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di30

New to ESA (Employment Support Allowance)

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Hi folks

 

Not posted for a while, but hope all are well x

 

My son turned 20 in January and as Child Bens and Child Tax Credits ended, we were informed by the Autistic Society to put a claim in for ESA. I am my son's Carer and his Appointee as he also has DLA Rate of HRC and LRM, but unable to manage with his own affairs.

He has Aspergers Syndrome and High Levels of Anxiety, also Asthmatic,where his anxiety can worsen this condition.

 

So I made a ESA claim for my son, and he was awarded, but for now the Assessment Rate, until they decide what group. I am aware they are behind with these assessments.

 

Can anyone who have made a claim for ESA with the same disability as my son share their own experience please?

 

I have provided plenty of medical evidence from the team he was under (CAMHS) etc, but does anyone know if they will accept letters from family friends or even relatives that know my son well?

 

thanks in advance x

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Hi, i was through this years ago for me from transferring from IS/IB to ESA. I would like to say though they dont go by diagnoses they go by how it affects there day to day lives. I had to send a letter with my doctor how my disability impacted my daily live

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I have asd and levels of anxiety, but not high. I was undiagnosed at the time of my so called assessment for moving from Incap to ESA. Getting a solicitor worked for me.

 

Yes, the ESA people ignored what my doctor said and asked me silly questions about moving cardboard boxes and had I any pets.

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I was successful in getting into the support group with ASD traits alone, it does really depend on how much input one has with filling out the forms, if its done by a social worker or mental health professional one has a much better chance you know.

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Hi di30. We waited nearly a year for a medical assessment for my son, who is 21. We had the assessment but found it hard to explain face to face the difficulties, although we thought we got across most of the issues. Following the assessment he was awarded zero points and told he would not be eligible for ESA and should go to Jobseekers. I was phoned by one of the advisors who said if I wrote some evidence of how he was affected day to day we might be able to get the amount of points he would need to be eligible and he said we'd have two weeks to do it. I didn't bother for a week because I thought it would make no difference but in the end I did write four pages, giving examples and setting out issues based on headings that he'd suggested. We then got a letter telling us he had been unsuccessful and that we had been asked to provide further evidence but that we had not submitted any! I phoned AGAIN telling them about the letter I had sent and they said the advisor had given me the wrong address to send it to so it had gone to the wrong place (*sigh*). Anyway, cutting a very long story short, the advisor in question rang me again to say he had located the letter and it had elevated my son from zero points up to 18, which meant he was eligible for ESA. So, in short, evidence can be in the form of a letter written by yourself, as the parent, setting out exactly how your son's AS affects his day-to-day life. Give examples of things he finds hard and go into lots of detail and it should help with the assessment.

 

Good luck.

 

~ Mel ~

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Hi everyone

 

Thank you all very much for your feedback.

 

I have been updated on my son's ESA claim, it has been progressed already, they have sent a ESA113 to our family GP, if the GP fills in the form with the sufficient information, I was informed this should avoid my son having a face to face assessment.

They confirm they have enough of the other information like from his specialists etc but just want this report received from our GP now in order to review.

 

I did send them ample of medical evidence and support letters and repeated all his issues on the ESA50 form.

 

Am surprised how quickly this have moved on, it was only the end of January we first put in the claim for my son.

 

I will keep you posted and again thank you all for your feedback, it's been very helpful x

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My assessment was done at a time of tension in the system, and it was an unpleasant experience - hopefully the way people are being treated has been improved. The number of points I was awarded magically rose from nil once I got a solicitor involved with firm instructions to go on the legal attack.

 

I found that putting all communication in writing, keeping a photocopy and then sending it by registered post a good idea - phone calls not such a good idea.

Edited by Alexanderplatz

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An update

 

Atos have now received all the information required and will be forwarding this on to the DWP to review.

