PIP autism claim

Hi there

I'm going through the process of claiming PIP for autism-related difficulties.

I'm posting here to ask if anyone is in a similar situation to mine. My claim is mainly for difficulties with mixing with other people and with communicating.

My initial decision letter has come back from the DWP. I was awarded nothing. I have sent the request for mandatory reconsideration. Based on what I have read, I wouldn't be surprised if this failed too,which would mean I would have to take the claim to appeal. I'm already trying to prepare for appeal, as, when the time comes, I don't want to run out of time to lodge my submission.

I'm thinking it would help if I came across someone with a similar claim to mine who has won at appeal. I could then understand what arguments have carried weight with the judge, and I could refer the judge to the previous similar case that has already won.

So, has anyone claimed PIP on similar grounds to mine? The main elements of my situation are:
- I have an autism spectrum disorder and a string of associated anxiety disorders;
- I am claiming mainly for difficulties in mixing with other people and with communicating;
- I have insisted in my claim that I have no social engagement except in facilitated support groups, because of my autism spectrum disorder and anxiety disorders;
- I am not undergoing any treatment at the moment, although I have had some in the past and I intend to have more in the future;
- I have had to leave employment, and I have been repeatedly bullied, because of my difficulties;
- I have already submitted plenty of evidence - diagnostic report, past psychotherapist's report, former colleague and mentor's supporting statement -; this evidence is some years old, but I have explained how the statements in there are relevant to my life now.

So, can anyone point me to any similar case that has been won?

Hi,

I attended the assessment with someone, who is a facilitator from an autism support group and has an adult autistic son. The person understands how to support autistic people with communication needs, she has supported me in other situations, but, at the assessment, she did not need to intervene much.

I have, however, argued that the assessment was not representative of everyday social situations, for a variety of reasons: the questions were straight questions that required straight answers, it was mostly between me and just one other person, it was about technical issues that did not require me to understand other people, the setting was quiet, and the interview was planned. Most of my autistic difficulties were removed because of the way the assessment was set! The assessor spent a lot of time going into detail about everyday activities that I have no problem with, but did not ask about my relevant difficulties.

Gordon wrote: Daniel

The following may help you with your arguments

pipinfo.net/

Gordon

Thank you for this link! It looks like there is a lot of information on there, so I'll sit down in front of it when I have the time to read it carefully and absorb all the information.

Update: I sent my request for mandatory reconsideration at the begining of August. As I hadn't heard anything by the end of September, I phoned the DWP and discovered that, while my request had been received, it was sitting in their office and had not been actioned. The call centre operative I spoke to actioned it, and sent me a text confirming this. I've now been told I'd have to wait a further six weeks.
The same happened when I wrote to ask for a copy of the face-to-face report. I sent the request, didn't hear anything back, phoned after a few weeks, the call centre operative told me that the request had been received but not actioned, he then sent me the report straight away which I received after a few days.
I had sent both requests by Royal Mail Signed-For Service in the first place. Without that, I suspect that the DWP would have pretended they had not received anything.
The DWP are receiving letters and then doing nothing about them.

Daniel