PIP for ADHD, Anxiety & Depression

I applied for PIP after being diagnosed with burnout and signed off work last December. I applied for anxiety, depression, ADHD & autism, though at the time I was awaiting formal diagnosis of AuDHD and added this to my claim form.

Awarded zero at assessment and mandatory reconsideration, and have been waiting for hearing to be listed since April this year.

Since then, I've been diagnosed with ADHD, and medicated, and still awaiting autism assessment. I can barely function when I don't take my medication.

I fear that I messed up my whole application because I did it alone, and at 42, and only just being diagnosed with a condition that I've had all my life, I didn't actually realise at the time just how bad things were. You just get on with stuff and go through life feeling like a failure.

The assessor made masses of assumptions, and didn't take much notice of what little I did say in the assessment, but that's a whole different issue.

Can I claw this back? Things like forgetting to eat, burning myself when I use the hob, or even grill to make toast, regularly burning my food, hours to do the simplest of tasks...I didn't realise that was what my life was like at the time and answered the questions asked if me in very much 'yes' and 'no' ways.

My condition has worsened since being diagnosed and I'm experiencing skill regression, so failing with the most basic of tasks and struggling to look after my basic needs. I live alone, so have no choice but to do many to the things a disabled person applying for PIP is expect to not be able to do, which also went against me in the assessment.

What do I do? I feel like if I explain any of this, I'm 'too clever' as the assessor wrote that in aware of my condition so I feel like knowing about how things affect me goes against me.

I'm so tired of the whole thing and I'm finding it very difficult to cope. I get ESA (limited capability for work) and Universal Credit. The ESA assessor asked similar questions and came to a totally different conclusion to the PIP assessor.

I've just signed up here, but now I just feel like I've done everything wrong and I'm going to be back to square one when it is finally listed.

I really don't know what to do.

I just want to send you support katieE, I got my Autism Diagnosis at 66 after a two-and-a-half year wait. Then this led to my also getting an ADHD diagnosis. My PIP assessor very much rubbished my organising/OCD-type etc issues, I burn pans like you, etc. I got my award on the basis of the physical issues I have too. But it sounds to me as though your autism /ADHD challenges are more sever than mine, so please do not despair. The Appeal panel are at least not DWP staff.
It might be a good idea to make some diary type notes from now on, that you can take to the Tribunal if DWP don't cave in before it goes to a hearing.
Also read up on the stuff in the Guides here about Tribunal hearings.
Do keep us posted, we are definitely "invisibly disabled" and have to shout louder to be acknowledged. Having 'O' and 'A' levels does NOT mean one is 'fine'!
Hyperlexia is actually a symptom of autism in some of us, ram this down anyone's throat that says because you are aware of your problems and well able to describe them, that they are not problems!
Best wishes,
Denby

Hi KatieE, do be careful as BIS says, not to present the Tribunal with evidence that you are finding life more difficult since when you claimed. However it is worth being ready to defend the fact that your conditions are ones you were born with, not like some disease you catch or having a bad accident having been 'fine' up to that point. As such you can refer back to things that were difficult or disastrous all your life before you claimed.
The fact that you 'only' got your ADHD diagnosis at 42 and are still waiting to have your Autism diagnosis confirmed does not mean they are new problems. You now realise this but most DWP staff won't understand unless you explain it to them rather carefully. They need telling it as if to a five year old, yet without getting their backs up!

If you do make diary notes as a memory aid, I'd suggest you pepper them with 'history' type comments like, "Today I burned the potatoes, which is something I have often done ever since I had to cook for myself at age XX."
And remember the things that we feel shame for, like missing appointments or OCD behaviours, should be brought into the open for the DWP and Tribunal, not hidden out of guilt.

Very best wishes,
Denby

Hello,

Just a few thoughts to add to the advice from denby and BIS. I'm not autistic myself - or, at least, I've never been diagnosed - so I can't speak with complete insight, but I have a son who is and I am his appointee, so can deal with his claim on his behalf. I assume you had a telephone assessment, in which most disabilities are "hidden" from assessors, but for some autistic people, unfortunately, their problems are all too visible and people will often use this to take advantage of them. (This happens to my son all too often.) Many autistic people are very articulate and always say precisely what they mean, with great clarity, but others, like my son, are not, and will say the first thing that comes into their heads, particularly when under pressure, even if it is not true, although they do not actually intend to lie. Without going into great detail, this can be a problem because they can easily be manipulated by unscrupulous people into doing or saying something that they did not intend. I don't mean to suggest that PIP assessors are all unscrupulous, but they can direct a person who is susceptible to suggestion to give them the answer they want - which, of course, is that everything is fine.

Since it will probably be a while before your hearing, you have time to read through all the guides and build up a good case. Take it step by step as BIS suggests.

Some of us have been lucky enough to have our cases looked at again by the DWP before we actually reached the tribunal. That in itself is nerve-wracking, but if it should happen to you, stand your ground and try to keep your wits about you and tell the caller exactly how your difficulties affect you on a day to day basis. Most autistic people are too used to covering up their problems and pretending they are not struggling, but this is one occasion when you definitely should not do this.

Good luck and best wishes,

Wendy Woo

Thank you all for your replies, it's so overwhelming.

I know that you've mentioned not saying my condition has deteriorated, it's not even that, just before I knew what was 'wrong', I didn't realise how hard things actually were, it's funny the things you just learn to accept as totally 'normal', so I'll be mindful of how I explain this.

I'll try and keep a diary of sorts for a while, I think that might help me pinpoint where I struggle too!

There's so much to go through, but I guess if I'm going to have to wait upwards of a year then I have plenty of time!

Thank you again for your replies