DWP benefits HARDER to get for ADHD

Despite what the corporate media and MP’s are always spreading, a new study has shown that it’s actually harder to get disability benefits from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) if you have ADHD.

For months now the rags have pushed the narrative that too many people with ADHD are cheating the system and claiming Personal Independence Payments (PIP).

The latest was from The Times:

More than 100,000 get benefits for ADHD with no need to seek work

As the Canary reported at the time, this was days before the DWP released the Timms Review into PIP. This was a clear attempt to by the DWP to control the narrative before the report revealed that PIP was “not fit for purpose”.

Despite the report being sympathetic to how inhumane a system PIP is, the press are still churning out slop about how it’s too easy to claim. This is helped by MPs who spread this utter waffle.

The likes of GB News had a field day when Labour MP Sojan Joseph told the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on mental health that he was chairing that people with ‘mild’ ADHD shouldn’t get benefits.

Joseph said:

You can’t just say all ADHDs or all autism can’t work or should be on benefits. [The system] should distinguish between the severity of the illness.

He continued:

Once you start claiming benefits, it’s hard to get people out of that benefit system.

Putting aside that this is a gross oversimplification, it also isn’t accurate.

PIP is harder for people with ADHD to keep

Benefits and Work researched the varying outcomes of change of circumstances for the 50 most common conditions that people get PIP for within the DWP’s own data.

Of the over 10,000 claimants a month requesting a change of circumstances review in the last year to April 2026 5.5% failed the assessment and 3.2% had their award decreased. Meanwhile 38.6% had their award increased and 49.6% saw their benefits stay the same.

On the whole, changes of circumstance didn’t make that much difference, but for some conditions it was much harder to keep a hold of PIP when they requested a change of circumstances review.

Autism and ADHD in particular had worse outcomes.

16.3% of people with ADHD failed the assessment while 5.5% saw their PIP decreased. 28.7% had their money increased and 44.9% saw no change.

Meanwhile 17% of autistic people failed the assessment and 9.8% had their money decreased. This also meant that 26.8% of awards increased and 42.5% stayed the same.

It’s not just ADHD and autism, the study found that on the whole claimants with neurodivergent and mental health conditions were more likely to fail reassessment or lose money.

This goes hand in hand with them also trying to prove neurodivergent and mental health conditions are overdiagnosed. Though this was another case where they’ve had to be hot on the press propaganda because their own report is saying different to their foregone conclusion.

DWP demonising vulnerable people even further

It’s clear from the amount of hate levelled at people with ADHD that the DWP wants to make it harder for them to claim PIP. But despite what the press and the government wants us all to think, it’s already hard enough for those with ADHD to get support.

Making it harder to neurodivergent people to claim PIP won’t make the system “fairer”, but it will put a lot of vulnerable people in danger.

Featured image via the Canary