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DLA - PIP for my son

Jen1999
Jen1999 Community member Posts: 13 Connected
edited August 2020 in PIP, DLA, and AA
Hi all, I have been reading all these forums for a while and found them very helpful so thought I would post as I can't find an answer to my question. My son has turned 16 and now transferring to PIP. We had the letter and it had to be returned by April but then got extended due to covid. Had the letter again to be returned by August. Filled it all in and sent it off, didn't really have much evidence due to lockdown but had my sons statement from the school to college stating his needs for eg can't travel alone, needs a chaperone at all times, ear defender's, needs a calm room and has anxiety that can cause him to self harm.

Anyway he has been on high care and low mobility since he was 6, PIP had the forms 10th August on the 25th August I get a call from a PIP I am assuming for a telephone assessment no letter or anything to say they was going to call, the call lasted 26 mins and they didn't need to speak to my son as I am his appointee, at the end of the call she said she is going to mark it as confidential as the information is detrimental to my sons wellbeing and could cause him serious physiological distress, this is now worrying me I don't know why they have done this I take real good care of him and his brothers are amazing with him is this marking it as private a bad thing? I'm expecting social services or someone to turn up saying that my son has detrimental physiological distress. Thank you
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Comments

  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 53,323 Disability Gamechanger
    edited August 2020
    Hi and welcome,

    No, it's not a bad thing at all. As you're his appointee and deal with his benefits claim on his behalf then all letters from DWP will always be addressed to you and not him, which means he won't see anything at all unless you decide to show him.

    Now the assessment has been complete, the HCP will send the report back to DWP and a decision maker will look at that and all the evidence and make a decision on his claim. Once it's made you'll be sent a decision letter in the post.

    You can ring DWP a week after the assessment took place and request a copy of the report to be sent to you, this will give you some idea what the decision is likely to be because they mostly go with the report.

    There's no timescales for the decision but hopefully you won't be waiting too long. Good luck.
    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.
  • Jen1999
    Jen1999 Community member Posts: 13 Connected
    Thank you so much, It was after the call I started wondering why she said that she has made to decision to mark it as private and confidential as I have never heard of this before and no idea why she would do it, My son has no idea he is different he knows he has Autism but he just says it makes him extra special and Mammys favourite :-) 
  • Jen1999
    Jen1999 Community member Posts: 13 Connected
    I thought it would already be private and confidential whatever we talk about.
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 53,323 Disability Gamechanger
    edited August 2020
    The only time he will see the report is if you request a copy and you either show him or he finds it in your house and reads it. What you talked about during the assessment is confidential to a point but a report is written and returned to DWP which means a decision maker will see it because they need to read that, along with everything else you sent and then make a decision on his claim.

    I know it's difficult but please try not to worry.
    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.
  • Chloe_Scope
    Chloe_Scope Posts: 10,586 Disability Gamechanger
    Hi @Jen1999, I just wanted to say welcome to the community. :)

    Please do let us know how you get on and if there is anything else we can do to help. 
    Scope

  • Jen1999
    Jen1999 Community member Posts: 13 Connected
    Thank you I appreciate your help, She really didn't ask many questions and I was shocked as I didn't really send in as much information as I did for gis DLA due to lockdown I was unable to get them, but she said thank you for what you sent in it was very informative, she said I just need to ask a bit more information, does he need the be encouraged to eat I said no it is the opposite he doesn't know when to stop and we have to constantly encouraged him to stop snacking and to drink more as he doesn't know the difference between hungry and thirsty, she said you stated he was in a special needs school I confirmed this was correct and he had to have an assessment to fit the criteria to get into this amazing school which he did and yet he still needed a 1 2 1 even though only 6 in his class, she asked about him sitting his GCSE  and support he had, I advised he did try but unfortunately failed but he would have someone reading the questions and writing the answers for him plus they said he could gave time out every 15 mins from the exam, asked about college I advised he is just doing a foundation skills as they need to keep him in education for routine rather than getting a job and he will then be able to go to a day centre and tbh that was it she didn't ask anything else.
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 53,323 Disability Gamechanger
    They will only ask the questions if they have any to ask, otherwise there's nothing to ask. Sounds like they had a lot of information to start with, which was good. Medical evidence is not needed for a PIP claim because most of the time it doesn't state exactly how your conditions affect you.

    Not asking many questions during the assessment doesn't mean anything at all. I've had assessments where it's only last 15 minutes and others have lasted over an hour and i've been successful both times, never had any problems at all.

