PIP planning & following journeys, dyspraxia

Hello,

I'm currently completing my PIP renewal form. I have a variety of health issues and conditions, including autism, ADHD, and dyspraxia, which greatly affects my ability to navigate (ha!) and plan journeys. I was awarded 4 points for needing prompting to undertake a journey last time, due to my depression and social anxiety. I have the guides, but am struggling to find information about my situation and if it's possible I could fit a higher descriptor, mainly the planning journeys one.

I drive (an automatic car); short journeys where the navigation has been planned by my parents and explained to me repeatedly, and shown by them while they drive there first. I still get lost frequently, even when using a satnav (which I know doesn't count as an aid for these questions but I can't find *anything* to help me otherwise!). I have frequently cancelled or missed appointments because the combination of social anxiety and the idea of driving somewhere has been too overwhelming for me. I find it tiring and do it as little as possible, because I can't face the inevitable getting lost, pulling over for a panic attack, then taking an hour to make a 20minute journey because I'm driving in circles despite a satnav telling me I'm there (when I'm not there). This happens even in familiar places- I'm well acquainted with my nearest jobcentre but still have to look it up every time I want to go to that part of town. Going to a street I'm not familiar with in that town is a guaranteed episode of And Then I Got Lost.

I read the guidance notes (from the DWP I think) that one 'does not need to plan a familiar journey'; this is completely untrue for me. I have to sit and think about the directions repeatedly before I leave the house even to the shop a few miles away, or ask my mum if it's been more than a few weeks and I can't remember them/something has changed like a diversion, so I can't go the 'usual' way.

I gather it uses public transport as a benchmark. I don't use it any more as I'd rather drive and be able to escape a situation much quicker than if I got on the wrong train (and live in a very rural area even if I wanted to), but there have been numerous incidents before I learnt to drive, where- despite mum planning the journey and writing down the stops, etc, I got on the wrong bus/train/waited on the wrong side of the road/misremembered the time and went to the wrong place. Before I moved out she would remind me which bus number/side of road/driving directions to take before I went anywhere. I'm also hearing impaired and struggle to understand the announcements at train stations on the very rare (less than once a year) occasions I'm on public transport. I live in a village with very little to actually walk *to*, if they're expecting walking, but the other week I walked to the village shop around the corner with my mum. I've driven past it numerous times but never been in. Thanks to dyspraxia I had no idea which direction to go in once I came out of the shop. I sometimes walk along a a narrow walking trail in the fields next to my house. I have to follow the path, stop, then turn around, and recognise which part of the village I live in due to landmarks. When I'm turning the car around (I'm in a cul-de-sac) I've pulled up next to other people's houses as they all look the same, until I was close enough to see the door number or my cats. It's ridiculous, and really distresses me and limits my life so much. My mind goes blank when it comes to remembering directions, or I remember something like 'I turned right to get here, so I must turn right to leave'. Most of the time it's a combination of satnav/my phone maps, following road signs, and hoping for the best. Even if I wasn't socially anxious and could ask people, I can't remember what they've said- I can think I understand it at the time and then it's completely gone. I've been late for a job interview in the past because I spent 2 hours driving up and down the motorway being lost. Somebody drew me a map while I cried in a shop- I was still lost!

I'm fully expecting the response to be 'if you can drive then you're too competent for that descriptor.' It's so infuriating to me when I get lost going somewhere I 'know', because I couldn't remember all the directions. My mind goes blank and I can't tell you what the next step is until I'm there, and it either comes to me or it doesn't- if in doubt I default to straight on until I can find a road sign to follow.

Thankyou, I didn’t have my dyspraxia diagnosis when I was last assessed (before the new guidance), but did discuss my issues with navigation. My angle is that dyspraxia is a specific learning disability, so while I may be competent in many areas, movement and navigation is not one of them.