 

Found a bit of useful info on google search in regards of the forms ESA113 they send GP's. x

 

 

The claims process Most claimants will be sent a form, the ESA50, which asks for details of how their condition or impairment affects their functioning. Further medical evidence may be sought at any time from any claimant’s own doctor (using the form ESA113), but we understand that it is most commonly collected only in cases where an Atos doctor decides that the claimant could potentially be placed in the support group without a face-toface assessment. Only about eight per cent of ESA claims involved the use of an ESA113 form,

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An update again already,am very surprised lol.

 

My son been placed in the support group and this will start mid April once the assessment rate ends, thank you all for your help and support x

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Hi everyone

 

Thank you all very much for your feedback.

 

I have been updated on my son's ESA claim, it has been progressed already, they have sent a ESA113 to our family GP, if the GP fills in the form with the sufficient information, I was informed this should avoid my son having a face to face assessment.

They confirm they have enough of the other information like from his specialists etc but just want this report received from our GP now in order to review.

 

I did send them ample of medical evidence and support letters and repeated all his issues on the ESA50 form.

 

Am surprised how quickly this have moved on, it was only the end of January we first put in the claim for my son.

 

I will keep you posted and again thank you all for your feedback, it's been very helpful x

I was successful in getting into the support group with ASD traits alone, it does really depend on how much input one has with filling out the forms, if its done by a social worker or mental health professional one has a much better chance you know.

Absolutely - if the ESA50 is filled-in properly, you don't have to go to ATOS. I last had to attend ATOS in Feb 2011, and subsequent ESA50 forms done in Sep 2011 and January 2014, the former filled in by a welfare rights team part of the Oxleas Trust in Crayford - now gone, and outsourced to Mind, also good, and the latter by The 170 Project at New Cross... I am now in the written-off category, and had a recent backpayment.

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Thanks for all your posts everyone,

 

I am feeling so relieved and thankful that my son never had to attend an assessment or face to face and that it only taken a matter of weeks since we didn't send back his ESA50 form back until the end of Feb. I know my son is very relieved too.

 

Now as this was all done before the 13 week assessment rate is up, his new rate will then change after the 13 weeks which will be April. x

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This all sounds like good news to me, some things may have changed for the better since my last contact with the system, let's hope it keeps up.

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For my part, I’ve never attempted to claim ESA, but someone I spoke to the other day seemed to think it would be better for me than JSA (assuming I’d be eligible for either). I’m not eligible for income-based JSA because I own a property I’m not living in. My eligibility for contribution-based JSA depends on my NI contributions between 06/04/14 and 05/04/16, but I was only in employment for five months during all this time. I’ve never applied for DLA/PIP because I can (for instance) cook a meal and travel independently by public transport.

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Hi ... new to this site but I'm betting there are autistic people/parents in similar situation. In a nutshell, (sorry about idiom but I like them !), my son is 21 and in part time work. He wants to find a few more hours to work during the week and perhaps gently expand his work experience. To initially start a job he will need support/job coach /mentor but with efficient training and support he would most likely be able to pretty much work independently. He can travel (once he's practiced it ) , independently.

The Job Centre will not help him get a job because he is not on certain benefits .....I know this is nuts but that's what we were told. So it was suggested that we either got to Pluss (special needs employment agency) or apply for ESA then they could help him.

At Pluss they said they could only help him if he signed up to their workshop programme. This was impossible as he works part time !!

I am attempting to now apply for ESA and have been in cintact with DWP who were very polite and very helpful in giving me guidance on how best to progress.

I need a 'Fitness To Work' certificate from GP to submit with ESA application. GP is very willing to be helpful and fill in the certificate/document but is cautious and wanted some advice on what might be required by the DWP in this unusual situation. My son is fit for work but has limited capacity due to ASC diagnosis and epilepsy (under drug control).

Can anyone who has applied for ESA give me some idea of what the right guidance is to include on the Fitness To Work document ???

Thanks for any help here.

Ivor Heart

ps .... Isn't ASD now called ASC (autistic spectrum condition ) ?

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