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Received brown letter from PIP medical decision
- michelle121
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6 years 5 months ago #200049 by michelle121
Received brown letter from PIP medical decision was created by michelle121
Hello I am new to posting on here, I was hoping that I could get some advice on my situation .
I am my son's appointee and full time carer . My son is 16 and has Aspergers syndrome . My son is high functioning and very intelligent . We recently had a medical assessment for PIP . Our appointment was for 3 pm , we arrived at the medical center at 2.45 pm but we were not seen until 3.45pm .
My son was already anxious about having to go to the appointment , he was not very happy about the length of time we were kept waiting. I explained to the HP that I was my son's appointee and full time carer, The Hp asked my son lot's of questions and my son was giving answers that I did not agree with. The HP asked me to let my son answer himself, for example my son told the HP that he makes me tea every morning , when in fact he has never even boiled the kettle !! My son is very good at telling a good story but in reality he really does not do any of these things. I explained that I drive my son every where that he does not go any where alone. He has never used public transport nor would he go to the local shop on his own , he gets very anxious about going places he does not know he dislikes crowds and he is a very homely person. I have home educated my son for the last 4 years as he was being bullied at school and he never felt that he fitted in (his words) . My son is a genius when it comes to computers and playing playstation , he has recently started college part time on an IT course and is doing his GCSE in english and maths . I drive him there and pick him up, so far he is really enjoying it, 3 hours a day is long enough for him.
We still have the anxiety issues every morning but once he is at college he is fine. He is in a class of 7 students which is perfect for him. I am so happy for him to be mixing with other people as he is a bit of a loner . My son also told the HP that he could walk for 15 mins without any difficulty , which is not true, he was observed to walk 12 meters unaided with a wide gate and on that assessment the HP said that she thinks my son can walk 500 meters unaided. My son has dropped arches in both feet and has to wear special orthotics in his shoes he also has a habit of intoeing, I provided medical evidence from his orthotics doctor.
My son also suffers muscle cramps all over his body this is due to stress and anxiety and is part of his Aspergers.
The out come of the decision letter is that my son has scored 8 points for daily living part and 0 points for mobility .
I do not understand how the HP can make this decision regarding my son when she does not know how he is she did not want to listen to what I had to say , my son truly believes that he can do all what he says he can do , he does not like to think he is different in any way also he gets embarrassed about his Aspergers . How can I appeal this decision and make the HP see that my son was only telling her what she wanted to hear ?
If anyone could give me any advice regarding this I would be truly greatful
Thank you for reading
Michelle121
I am my son's appointee and full time carer . My son is 16 and has Aspergers syndrome . My son is high functioning and very intelligent . We recently had a medical assessment for PIP . Our appointment was for 3 pm , we arrived at the medical center at 2.45 pm but we were not seen until 3.45pm .
My son was already anxious about having to go to the appointment , he was not very happy about the length of time we were kept waiting. I explained to the HP that I was my son's appointee and full time carer, The Hp asked my son lot's of questions and my son was giving answers that I did not agree with. The HP asked me to let my son answer himself, for example my son told the HP that he makes me tea every morning , when in fact he has never even boiled the kettle !! My son is very good at telling a good story but in reality he really does not do any of these things. I explained that I drive my son every where that he does not go any where alone. He has never used public transport nor would he go to the local shop on his own , he gets very anxious about going places he does not know he dislikes crowds and he is a very homely person. I have home educated my son for the last 4 years as he was being bullied at school and he never felt that he fitted in (his words) . My son is a genius when it comes to computers and playing playstation , he has recently started college part time on an IT course and is doing his GCSE in english and maths . I drive him there and pick him up, so far he is really enjoying it, 3 hours a day is long enough for him.
We still have the anxiety issues every morning but once he is at college he is fine. He is in a class of 7 students which is perfect for him. I am so happy for him to be mixing with other people as he is a bit of a loner . My son also told the HP that he could walk for 15 mins without any difficulty , which is not true, he was observed to walk 12 meters unaided with a wide gate and on that assessment the HP said that she thinks my son can walk 500 meters unaided. My son has dropped arches in both feet and has to wear special orthotics in his shoes he also has a habit of intoeing, I provided medical evidence from his orthotics doctor.
My son also suffers muscle cramps all over his body this is due to stress and anxiety and is part of his Aspergers.
