Had my pip assessment , requested the PA4 , no points awarded

AdeT1973
AdeT1973 Community Member Posts: 5 Listener
in PIP, DLA, ADP & AA

I will keep my issues very brief , im still awaiting an autism assessment along with adhd and ocd after 5 years. Around 6 months ago i found out about right to choose and they said my assessment should be done within 9 months ( im now 6 months into the 9 ). I had to take 2 AQ50 tests 1 for nhs and 1 for right to choose - both tests saw a score of at least 45 out of 50 .

Hence i have no formal diagnosis , but years of anxiety , depression and panic attacks . All the tried antidepressants havent worked or made me worse.I have terrible social anxiety as i cant read people or social cues at all which either leads me to need to withdraw or i can become stressed and aggressive . i dont leave the house very often due to this. i have managed to live a solitary life for 30 years but now due to the marriage breakdown and no one wanting me at the family home i am in a very different enviroment and struggling badly .

I got my pip assessment quite quickly within around 2 months of applying .

Immediately after the assessment i requested the PA4 and was appalled at the assessors comments , wording when i read it. i will try to break this down into simple points .

I have terrible social anxiety this even stretches to phone calls - she stated there was no instance where i sounded stressed at all during the call even though i had notified her at the beginning of the call i was extremely anxious . I know stress reflects in my voice the same as it does in most people . I was lost for words a few times during the assessment but she claims i answered all questions clearly , however later on she says there were questions i didnt answer clearly and contradicts herself .

This part however is where i really noticed a trend in the fact she had typed completely different every single time i stated anything saying "i cant cope " she changed the wording to struggles with . If i had said i "struggle with" i would have said and "i cant cope" along with it. on page 2 she has intentionally changed what i said 6 times .

Throughout the report she keeps putting " no formal diagnosis " and no medication . Firstly i do not control the amount of time my autism assessment takes , if i did i would already of had it .Secondly it seems idiotic to say no medication , why would they prescribe medication for a currently undiagnosed issue . Add to this there is no direct medication for autism . I have 2 AQ50 test , one for the NHS and one for right to choose , Both tests show scores over over 45 out of 50 . I doubt anyone wants to pay thousands of pounds of for testing someone who doesnt stand a high chance of being autistic ( sorry if i ranting a bit )

Earlier in the report she states that i cant sustain conversation with people , but later states im ok in public as on given days i may be able to say hello to a checkout operator if they greet me . i find this totally ridiculous , how does saying hello to someone on the days you can leave the house mean you are fine in social settings .

There is more and more and i am cross referencing her contradictory statements to prepare for a mandatory reconsideration and a complaint letter concerning her alteration and omission of other things . She has taken a lifelong issue for me and swept it aside like i have no issues whatsoever . She basically outright lied and intentionally omitted important information. Do these people have no conscience or morals ?

If you have experienced similar issues how did you approach complaining about the assessor and the mandatory reconsideration ?

Comments

  • Rosie_Scope
    Rosie_Scope Posts: 8,927 Online Community Team

    Hi @AdeT1973, this sounds so upsetting. It's horrible to talk about your difficulties to someone new and then feel like you weren't listened to or understood.

    I think sometimes taking quite a systematic response to the report can be helpful for your Mandatory Reconsideration. Going through each point in order, identifying where they've misunderstood or misrepresented what you said and providing some examples from your daily life to show why this isn't the case.

    You can also go through the points system to identify where you should have scored points: Personal Independence Payment (PIP) points system

    If you scroll down beyond the points descriptions on that page, it goes through the reliably, in a timely fashion, repeatedly and safely factors that the assessors also need to consider. That might be something to bring up with them too, as it may discount anything they've said about you being able to do things like say hello to the checkout staff occasionally.

    With the complaint, you can focus more on the impact their actions have had on you and the distress that it's caused. You can talk about the quality of the service and what you found poor about it, how you felt at the time, and how it affected you afterwards.

    Have you ever considered getting some help with your PIP case? Sometimes it can be helpful to speak to a trained adviser if that would be accessible to you. I know not everyone would feel comfortable talking with a stranger, but Turn2Us have a search tool if you did wanted to look for some local help: Turn2Us - AdviceFinder

    You definitely won't be the only one here who's had an experience like this, so I hope some of our members will be along soon to share some other thoughts and advice ☺️

  • AdeT1973
    AdeT1973 Community Member Posts: 5 Listener

    Thank you for your reply. I've completed my letter addressing every point thought where I was misunderstood or misquoted I am waiting to start my mandatory reconsideration . Randomly today after thinking no one cares and no one will ever help ,y GP assigned an autistic carer to me who will help me through this and my lcwra . She has even set in motion finding me a home . Again, your reply is much appreciated.

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