course wasn't true). I didn't bother appealing it because I was 16-years old at the time and thought I didn't need it.

Fast forward to 2017, I got a lot worse and whilst I knew I could get PIP, I felt like I didn't deserve it. I was then awarded the standard rate of daily living. Until I got even worse and told them I had a change of circumstances. Then I got awarded the high rate of PIP on daily living. I still don't get mobility (even though I deserve it).

My PIP renewal came last month, I got someone from my local autism charity to fill it in. My mum called PIP for me a few days ago and there's still a bit of a backlog from COVID-19. But nevertheless, we got it done.

Good luck, I think you should apply if your disabilities affect your daily living and/or mobility.

poppy123456

Raindrops1999 said:

I still don't get mobility (even though I deserve it).

I must be honest here, no one actually deserves PIP. That's not part of the criteria. People claim PIP because of the way their conditions affect them against the 12 PIP activities. I claim PIP but not because i deserve it.