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Son with Aspergers' - PIP Mandatory Reconsideration?
- proj1
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1 month 3 weeks ago #294797 by proj1
Son with Aspergers' - PIP Mandatory Reconsideration? was created by proj1
Hello,
My son (18 y/o, going to university) has made a claim for PIP mainly for his Asperger's however also for his back pain for which he is seeing physio. Among other things, his back pain causes him pain and fatigue throughout the day requiring regular breaks. His Asperger’s causes him trouble with socialising and other daily activities too.
He has recently received his award letter and DWP have awarded him with 4 points for communicating verbally, and that is all under daily living. He has been awarded 10 points for mobility under Planning and following journeys. The assessor’s report gave 0 points for everything.
He has therefore been awarded no daily living and standard mobility.
We don’t agree with the assessor’s report and believe that my son should have been awarded standard daily living too, however, we are worried about the risk of making a Mandatory Reconsideration and him risking his award.
I attended my son's assessment with him and the assessor was not very kind and rushed through the process and in reading the report, it seemed that the assessor already made their mind up after the first minute of the assessment, as in every single activity, she put down that he is 'going to University to study Cyber Security indicating adequate cognition, motivation...'
We would be very grateful for any suggestions as to a successful MR and if it may be worth risking his award to get it looked into further in a Mandatory Reconsideration, please?
Thank you in advance.
My son (18 y/o, going to university) has made a claim for PIP mainly for his Asperger's however also for his back pain for which he is seeing physio. Among other things, his back pain causes him pain and fatigue throughout the day requiring regular breaks. His Asperger’s causes him trouble with socialising and other daily activities too.
He has recently received his award letter and DWP have awarded him with 4 points for communicating verbally, and that is all under daily living. He has been awarded 10 points for mobility under Planning and following journeys. The assessor’s report gave 0 points for everything.
He has therefore been awarded no daily living and standard mobility.
We don’t agree with the assessor’s report and believe that my son should have been awarded standard daily living too, however, we are worried about the risk of making a Mandatory Reconsideration and him risking his award.
I attended my son's assessment with him and the assessor was not very kind and rushed through the process and in reading the report, it seemed that the assessor already made their mind up after the first minute of the assessment, as in every single activity, she put down that he is 'going to University to study Cyber Security indicating adequate cognition, motivation...'
We would be very grateful for any suggestions as to a successful MR and if it may be worth risking his award to get it looked into further in a Mandatory Reconsideration, please?
Thank you in advance.
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- BIS
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1 month 3 weeks ago #294809 by BIS
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Replied by BIS on topic Son with Aspergers' - PIP Mandatory Reconsideration?
His proj1
I can't write what I'd like to because it wouldn't be polite except to say that your son appears to have encountered an assessor who has no idea about Asperger's Syndrome. I'm sure he'll do brilliantly in Cyber Security, but that doesn't mean he'll remember to cook himself a meal with fresh vegetables or find it easy to socialise on campus or manage money. (Sorry if he can do all those things - but you get my meaning). It makes me so mad that there is so much ignorance about the condition, and just because they can manage one thing doesn't mean they can manage everything - which she has acknowledged in the planning and following a journey.
I can't tell you what to do here. You're not likely to lose the award, but submitting an MR can be a dispiriting process. However, if you think you have the evidence, then you may want to go ahead. Do look at the Guide to PIP appeals on the advice for putting in an MR and also look at how to challenge a medical report. Bear in mind the person reading will probably have zilch understanding of your son's difficulties - so you will have to spell them out again and put what you think he should have scored for specific questions.
BIS
I can't write what I'd like to because it wouldn't be polite except to say that your son appears to have encountered an assessor who has no idea about Asperger's Syndrome. I'm sure he'll do brilliantly in Cyber Security, but that doesn't mean he'll remember to cook himself a meal with fresh vegetables or find it easy to socialise on campus or manage money. (Sorry if he can do all those things - but you get my meaning). It makes me so mad that there is so much ignorance about the condition, and just because they can manage one thing doesn't mean they can manage everything - which she has acknowledged in the planning and following a journey.
I can't tell you what to do here. You're not likely to lose the award, but submitting an MR can be a dispiriting process. However, if you think you have the evidence, then you may want to go ahead. Do look at the Guide to PIP appeals on the advice for putting in an MR and also look at how to challenge a medical report. Bear in mind the person reading will probably have zilch understanding of your son's difficulties - so you will have to spell them out again and put what you think he should have scored for specific questions.
BIS
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
The following user(s) said Thank You: Jorvick88, Wendy Woo
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- Anji
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1 month 3 weeks ago #294862 by Anji
Replied by Anji on topic Son with Aspergers' - PIP Mandatory Reconsideration?
Hi Proj1
I would absolutely encourage you to do the MR. My son has ADHD (and suspected autism) and we had an assessor who was rushed, didn't listen, made lots of errors etc etc. She also cited his academic achievement as evidence that he could do all sorts of things. However, he dropped out of Uni because he couldn't cope with the attendance at lectures, the social elements etc.
He may be intellectually bright but he needs a lot of prompting to clean his room, he hardly ever washes himself or his clothes and he lives on reheated chicken nuggets because he just could not string the sequence of tasks together to cook a meal.
He originally was awarded 0 points across the board. On MR they also awarded him 0 points despite loads of evidence, including from his ADHD clinic. We appealed to the tribunal and the DWP then changed their mind and he was awarded enhanced for daily living and standard for mobility.
It was stressful and an arduous process but definitely worth it in the end.
Let us know what you decide to do, and how you get on.
Anji
I would absolutely encourage you to do the MR. My son has ADHD (and suspected autism) and we had an assessor who was rushed, didn't listen, made lots of errors etc etc. She also cited his academic achievement as evidence that he could do all sorts of things. However, he dropped out of Uni because he couldn't cope with the attendance at lectures, the social elements etc.
He may be intellectually bright but he needs a lot of prompting to clean his room, he hardly ever washes himself or his clothes and he lives on reheated chicken nuggets because he just could not string the sequence of tasks together to cook a meal.
He originally was awarded 0 points across the board. On MR they also awarded him 0 points despite loads of evidence, including from his ADHD clinic. We appealed to the tribunal and the DWP then changed their mind and he was awarded enhanced for daily living and standard for mobility.
It was stressful and an arduous process but definitely worth it in the end.
Let us know what you decide to do, and how you get on.
Anji
The following user(s) said Thank You: denby, BIS, Jorvick88, Wendy Woo, LL26
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