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Made the call!

anisty
anisty Community member Posts: 354 Pioneering
Finally, i have called dwp and asked for a copy of my son's assessment report for pip. Thank goodness i did - they are quoting a 16 week wait time from the assessment date!

The letter arrived today inviting my son to apply for his new bus pass. But he cant until this pip award arrives as they tie the expiry date of the bus pass into the expiry date of dla/pip awards. So there is no point presenting his current dla award letter as his dla expires in april this year.

So that is what spurred me on to call dwp. The man did say they would continue to pay his dla beyond the expiry date of dla (his dla award ends april 20th) He counted up the weeks and it didnt sound hopeful that we would hear any decision by april 20th. So it hasnt really helped the bus pass situation but hopefully the assessment report will give an idea as to whether or not he will be able to get his bus pass back if he loses it in april.


I wasnt too soothed by the new waiting music; think i preferred Vivaldi but only 20 mins wait time which wasnt too bad i thought middle of the day call.


And, actually knowing there are many more weeks to wait for a final decision is definitely helpful and im glad i made the call in the end

Comments

  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 53,352 Disability Gamechanger
    Hi,

    Timescales are just a guide and nothing more, i'm not even sure why they tell people a timescale to be honest but it can be anything from 2 weeks.

    When you do receive the report take a look at the dots next to the descriptors/activities, then use the PIP self test to transfer the dots from the report into the test and it will add up any recommended points he has because they won't be added in the report, it's just a recommendation. They usually go with the report. In 4 assessments i've never had a decision go against the report.


    If the decision does take a while and his bus pass expires, i do remember that you said he has a learning disability. This is one of the criteria for the bus pass, just so you know.



    I would appreciate it if members wouldn't tag me please. I have all notifcations turned off and wouldn't want a member thinking i'm being rude by not replying.
    If i see a question that i know the answer to i will try my best to help.
  • anisty
    anisty Community member Posts: 354 Pioneering
    Thanks @poppy123456. The man i spoke to mistakenly thought the letter i had received might have said 8 weeks. When i said it didnt give a time, he laughed and said something like 'oh, they've stopped putting that on, have they. It's an average 16wk wait atm. 

    Then he said they had made the decision for my son 5th feb and he counted on 16wks to say i should hear round about end of april.


    Yes i remember you said about the learning disability bus pass to me but im not sure that applies in scotland.

    I have emailed the council to see if they will take a look at that UC medical report as evidence.

    This is what i got in with the renewal reminder:




    I have discovered the benefits and work site and it is brilliant! Just a little too late for help in filling out the form, unfortunately.

    When i added up where i think he should score points, it comes out enhanced daily living and standard care.

    He should score high for communication, budget, social and i did give examples of his struggles on the form in those areas so i am hopeful.

    I fear mike is right on the cooking one. My son cant even get a task like that off the ground but it is pointless to conjecture why. That wont score anything.

    Even with no points there though, i remain hopeful.

    Thanks, as always, for being there x
  • anisty
    anisty Community member Posts: 354 Pioneering
    Just noticed it says on bus pass eligibility 'receiving care/treatment for learning disability' but i think that would be hard to prove in my son's case as it is support he receives, rather than treatment and care and it is secondary to the asd.
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 53,352 Disability Gamechanger
    You're welcome! I got the criteria for the disabled bus pass from the transport Scotland website. Here https://www.transport.gov.scot/concessionary-travel/60plus-or-disabled/#37403

    My daughter claims Enhanced for both parts for how her conditions affect her which is ASD, learning disability and social anxiety disorder. Social Anxiety stems from the ASD but the learning disability is a separate diagnosis and this is how she qualifies for the disabled bus pass here in England,


    I would appreciate it if members wouldn't tag me please. I have all notifcations turned off and wouldn't want a member thinking i'm being rude by not replying.
    If i see a question that i know the answer to i will try my best to help.
  • anisty
    anisty Community member Posts: 354 Pioneering
    edited March 2020
    Yes i think i will pop along and have a chat, see what they say. He is a bit of a puzzle, my son (arent they all?!)

    As i have mentioned elsewhere on this site, his i.q. is 85 which technically isnt learning disabled at all (i think it must be below 75 for that diagnosis) but they did say he has this specific problem with task initiation which means he has very low drive, even with eating. As a young child, it was felt he was globally delayed as he just didnt do anything really. He just sat, very passive.

    But he has (what i call) 'islands of ability' There are some things he can do really well. It is so weird. Like reading without comprehension and he is absolutely amazing with being able to repeat long dialogues from films.

    When he was only about 4 and barely talking, he loved dr seuss and green eggs and ham. He memorised all of the words in the opening song on the video (and it is almost a tongue twister it is spoken so quickly)

    So he could do that at a time when he was unable to match colours. I dont mean name colours. He couldnt even match them til he was about 6.

    Nothing developed evenly. And he is still like that. He will talk and use great vocabulary and it all sounds great.

    But recently i asked him to open the back door and he said 'what is the back door?'

    And you do wonder how he could have got to 21yrs and not know that but it is because he doesnt understand concepts. Now i have told him that is the back door, he wont forget that. But he doesnt seem to pick things up.

    We have to teach everything seperately and then he is good.

    The bus thing did cause a funny moment in fact. It took best part of a year to teach him to board this one bus. It is unbelievable how many steps there are in learning to board a bus until you try to teach someone to do it!

    Anyway, he did get it all and had been going to town for several months to the support centre. My husband usually ran him back in the car but several times he had come back on the bus and his dad had met him off the bus at the home end.

    And then, one day my man went to meet him and the bus pulled into the park and ride but it didnt stop and no one got off.

    My man had to drive over 10 miles down the motorway after the bus to the next stop!

    He boarded the bus and there's our son. We hadnt taught him to get off the bus!!!!

    He had managed before as other passengers had been getting off and the bus had come to a halt.

    But on this occasion, no one else was getting off so he just sat there!


    This is probably why i think of all his task learning as step by step, as he needs to learn that way. He is steady as a rock though. He has been sending the same text every single time he has boarded that bus for the past 5 yrs now: 'on the bus'

    I would have told him to text that 5 yrs ago and i have never had to remind him again. He is excellent in a routine.



    Im rambling again!  What i am trying to say is that, although his iq isnt all that low, it doesnt give a full picture as his skills are so uneven. Some things take him ages to learn and others he can be surprisingly quick. But overall, he is impaired to a significant degree in as much as his life needs to be routine and simple.

    I looked at the learning disability thing on that link and he does only use the bus to get to his activities and im sure his support worker would fill in the form no problem so that looks like it could be an option if all they need is a support worker signature. Cheers!

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