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ESA Appeal for son with ASD

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6 years 11 months ago #188024 by Janey P
ESA Appeal for son with ASD was created by Janey P
Filling out ESA appeal papers for my 19 yr old son with high functioning autism and moderate learning difficulties. He scored 0 points at CWA but is on enhanced rate PIP for care (just had that assesment!) He is a student with an EHC plan so would be considered a disabled student? Finding the regs a bit confusing re students and ESA. Does anyone have any experience of this?

First time on here. Many thanks Jane

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6 years 11 months ago #188033 by Gordon
Replied by Gordon on topic ESA Appeal for son with ASD
Welcome to the forum, you might want to have a look at the following FAQ which explain 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?


If your son is a full time student with a PIP award then he has an automatic qualification for Limited Capability for Work and should have been placed in the WRAG, as far as I am aware, scoring zero points at a subsequent assessment does not override this LCW status.

To be placed in the Support Group he will need to show that he meets one of more the ESA Descriptors for this group. The ESA Claim guides have details of this criteria.

Have you received the DWP submission for the appeal?

If you have then it should include all of the documents used in the making of the Decision including the assessment report, I would go through this, his ESA50 and our Claim guides, to prepare your own submission, your primary task is to show he meets the criteria, so try not get bogged down dealing with issues in the report, I am not saying to ignore these, but they should be a secondary concern.

If you have further questions then please reply to this post and we will do our best to help.

Gordon

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems

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6 years 11 months ago #188040 by buster21
Replied by buster21 on topic ESA Appeal for son with ASD
Just out of interest. The terms "learning difficulties" and similarly sounding "learning disabilities" are often used quite casually to mean the same thing by both families and professionals alike especially within the SEND system. I have even seen this happen within DWP discourse.

But please be aware both terms mean completely different things! So make sure you use the correct term when completing ESA forms etc or when talking to DWP representatives.

I am myself going through such things with my own son and have done previously with my daughter. So, be aware. Maybe you are already aware of this anyway.

For example, moderate learning difficulties is a term used within the educational system to describe special needs children and young people who have specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia. However, the term moderate learning disability is a term used by medical professionals such as psychiatrists to describe a person with a very significant cognitive impairment - arguably far more likely to affect a young persons day to day functioning.

From my own experience in the past, it's vital you use the correct terminology - don't get caught out. Good luck.

Buster

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6 years 11 months ago #188068 by Janey P
Replied by Janey P on topic ESA Appeal for son with ASD
Thank you Gordon, your reply is very much appreciated. I thought that was the case and I am perplexed as to why he has had all his ESA entitlement taken away after a CWA but is still a disabled student. Is there any legislation I can quote or guidance to reitterate his entitlement? I asked for a mandatory reconsideration but they turned it down so now I'm about to fill in the appeal forms. I sent a copy of his EHC plan and a letter from his college outlining the support he gets when asking for the mandatory reconsideration but they have not mentioned this at all in the reply to mandatory reconsideration. They say that they accept that he has some restrictions due to his disability, he would be able to work with reasonable adjustments.

This is all new to me, I am an advocate for parents regarding education as I've been through tribunal with that but I'm struggline to get up to speed with learning all this new law!!

Thanks for the tip about the profile too.

Regards Jane

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6 years 11 months ago #188069 by Janey P
Replied by Janey P on topic ESA Appeal for son with ASD
Thank you Buster I will adjust the way I address it. I have been used to the SEN world so not aware of the difference.

Best wishes

Jane

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6 years 11 months ago #188088 by Gordon
Replied by Gordon on topic ESA Appeal for son with ASD
Janey

I can't find a reference at the moment, it's not where I expected it to be, so I will have to do a more detailed search after the forum closes.

Gordon

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems

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