PIP/ alcohol dependency with adult ADHD

Thank you so much for al the helpful replies; I will go through those links one by one as we prepare for PIP appeal and ESA application process.

There is one aspect to all this we/I remain concerned about. which involves the alcohol issue and impulsive behaviour. which we have not disclosed, quite frankly because it is embarrassing. Some months prior to the ADD diagnosis he was in court for taking our car without permission ( he drove it and stayed over night at a relatives and drank alcohol before driving it back home and colliding with someone - thankfully no one was hurt).. He had no licence and no insurance. The late teenage years have been hell quite honestly, he just wasn;t functioning right in his head and there has been turmoil and "incidents" all the way - we have just been fighting with him non stop to try to get him on track, but nothing has worked and we;'ve become almost numb to the incidents he creates with his impulsive and reckless behaviour.. Eventually a senior psychologist suggested he be assessed for adult ADHD - and a diagnosis was made. It all adds up and makes sense - he's literally the walking textbook of ADHD. We see the alcohol issue as a direct consequence of ADHD and not independent of it. He has been drinking for years now, and it's still a problem. He started at uni recently and has been drinking to cope with stress and anxiety about how he will cope. He hasn't seen student disability support people yet ( has applied for grant though we think - will double check ) - he sees them next week and we're hoping he will get some support in place soon. We're so worried about all this being misinterpreted. Should we just come clean and explain all this? In fact he's been refused ADHD treatment including CBT until the alcohol issue has been addressed..So far we've hidden the alcohol issue for fear that it will be just be mis-interpreted, and that they will see all his problems as the result of an alcohol dependency problem and not ADHD and he wont disclose it to student disabilities even though he will need help and support with this issue as well. The reality is the alcohol just exacerbates the pre existing ADHD.,


Also as regards ESA, he worked for about 2 years on and off but that was about 3-4 years ago - he eventually had to resign and was sacked because he couldn't cope with keeping jobs. He can;t keep a job and has no motivation. He remains depressed and anxious as well and we see clear signs of OCD which has not been diagnosed by anyone but he's just recently started seeing a psychologist for support - we had to push and push him to go - and we pay privately as GP says can;t refer under NHS - which is baffling us as well. He qualifies for CBT - but ADHD clinic won;t let him until a professional mental health person says he has stopped drinking. He won't engage with local free drug and alcohol service because they do not have an ADHD specialist and he says himself that he needs help from an ADHd specialist because it is ADHD problems that cause him to drink. We are just going round in circles a lot of the time. He comes across as very intelligent and he is , but he has extreme trouble functioning.,

Bill, I hope your son is doing really well now. Mrs.Hurlyback and Gordon, thank you.

Thank you.again.

Hi Gordon

Thanks for responding , we'll probably just stick to emphasising the severe ADHD problems he has and not complicate matters further with information we did not disclose originally.

He's got the fit note from GP which we've just sent off, but we're not clear on whether it's now necessary to keep getting that renewed or whether this one fit note is enough to trigger the ESA assessment process?

Also he started an apprenticeship about years ago but dropped out - which is what happens with every job and course he's even done. ON the ESA form it asks if he's completed an apprenticeship - I suppose the answer is no.

many thanks.

Hi Cass,

Your son will need to keep supplying fitnotes until DWP tell him otherwise. Do not rely on DWP to tell him when a new note is due, make a note of it yourself so that you can be sure there is no period not covered by the certificates.

thanks Mrs.Hurtyback

do we automatically submit them to DWP as soon as one has expired? or wait for them to ask and then submit? thank you so much.

Send them in automatically. Don't forget to keep copies of everything sent to DWP!