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- Autism, learning disability, won't attend F2F
Autism, learning disability, won't attend F2F
- Jennifer
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Last year my 17yr old son was approved PIP by a phone consultation - he also has autism but has NO learning disability.
Even if I get sedation for my 19yr old and manage to somehow get him to go to a face to face assessment, he will just say yes to everything... how can I handle this?
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- Gordon
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Dealing with the appointment first, I'm afraid you are not going to get an home assessment without a letter from your son's GP unambiguously stating that he cannot attend at the Assessment Provider's offices and why.
As to the assessment itself, are you his appointee? Are the issues you mention a result of his not being aware of his conditions and limitations or is it a result of his conditions that he will always say "yes"?
Were his problems documented in his claim form?
Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
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- Jennifer
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Yes I am his appointee. My son knows he has autism, he does not know he has a learning disability though. He gets distressed if anyone talks about him not being able to do tasks, so he will say he can do it - even though I have to help with most activities.
All of this was written on his form. I even wrote an example of when his psychiatrist asked him if he had Diabetes, Epilepsy or Asthma and he told her he had Diabetes. He doesn't have Diabetes lol!
I found this online, the DWP's own guidelines says on page 19 that "Cases that should not require a face-to-face consultation - where there is strong evidence on which to advise on the case and a face-to-face consultation is likely to be stressful for the claimant (for example, claimants with autism, cognitive impairment or learning disability) " My son has all 3 of those examples, so they are not following their own guidelines. Why is this?
www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/upl...sessment-process.pdf
I sent a pschiatric report from C.A.M.H.S. with his claim form so they had medical confirmation of his conditions too.
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- Gordon
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Jennifer wrote: I found this online, the DWP's own guidelines says on page 19 that "Cases that should not require a face-to-face consultation - where there is strong evidence on which to advise on the case and a face-to-face consultation is likely to be stressful for the claimant (for example, claimants with autism, cognitive impairment or learning disability) " My son has all 3 of those examples, so they are not following their own guidelines. Why is this?
www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/upl...sessment-process.pdf
I sent a pschiatric report from C.A.M.H.S. with his claim form so they had medical confirmation of his conditions too.
These are guidelines within which the Assessment Providers are expected to operate, however, it is for them to decide whether a claimant meets the criteria or not, it is not a given that a claimant does.
You can make a formal complaint, but this would be a separate process from the assessment and is likely to take longer, so you need to concentrate on getting a Paper Based Review.
Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
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- Emilyb
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Good luck & I wish you well from another parent in the same boat!
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- Emilyb
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I wish you well as I've been there and fully understand the anxiety and stress you are under

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