Penalised for attending PIP assessment on my own

I applied for PIP in October 2013 and had my assessment in April. I have just had the decision letter today to say that I have been unsuccessful. I have several physical disabilities, but have had major problems for many years with anxiety and depression and have recently been diagnosed with Aspergers, which has shed light on many of the problems I have had in the past.

I very rarely leave the house as I can't cope with lots of people and unpredictable situations, but I can manage to go to a structured situation such as a GP appointment, so went on my own to the PIP assessment. This seems to have worked against me in two respects.

The decision maker has written 'At the consultation you engaged well and said you attend a book group with no support. I have decided you can engage with other people unaided' In an attempt to get out more I have been trying to go to a book group twice a month (I have managed 3 to go three times this year). My consultant's report for the Asperger's diagnosis highlights the problems I have with social interaction, but they don't seem to have taken this into account.

The decision maker also wrote 'You said you need help going out. At the consultation it was determined you go to a book club without any social support and attended the consultation without support. I have decided you can plan and follow the route of a journey unaided.' I had attended the assessment in a taxi which took me from home to the assessment centre, so there was no planning involved.

I had submitted GP and consultant evidence about my mental health issues and had informed them of my long term problems with keeping jobs due to my depression and anxiety, but they seem to have assumed that attending the assessment on my own means I can cope, which is not the case at all, as I am very good at hiding how I am feeling.

I am going to request a mandatory reconsideration over several of the incorrect statements in the Decision Maker's reasoning, as I don't feel they have looked at the wider picture. Has anyone else had a similar experience? Advice for dealing with this would be appreciated. I have requested the medical report, but haven't got it yet.

Princess...I am assuming by your user name you are female. Firstly, well done for succeeding in having your autism recognised by an successfully obtaining an official Asperger's diagnosis! I am currently going through my NHS adult Asperger's assessment after a 10 month wait. The different way autism presents in higher functioning females is often different to males and we can be very good at 'masking' our extreme difficulties. These differences are only just being acknowledged and recognised by autism professionals and clinicians themselves, so are highly unlikely to be seen or acknowledged by professionals outside the field, much less the average person. In my PIP assessment I was seen by a lady who was probably an occupational therapist (she wouldn't tell me her professional qualifications and I am having difficulty obtaining my medical report). I have severe M.E. and other health problems, in addition to being on the autistic spectrum. She clearly didn't understand anything about either of these conditions (even the more obvious autism of males). I think if you are not rocking and are succeeding in giving any level of eye contact (however unusual or sparse) they will assume you are so 'high functioning' that your autism does not cause you any real problems! Because I have a large number of health conditions (and because I used the PIP guide from this site) I did get my PIP award. However, the way the points were awarded was not a true reflection of my difficulties, by a long shot. There was no acknowledgement of my extreme chronic fatigue or pain of my M.E. in the care section, but in contrast I was awarded 12 points for being unable to walk 20 meters. I didn't score above 4 points in any individual component of the care part, but got at least 2 points for each of them, and a few 4's. Many of the points were awarded for 'needing prompting' when in fact I can rarely, if ever, do many of the activities due to my physical health problems.

I only got 2 points in the 'engaging with people' section, and I had a support worker from the Rethink Mental Illness charity with me (and had been driven to the assessment by my daughter). I gave virtually no eye contact, was clearly distressed and anxious due to the fact the assessment was held in a busy, loud and brightly lit Leisure Center. The HP had to cut my assessment short after just half an hour as I was clearly starting to have a 'meltdown'. The information booklet/PIP form states this particular descriptor includes being able to understand 'body language' and not being able tp understand non-verbal behaviour (including facial expressions and body language) is one of the major problems of being autistic. It's especially difficult for us to engage SUCCESSFULLY with others face to face when 70% of normal human communication is supposed to be through non verbal behaviour! Therefore, I cannot see how anyone who has been formally diagnosed as being on the spectrum can be said to be able to perform this descriptor to 'an appropriate level' let alone consistently or when reasonably required. I did not appeal against my HP's mis-judgement because I got my award (and because I'm still undergoing the diagnostic process) however maybe this is a point you can work on if you request a reconsideration or appeal? I would also elaborate on how d(i) applies to you, as I have to spend days de-stressing after only minimal social contact (it took me over 4 weeks to recover from the PIP assessment). Also, it is a requirement of the clinical diagnosis that your 'autistic' problems are 'clinically significant' (otherwise, in this country at least, the diagnosis is withheld).

Regarding the planning a journey - I was given 4 points here. This is despite the fact that I cannot use public transport at all (for both physical health reasons but also due to my heightened sensitivities and anxieties, need for everything to be on time, inability to cope with any small change etc).

My belief is that the whole PIP process is working like the original ESA, with the HP (possibly) or the Decision Maker (possibly) or both, taking points away whenever they think they can. Since I scored 28 points on the care section it made no sense to me as to why they couldn't just give me all the points my medical evidence and the assessment itself showed I should have! But 'you can't teach an old dog new tricks' can you? I am sure the DWP is just carrying on as it always has...

Anyway, good luck with making a successful appeal - do use the guides on this site as I am sure I would not have got either ESA or PIP without them. Feel free to ask if you would like more advice from me.

Sarah