- Posts: 2
× Members
PIP refusal for Aspergers and anxiety
- colesy99
- Topic Author
- Offline
Less More
5 years 7 months ago #238286 by colesy99
PIP refusal for Aspergers and anxiety was created by colesy99
Hi, I would like some advice on how to word a mandatory reconsideration request if possible.
My daughter is 17 and has Aspergers but only got diagnosed last year. She also suffers with mixed anxiety and depressive disorder. She got her PIP decision back and she was only awarded 2 points for needing support with her continence (she has suffered since the age of four but this is the one things she doesn't have a name for).
Her refusal for most things seemed to be mainly on the grounds that she is clever - I quote "there is no evidence clinical or otherwise to confirm any significant functional or cognitive impairment that would impact on the ability to carry out any of these living activities for te majority of days". However we did not state anywhere that she had an intellectual disability, so it feels like they have just ignored what we put on the form. She doesn't do things without prompting (and often lots of shouting by her) because she lacks the motivation if it is not one of her interests, and loses concentration we think also because of her anxiety muddling her thoughts at times.
They gave her no points for medication etc because she doesn't take anxiety medication daily and is on a first line antidepressant. She is on 10mg citalopram because they have only just given her meds due to her age and she has propanolol as needed. They said also because she doesn't access mental health services. We explained very clearly that she had CBT with MIND, but would only go if I went with her. She was offered further counselling but it was 1 to 1 and with a different professional so she refused it. She never remembers to take her medication, they asked about pill boxes, but she only has one pill and she would still forget so I make sure she takes it.
Although she is smart and is doing a-levels her attendance at sixth form is terrible, she was off for three weeks around her as levels because it really triggered her anxiety. At the moment she has been off for a week for headaches and dizziness. Another example of how she has failed to tell us abourt her health which has resulted in her eyesight deteriating and she is probably anaemic again so needs bloods. This is because of her poor diet and her stopping her iron a few months ago because she wouldn't have bloods at the time.
They gave her 0 points for mobility because apparently she can plan and follow a journey unaided. The only place she goes unaided is school the same route for 7 years. This is a girl who did not go out socially for five years unless with her cousin for about 10 minutes. Now she goes out about once a month and her Dad takes her and picks her up, and that is a familiar route but she gets too anxious on her own. She would panic and get lost. When I try and let her guide the journey we can go five minutes past our stop before she notices. She won't talk to bus drivers or shopkeepers even with someone with her.
I just can't get my head round how to word this as I am dyslexic myself and not good at wording stuff and my daughter is so upset. They even said she wasn't anxious because she got through the whole appointment. She would never dare get up and leave, but sat the whole time with her fiddle toy jiggling her legs.
I am going to request a copy of the medical report as I understand whet we have is not the full report.
Thank you to anyone who can offer advice.
My daughter is 17 and has Aspergers but only got diagnosed last year. She also suffers with mixed anxiety and depressive disorder. She got her PIP decision back and she was only awarded 2 points for needing support with her continence (she has suffered since the age of four but this is the one things she doesn't have a name for).
Her refusal for most things seemed to be mainly on the grounds that she is clever - I quote "there is no evidence clinical or otherwise to confirm any significant functional or cognitive impairment that would impact on the ability to carry out any of these living activities for te majority of days". However we did not state anywhere that she had an intellectual disability, so it feels like they have just ignored what we put on the form. She doesn't do things without prompting (and often lots of shouting by her) because she lacks the motivation if it is not one of her interests, and loses concentration we think also because of her anxiety muddling her thoughts at times.
They gave her no points for medication etc because she doesn't take anxiety medication daily and is on a first line antidepressant. She is on 10mg citalopram because they have only just given her meds due to her age and she has propanolol as needed. They said also because she doesn't access mental health services. We explained very clearly that she had CBT with MIND, but would only go if I went with her. She was offered further counselling but it was 1 to 1 and with a different professional so she refused it. She never remembers to take her medication, they asked about pill boxes, but she only has one pill and she would still forget so I make sure she takes it.
Although she is smart and is doing a-levels her attendance at sixth form is terrible, she was off for three weeks around her as levels because it really triggered her anxiety. At the moment she has been off for a week for headaches and dizziness. Another example of how she has failed to tell us abourt her health which has resulted in her eyesight deteriating and she is probably anaemic again so needs bloods. This is because of her poor diet and her stopping her iron a few months ago because she wouldn't have bloods at the time.
They gave her 0 points for mobility because apparently she can plan and follow a journey unaided. The only place she goes unaided is school the same route for 7 years. This is a girl who did not go out socially for five years unless with her cousin for about 10 minutes. Now she goes out about once a month and her Dad takes her and picks her up, and that is a familiar route but she gets too anxious on her own. She would panic and get lost. When I try and let her guide the journey we can go five minutes past our stop before she notices. She won't talk to bus drivers or shopkeepers even with someone with her.
I just can't get my head round how to word this as I am dyslexic myself and not good at wording stuff and my daughter is so upset. They even said she wasn't anxious because she got through the whole appointment. She would never dare get up and leave, but sat the whole time with her fiddle toy jiggling her legs.
I am going to request a copy of the medical report as I understand whet we have is not the full report.