The out come of the decision letter is that my son has scored 8 points for daily living part and 0 points for mobility .
I do not understand how the HP can make this decision regarding my son when she does not know how he is she did not want to listen to what I had to say , my son truly believes that he can do all what he says he can do , he does not like to think he is different in any way also he gets embarrassed about his Aspergers . How can I appeal this decision and make the HP see that my son was only telling her what she wanted to hear ?
If anyone could give me any advice regarding this I would be truly greatful
Thank you for reading
Michelle121
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6 years 5 months ago #200057 by Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Replied by Gordon on topic Received brown letter from PIP medical decision
Michelle
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 son's 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.
If you feel that that the assessor did not take proper notice of your comments during the assessment, then you should make a complaint to the Assessment Provider, there is specific guidance for assessors in how they should deal with a claimant with an appointee, this includes understanding that the claimant may not have a proper appreciation of their limitations or may not actually explain then correctly.
Your primary task is to show that he meets the criteria, there are many reasons he 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 he walked 50m, he did but they have failed to document that he 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.
Gordon
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 son's 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.
If you feel that that the assessor did not take proper notice of your comments during the assessment, then you should make a complaint to the Assessment Provider, there is specific guidance for assessors in how they should deal with a claimant with an appointee, this includes understanding that the claimant may not have a proper appreciation of their limitations or may not actually explain then correctly.
Your primary task is to show that he meets the criteria, there are many reasons he 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 he walked 50m, he did but they have failed to document that he 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.
Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
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6 years 5 months ago #200073 by michelle121
Replied by michelle121 on topic Received brown letter from PIP medical decision
Gordon thank you so much for all your advice. I will contact them on Monday, I will get back to you once I have received the report back . Thank you once again
Michelle121
Michelle121
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6 years 4 months ago #203201 by michelle121
Replied by michelle121 on topic Received brown letter from PIP medical decision
Hi Gordon I wrote to you some time ago in regard to my PIP decision letter. I requested a mandatory reconsideration , this was done over the telephone, i pointed out that my son is 16 and that he believes he can do all the things he says he can do. That he was telling the assessor that he can wash bath himself and cook !! I have been given a copy of the consultation report, some of the thongs she has written are incorrect. How do you appeal this when my son gave them incorrect information ? For example I drive my son every where he does not go out alone , because i get google maps on my phone and I ask my son to hold the phone so that we can here directions, they have decided he can plan a journey unaided, because my son said he can walk 15 mins slowly with out pain then he can walk 200 meters ? please can you help me ?
thank you
michelle121carlo
thank you
michelle121carlo
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6 years 4 months ago #203215 by Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Replied by Gordon on topic Received brown letter from PIP medical decision
Michelle
The PIP Appeal guide has links to the SSCS1 form that you will need to complete and the Submissions guide has a complete example that you can use to help you fill it in, you do not need to provide detailed reasons at this stage for your request.
Once your appeal is accepted the DWP will prepare their submission to the hearing and send you a copy, whilst you should wait until you receive this to finish and submit your own, you should start to prepare your own case, an increased award will only be made by your showing that you score the extra points for one, so I would start by going back through your PIP2, the assessment report and the PIP Claim guide to see how you might show this is the case.
Do you have any letters or reports that speak about his not understanding or minimising his problems?
Are you his appointee? If you are then this would show that the DWP accept his limitations, at least to some extent.
Be careful of talking about things you do for him lest it is taken as your doing them because it is easier for your both rather than him being unable to do them.
Gordon
The PIP Appeal guide has links to the SSCS1 form that you will need to complete and the Submissions guide has a complete example that you can use to help you fill it in, you do not need to provide detailed reasons at this stage for your request.
Once your appeal is accepted the DWP will prepare their submission to the hearing and send you a copy, whilst you should wait until you receive this to finish and submit your own, you should start to prepare your own case, an increased award will only be made by your showing that you score the extra points for one, so I would start by going back through your PIP2, the assessment report and the PIP Claim guide to see how you might show this is the case.
Do you have any letters or reports that speak about his not understanding or minimising his problems?
Are you his appointee? If you are then this would show that the DWP accept his limitations, at least to some extent.
Be careful of talking about things you do for him lest it is taken as your doing them because it is easier for your both rather than him being unable to do them.
Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
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