How to answer PIP descriptors for a 16-year-old moving from DLA

[TheOpalFox]

I have a disability and my son has adhd. He’s 16 and moving from dla to pip. I have heard it’s hard for people to get pip from Dla. ? How would u answer the descriptors plz. ? Thanks

Honestly

Does he meet the criteria for the descriptors?

Is this for real?

Tell them exactly what he struggles with in as much detail as possible.

eg does he need help in the kitchen, can he cook unsupervised, does he need somebody en ensure he turns everything off etc etc.

Give copies of every assessment you have, details of meds, things like that.

I got mine first time for MH with only a paper assessment thankfully as my anxiety would be horrendous if I had to do face to face.

It's pretty straightforward from dla to pip. Nothing has changed I suppose so if he met the criteria for dla he will meet the criteria for pip. You just do what everyone else does and talk about his worst day as the norm with some slight exaggerations if needed.

There’s a newsletter online today from the Benefits and Work website about this.

Contact your local citizen advice bureau and they will tell you who can help locally.

Be aware that though your DS had DLA he may not be eligible for PIP.

I've done it for my 16yo and it was fine. I included all her paperwork in case they didn't have it. You need to answer them specific to your child though, my two autistic children are quite different and probably won't get the same rate as each other.

Why.? Course it’s real? Me and my son are both disabled

PIP want to know how your son is affected by his disability rather than labeling the disability.
can he carry out the tasks reliably, consistently and safely. Give examples to explain your answer

I found this quite useful - I rated DD and got her to rate herself and it gave me an idea of the questions to focus on.

https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/personal-independence-payment-pip/pip-self-test www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/personal-independence-payment-pip/pip-self-test]]

Sounds about right - and people say there is barely any benefit fraud!

PIP and DLA criteria are not the same.

As a PP said go to CitA or another advice agency who will help you complete the form properly

Alternatively if you want to do it yourself use a guide like this

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/pip/help-with-your-claim/fill-in-form-pip/

Don’t do it as your worst day, do an average day. If they call and assess him on the phone (do they do that at his age) he needs to be able to be truthful.

Oooh do you have a link? I can't find it but would really like to read it as their stuff is always excellent and I have the same DLA to PIP thing coming up with my DS.

No you don’t. You answer the questions honestly otherwise you’ll flat on yourself your face when it comes to your face to face assessment. And you gather as much evidence to back up your claim as you possibly can.

Sure, noone ever exaggerates on pip or dla forms. And it's a phonecall to follow up and sometimes not even that. They don't have staff to do face to face meetings.

I have family members (inlaws) who are experts on this.

How would u answer the descriptors plz. ?

Truthfully???

You are filling it out for him, not yourself so your own disability is irrelevant. You could see where the points are awarded, so if you son has difficulty with tasks points are awarded too, so bathing, toileting, cooking etc, you then to describe his difficulties and how you assist him (if you do).

It is useful to say wjat he cannot do compared with a 'typical' 16 year old. Even needing to be prompted to everyday tasks.

Are you appointee? If you need help completing the form see if CAB or a local charity can help.

Don’t base your answers on the worst day and don’t exaggerate. PIP is based on the majority of the time, that is more than 50% of the time.

The criteria for DLA and PIP are different, so some will be eligible for DLA but not go on to be eligible for PIP.

Some do have F2F assessments.

Some have a paper-based assessment, some have phone assessments, some have virtual assessments and some have F2F assessments.

You're gonna get grief for asking this question, because people think you are lying if you don't magically know how to answer the questions, but the truth is the way you phrase the answers matters massively and a lot of us struggle with phrasing things DUE TO OUR DISABILITY, so it's a valid question.

For example, if you answer "I can do x if y", all they hear is "I can". You have to start your answers with "I can't safely, reliably and repeatedly do x, due to y" and then say how that impacts your life.

So something like "I can't safely, reliably and repeatedly cook a meal, because I struggle to focus long enough to cook safely. I can start cooking and then suddenly walk away because I get distracted by my phone, a noise, or another thought. I completely forget I was cooking until I smell burning or someone reminds me. This has happened several times, and started a fire."

I used answers from autism life journal (they have answers for other conditions, not just autism)

Yes I struggle because I have learning difficulties also so thankyou xx