PIP Tribunal, My story so far.

Hello, I have been a reader of this wonderful site for a while but this is my first post.

I want to share my journey so far, as I have got a lot of useful information from here, I hope to be some help to others in a similar situation. 

My son is autistic , has sever anxiety, agoraphobia and a fair few other issues that go hand in hand with autism. He was in receipt of dla from the age of 11 he is now 17. Fast forward to June 2017 3 days before his 16th we got the letter inviting us to apply for PIP.

So we went ahead and applied, I became his appointee. In the August of 17 we had a face to face at our home. The Atos assessor arrived late and when I opened the door and welcomed her in she never said one word. My son needs support to communicate and does not communicate with anybody he does not know. He was sat on the sofa and never once looked up nor did he speak during the assessment. The assessor kept trying to engage with my son without a response, I would then answer and she would just roll her eyes and tut at me. I gave her an up to date prescription list and some various reports we have, she looked at them typed for about 30 seconds which I thought odd, as there was a lot to write. After around 25 minutes she left. 

At the end of September 2017 we received the decision notice, 0 points. I could not believe it, sheer panic took over as I see this benefit as a key to help and support my son needs as he becomes an adult. During school years my son was allowed a taxi to and from school as the local authority clearly understood the needs of my son, if an under funded local council understood then why didn't the DWP! I called the DWP and requested the MR this changed nothing still 0 points. 

So tribunal it was, I had no idea what I was doing and didn't come across this site until after I sent our appeal off. I wrote a letter 2 pages long picking the most important things my son hits the points on. I got a letter from the tribunal saying they have have received my appeal this was in October 17. I then sent in all the evidence the assessor had plus I requested my son's full medical history from my GP and sent that in as well.

Then the waiting game started. After 6 months I called up to see how long the wait was for a date, I was told 38 weeks. Fast forward to 56 weeks and we finally get our appeal date for 20th November 18. 

I went all by myself paper work in hand ready to fight as I always have done for my son. When I arrived the clerk came over and asked if I was ok , I said I'm very nervous as I haven't a clue what to expect. He was surprised I didn't have any one with me or any representation. But he was very kind and talked me through what would happen. He said there is a judge a doctor and another healthcare professional and they are impartial to DWP and want to make sure you get what your entitled to . 

I got called in around 5 minutes after speaking with the clerk. The judge introduced himself and the panel and they were all very nice. I sat ready to produce my fight, but there was no need. They had already gone through all the evidence and decided to award my son's enhanced daily living and standard mobility. I was so shocked a burst into tears. They were very kind and asked if I was ok with the award, i said yes of course thank you. They then asked why my son wasn't with me, I explained how he has gotten worse and hasn't left the house in over 8 months. They then asked me to wait outside while they produce the paperwork. The clerk came back out handed me the paper work and said they decided to award enhanced mobility due to your son's condition. I couldn't believe it, over a year of worry and stress to all be over in 10 minutes. Not one question asked no fight to be had! 

Now again it's the waiting as to when we will finally hear and get the award notice from DWP.  It's been 3 weeks but I know it will take longer. 

Anyway I'm rambled on far too long! Thanks for reading and good luck to those going through this whole process.