    At the moment you can't speculate anything at all. If you want to see the report and you live in the UK then wait a week then ring DWP to ask them to send you copy. Once you receive this you'll be able to look at the descriptors online and add up the recommended points, to see what maybe recommended. They usually go with the report, it's rare to go against it although it can happen.

    Other than that all you can do is wait. Decision waiting times can be anything from 2-8 weeks sometimes longer. His DLA will continue until a decision's been made on the PIP.
    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.
  • Jen1999
    Jen1999 Community member Posts: 13 Connected
    Hi all, I phoned PIP today to see if that was the telephone assessment that we had Tuesday, spoke to a lovely gentleman who advised it wasn't a telephone assessment it looks like my son had a paper assessment and the assessment officer just needed a bit more information, anyway I asked if the report had been filed and he said yes he will send me out a copy, he also said based on what the assessment officer has put they scored him 12 for mobility and 20 for care but also said on more than 1 occasions this if not the final decision it is up to the decision maker.
  • Cher_Alumni
    Cher_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 5,741 Disability Gamechanger
    Thanks for keeping us updated @Jen1999

    How are you feeling about those initial points?  
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  • Jen1999
    Jen1999 Community member Posts: 13 Connected
    I have no idea what they mean tbh, he has high care DLA atm and low mobility.
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 53,323 Disability Gamechanger
    Hi,

    The recommended points in the assessment report are not added, so it's unlikely the person you spoke to on the phone will have been able to add them up during a phone call. Although a paper based assessment is a good sign usually, i've never heard of anyone being refused after this but i could be wrong.

    You can request a copy of the report for yourself and then you'll be able to add up the recommended points by using the PIP descriptors online. You need 8 points for a standard award and 12 points for Enhanced.
    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.
  • Jen1999
    Jen1999 Community member Posts: 13 Connected
    He is going to send the report to me also so hopefully I will get that next week, So the chance of my son having them points is untrue I would preferred him to not give me any details than just guess. I have never tried to add point up before, is there an online guide how to read the report? 
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 53,323 Disability Gamechanger
    There's every chance he could have a high score recommended but you only need 12 points maximum for the highest award anyway, in each part of course .... Daily living and mobility.

    You don't need a guide on how to read the report. For a paper based assessment the reports are shorter and there will be descriptors/activities with dots next to them. Underneath that will be their justification for choosing that descriptor. Just use the PIP self test online to transfer the dots from the report into the self test and it will add them up for you.

    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.
  • chiarieds
    chiarieds Community member Posts: 16,007 Disability Gamechanger
    Hi @Jen1999 - at the end of the PIP assessment guide you will see a dot against each of the descriptors/activities. Compare them to the following link to see any points that may be indicated: https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/asset-library/Scores-for-PIP-Descriptors-2020.pdf
    You will still have to wait for the actual decision letter, but the Decision Maker usually goes along with the assessor's report. Hope this helps. :)

  • wilko
    wilko Community member Posts: 2,458 Disability Gamechanger
    @Jenn1999, you have had the best advice from poppy so phone the DWP and request the assessment report have your identification details to hand and your sons. Then on receiving the report you can workout what your sons award may should be but you still have to wait for the award notification letter, good luck and please let the community know how your sons award went.
  • Jen1999
    Jen1999 Community member Posts: 13 Connected
    I will keep you all updated, the thought of having to find the money to cover his carer while I'm in work worries me, she is wonderful with him and has looked after him while I work since he was 5. Not only does it help us during the few hours between school and when we get home he loves her and has an amazing bond.
  • Jen1999
    Jen1999 Community member Posts: 13 Connected
    I have had the report but can't see how he has scored no dots that I can see. Please can I have help?
  • Jen1999
    Jen1999 Community member Posts: 13 Connected
    I have worked out how to do it he scored 20 for daily living and 12 for mobility on the assessment report form paper review the the recommendation based on the claimants circumstances, it would be appropriate to review the claim in 5 years.
  • Jen1999
    Jen1999 Community member Posts: 13 Connected
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 53,323 Disability Gamechanger
    All you can do now is wait. They usually go with the report, it's rare to go against it, although it can and does happen. Hopefully you wonm't be waiting too long.

    If the award is Enhanced for both parts and this is higher than his DLA award, there won't be any backdated money and the PIP will start once DLA has ended.
    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.

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