I’m going to submit my claim for UC next week, I don’t want to wait any longer

I love your posts @ChrisSCOPEhtfc94 🙂

Especially all the emojis😻

I am not autistic but I get how your writing has to be perfect as I do have a thing about apostrophes in the wrong place:

I do have 5 kids with autism. I think my husband also might be autistic and, I guess to have all of our children affected, I might be carrying a recessive gene - and then there is my apostrophe thing (!)

With regard to being reassessed for PIP, I just have my 26yr old lad on PIP (well, he has just transferred this month to Scotland's ADP)

He was on a 5 year award and I think, in his case, as he is still learning new skills it was reasonable.

He has grown in confidence over the past 5 years. He still does the exact same activities and will still only board the exact same bus but he now has a little bit of paid employment!

He has been volunteering in a cafe that provides work for disabled people for 8 years now and he has got pretty good at it. I had a 'phone call out of the blue to say they wanted to pay him for 6 hours' worth of work weekly.

He has even learned how to use the coffee machine!

He couldn't do that 5 years ago. Who knows, one day he might have the speed and skills to work at Costa!

When his medical report came back to say why he had been placed in LCWRA, it was awful for me as a Mum to see him practically written off at the age of 21.

But, in fact, aside from his paid work he also has an additional 3 days each week of voluntary work so he definitely can do more than they thought.

And, although he will always be autistic with learning difficulties, he can learn new things so it's perfectly possible an award decision made when he was 21yrs old is going to change as he goes forward.

I suppose it depends on individual circumstances. I do think a 10 year review might be more realistic for autistic adults though. But it is amazing what progress can be made with the right support👍

Ps my lad is double enhanced award too but I think he will be able to come off enhanced mobility soon as he has learned more routes in our small town. So he can get round some familiar routes himself and has actually managed to keep calm when the bus broke down.

Though my daughter saw him in a blind panic recently when the bus took an unexpected route and she had to keep him right. And he can be a bit erratic crossing roads with no designated crossing point.

His ADP is due for re assessment in August this year so I will mention it to them then that he has become more able in a familiar place. He definitely won't need that enhanced payment for life.

So - improvements are possible and, with a condition like autism, the spectrum is so very wide.

My other kids (all adult) don't have the cognitive disability so they should be able to support themselves and never need the support of benefits🤞🤞

This is why PIP is not awarded on diagnosis but on how your disability affects you🙂

Lol yeah well that's another story on my son's UC - stopped for now due to too much capital. Though they failed to deduct COL so i have an MR in.

His spends are too low for his award as he still lives at home. Most of what he does is free as it is centred round his support group. His bus is free too.

If he ever can leave home, he will need more money but he has been turned down for supported housing due to not having night needs.

That's another area where he might improve. They are offering a support package in a normal council tenancy. Hopeless just now but he might get there one day . . .