Thank you to anyone who can offer advice.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- BIS
- Offline
Less More
- Posts: 9011
5 years 7 months ago #238300 by BIS
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Replied by BIS on topic PIP refusal for Aspergers and anxiety
Hi M
Welcome to the forum, you might want to have a look at the following FAQ which explains where everything is
Welcome to Benefits and Work
In case you are not aware, your real name appears to be showing in the forum, if you want to change this then follow the instructions in the following FAQ
My full name is showing, how can I stop it?
I am sorry to hear that your daughter has been refused PIP, but I am not entirely surprised. I have heard of a number of people with Asperger's getting turned down. I think (and this is only my view) that the reason for this is lack of knowledge on the part of the assessor, the claimant (your daughter) not wanting to say the wrong thing - so doesn't acknowledge their problems, and the loved one (in this case you) - not always being clear about the difficulties the claimant has - sometimes out of loyalty or wanting to sound positive or simply not realising the need to describe very clearly the difficulties they have against the PIP criteria. It may be a mixture of all three.
The first stage to challenging a Decision is for you to request a Mandatory Reconsideration, this needs to be done in writing to the DWP, within one month of the Decision, to the office that dealt with your claim, have a look at our PIP MR & Appeal guide for details of the process, the PIP area also has template letters that you can use to make the request with.
www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/pip
You should contact the DWP for a copy of the assessment report if you have not already done so, I would phone them but again follow up the request in writing. Once you have the assessment report you will have a better understanding of how the DWP Decision Maker has come to their conclusions and will then be able to argue against them.
Your primary task is to show that you meet the criteria, there are many reasons you may have failed, you need to address each of these but don't get bogged down in criticising the assessment report unless you can clearly show that it is incorrect, it is a lot easier to argue the facts of the situation;
"the assessor recorded that I walked 50m, I did but they have failed to document that I had to stop every 10m for a rest due to breathlessness"
than their opinions
"based on my observations of the claimant walking I believe that they can reliably walk more than 200m.
When you have a better idea of the issues with your claim, come back to the forum and we will do our best to help.
I have known of several cases of people having Aspergers being awarded PIP - so it is possible. In terms of challenging the cognitive element - have you any information for when she was diagnosed - what has been said? If you have you need to highlight this.
You have highlighted below very clearly the points below - so don't worry about the language you use. Get the report first and see what was said and start from there and how you are going to challenge it.
BIS
Welcome to the forum, you might want to have a look at the following FAQ which explains where everything is
Welcome to Benefits and Work
In case you are not aware, your real name appears to be showing in the forum, if you want to change this then follow the instructions in the following FAQ
My full name is showing, how can I stop it?
I am sorry to hear that your daughter has been refused PIP, but I am not entirely surprised. I have heard of a number of people with Asperger's getting turned down. I think (and this is only my view) that the reason for this is lack of knowledge on the part of the assessor, the claimant (your daughter) not wanting to say the wrong thing - so doesn't acknowledge their problems, and the loved one (in this case you) - not always being clear about the difficulties the claimant has - sometimes out of loyalty or wanting to sound positive or simply not realising the need to describe very clearly the difficulties they have against the PIP criteria. It may be a mixture of all three.
The first stage to challenging a Decision is for you to request a Mandatory Reconsideration, this needs to be done in writing to the DWP, within one month of the Decision, to the office that dealt with your claim, have a look at our PIP MR & Appeal guide for details of the process, the PIP area also has template letters that you can use to make the request with.
www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/pip
You should contact the DWP for a copy of the assessment report if you have not already done so, I would phone them but again follow up the request in writing. Once you have the assessment report you will have a better understanding of how the DWP Decision Maker has come to their conclusions and will then be able to argue against them.
Your primary task is to show that you meet the criteria, there are many reasons you may have failed, you need to address each of these but don't get bogged down in criticising the assessment report unless you can clearly show that it is incorrect, it is a lot easier to argue the facts of the situation;
"the assessor recorded that I walked 50m, I did but they have failed to document that I had to stop every 10m for a rest due to breathlessness"
than their opinions
"based on my observations of the claimant walking I believe that they can reliably walk more than 200m.
When you have a better idea of the issues with your claim, come back to the forum and we will do our best to help.
I have known of several cases of people having Aspergers being awarded PIP - so it is possible. In terms of challenging the cognitive element - have you any information for when she was diagnosed - what has been said? If you have you need to highlight this.
You have highlighted below very clearly the points below - so don't worry about the language you use. Get the report first and see what was said and start from there and how you are going to challenge it.
BIS
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- colesy99
- Topic Author
- Offline
Less More
- Posts: 2
5 years 6 months ago #238375 by colesy99
Replied by colesy99 on topic PIP refusal for Aspergers and anxiety
Hi, and thank you for your reply. I will change my name, I didn’t think it would show as my username is different. I will get hold of the report and take it from there. The assessor seemed annoyed when I spoke and said my daughter should answer but if she couldn’t answer then I could and I didn’t want to look like I was trying to get her to lie or anything. I will be able to say more on paper so I will write them a letter.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
Moderators: Gordon, Gary, BIS, Catherine, Wendy, Kelly, greekqueen, peter, Katherine, Super User, Chris, David