I was wondering if anyone can support me with my query.
My sister suffers from Anxiety and has a Social Phobia as well as this when she was at School she has been struggling academically and has had 1:1 support. School have said to my parents she has learning difficulty but due to my parents being illiterate and English as a second language they have never been able to understand or take this further with an assessment or diagnoses. My sister has struggled to get into a job due to her learning needs and has no financial support apart from my parents. I was wondering if any one can support with regards to what financial support/benefits I can apply for her to start being independent.
thank you.
Naz
Written by
Smilesunshine
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
10 Replies
•
If you are in UK there is child benefit and adult then PIP personal independent payment
Hi Naz, if it is a learning difficulty/ies she has and not learning disability,she has a better chance of her needs and difficulties being adapted for in work and education but a bigger fight when it comes to getting benefits like ESA and PIP .
a educational or neuro pyschologist might be a good place to start,you need a diagnoses of things if you want to get disability benefits without the awful fight that so many people have gone throug.
i have had many support workers who have had learning difficulties like dyslexia and dyscalculia,a few with aspergers and support work seems to be a good area of work for accepting difference.
for example,one of my old residential care staff had dyslexia and was allowed to do all areas of support except paper work, ABC forms etc,i dont suppose your sister woud have an interest in support work woud she? no qualifications or experience are needed to be a basic support staff for different companies out there.
i have been involved in a lot of staff interviewing for many learning disability and autism services and i have always chose people with experience of being judged for being different, people with life experience,diversity etc they have empathy and patience which are things more important to us service users than whats written on paper.
The actual thing is she struggles with seeking out and voicing herself as she has been a victim of horrible bullies at school. She is now 29 but has 2/3 certain friends she is in touch with virtually. She struggles with conversations and socials aspects of life. Her self esteem and confidence is so shattered she avoids going out to meet people and get involved with gatherings. This is the main reason whyI have supported her to get out and get a Job so that she could get a little better with herself but even certainly l employers l have sacked or let her go due to her needs. Its such a shame equality and diversity is not still considered in some places.
I have looked into PIP but when reading through eligibility I am in doubt as she does not have diagnosis...
She doesn’t have much qualifications just certificate level and community education when moved on to college after school. In terms of support work depends what the role involves because she is very limited in things and depends on me or our family to help her with problem solving and decisions.
Just seems really complicated without a diagnoses. I want to look into a diagnoses and was thinking to speak to our GP as I don’t have a clue where to start?
Hi Smilesunshine again! just a warning im sorry ill probably post a lot about this.
I relate so much with the bullying, it is very damaging. and i think with many people on the spectrum especially, we dont all process the bullying and our stronger than average rote memory will replay it over and over.
counselling from someone who is trained to work with neurologically diverse people may be of help with processing bullying and life growing up not knowing why you are you, in manchester there is a organisation called counselling for all,its free on NHS and paying for it does not make the wait any faster as my staff asked about this (and the cost was around £900 in total) and its specialised in counselling people who are either autistic and/or LD, i cant remember whether people without a diagnosis can be accepted but i was more thinking they may know of a similar organisation in your area?
i do know of one route for assessment, contact the local social services adult community learning disability team (CLDT) ,ask for a community care assessment, shes allowed one by law from what i know.
if they accept her under the CLDT they can have her tested for different conditions such as learning difficulties and learning disability,they have a pyschiatrist as well who can prescribe different medications if both your daughter and the pyschiatrist feel they woud be useful.
if the assessment does go ahead and itd be useful for your daughter,ask the CLDT to send out photos of the two social workers who will attend to do the care assessment,you coud make a visual plan of what will happen that day inc before and after the appointment,if you need any help with that-i have a widgit account and have acess to alot of symbols,and templates so can make up some sort of plan i do them for myself and other people a lot.
Another route is to go privately,but you will be spending around £1500 for basic but full enough assessment.
however,one of my support staff is a therapist and he is only doing remote work (nothing to do with ASD or LD) via skype right now, id question wheter remote assessment is available for ASD, woud your daughter find it a bit easier than having to go in somewhere she doesnt know to get assessed?
A different route again for adult assessed ASD,is to contact the national autistic society for all the nearest to you both NHS and private ASD specialists,the NAS can send you out a leaflet and also from what ive heard a leaflet with set questions on which helps you to explain your history and it helpls the GP understand as well,they will then forward your daughter onto hopefully a pyschologist who is experienced with adults.
has she tried the 'aspie quiz'? its where a lot of people start out.
I knew a lot of prediagnosed aspies online who rated that test highly as it takes a lot of time,i also used to know the guy who made it,he based it on years and years of research and answers.
sorry id post more but i dont want to overload you with it.
Dear Smileshine I just wanted to say that it sounds as though your sister may have ptsd from the bullying she has been subjected to. Although anxiety is horrible, and I speak from experience, it is a normal reaction to trauma. Her social anxiety is very likely because of the bullying she's suffered from. It might also be to do with her learning needs. She might have something like dyspraxia or have problems with her sensory processing such as being very sensitive to loud noise. That is something that an occupational therapist trained in sensory processing would be able to assess. She ought to be assessed by an educational psychologist, speech and language therapist, occupational therapist and maybe a physiotherapist which her GP can refer her for.
If she's under 25 she's legally entitled to an Education, Health and Care assessment from her local authority.
I'd be very very wary of starting medication because it could just make things worse in the long run. She needs understanding, love and support, and safety. A counsellor who understands about bullying and the trauma it causes would be able to help her understand what has happened to her and help rebuild her self esteem.
Hi Thank you for your reply thats really useful. I definitely need to look into a health care assessment . My sister is 29 so I have looked into applying for benefits as she really needs to look into being financially independent also. I will keep you all update.
I hope you've found the replies to your question helpful. There is are some excellent ideas.
I don't have much to add - just a couple of ideas:
> If you would like to talk to someone about this please do call Mencap's helpline on 0808 808 1111 or email helpline@mencap.org.uk.
> Your sister's GP would be the right starting point for any questions you have about her health, including her mental health.
> Benefits can be tricky but Turn 2 us have a great website here - turn2us.org.uk/ They also have a helpline if you have any specific questions about applying for benefits.
Your sister is very lucky to have you helping her find the right support. As a sibling you might be interested in SIBS - which is a charity just for brothers and sisters - sibs.org.uk/ They have lots of advice for adult siblings.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Support During Lockdown for people with Learning disability.
Request for additional funding
How do I get my daughter out.
Not getting out of bed all day
Day to day spending. 
