DLA / AA Decision Maker - CLOSED - REFERENCE ONLY

~Chameleon~

Hi guys, this thread was set up by Thanatos so he could answer any queries we may have regarding the DLA application process. Please can people try not to clutter the thread up too much with their own discussions (you can start another thread for this ) otherwise it will make it more difficult for Thanatos to pick out the questions that need responding to when he returns from holiday next week

sandraroffey

mine took 18 months!!!!! thanks to the CAB that it was all done in the end. they filled in the appeal and came to all the meetings etc with me. they had to back date the money to the date of the first claim as well.

missk249

Hi, can you please tell me why a decision maker would disagree with a GP report and an EMP report and refuse DLA at any rate?
My care needs, supervision needs and symptoms, although described in great detail by GP and EMP have been totally disregarded, and I am apparently not at risk of becoming aggressive ( have been in trouble with police for verbal and physical assualts because of my illness) and also cannot go out side because I am petrified of going anywhere on my own, so need supervision, I do not take care of myself and wont get up as I feel life is not worthwhile and need encouragement all the time, I need someone to gove me my medication, because if I have it myself, I would take an overdose, and I have to be supervised taking it, or I would store it up and overdose, and without the medication, my life would be at even more risk, yet I have still been refused? Please help. Thanks.

zzzLazyDaisy

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

Hi guys, this thread was set up by Thanatos so he could answer any queries we may have regarding the DLA application process. Please can people try not to clutter the thread up too much with their own discussions (you can start another thread for this ) otherwise it will make it more difficult for Thanatos to pick out the questions that need responding to when he returns from holiday next week

I agree with this - it will be difficult for thanatos to wade through a lot of chat, so please lets start a new thread for DLA experiences

Thanks

TheWhiteButterfly

Hi thanatos, really great your here to answer peoples question i think thats fantastic of you to offer your help.

just wondering if you could advise me about my dla i have filled in and sent, at the time i didnt have a diagnosis, at first it was thought i had MS and things came to head and was admitted to hospital i was there for 4 weeks having had numerous tests from lumbar puncture to mri scans but left with no diagnosis, i now have a diagnosis which my doctor phoned me and told me, its a conversion disorder, i have physio which are brilliant but things are not too well with my mobility, i still cant feel my legs and all i can feel are my toes leaving me not able to walk at all, i have had a couple of falls in the last 12 weeks due to my mobility and is now affecting my hips, the pain was so severe today physio are referring me for a x ray on my hips, my doctor knows about the pain and falls and is keeping an eye on me, im on different medication also now which my Psychiatrist sorted out as my depression was getting to the stage where it was out of control, she says i also have ocd.
at physio today they are sorting aids for the house as i cannot go to the toilet alone, get into a bath on my own or cook meals so i have someone help me do that but they are going to try make my life a bit easier, they have also said i should apply for a blue badge which im doing, anyway i wont go on as i could be here forever trying to explain lol but what im asking is, i applied in july i think, it was could of been august and so far i have had 4 letters saying sorry we have not reached a decision yet the last two saying they are awaiting reports from gp and the last letter saying consultant, i have a concern about the doctors letter cos my doctor who was fantastic and knew everything about me left the practise and i went to another female dr and she basically said belt up and walk i left feeling so sad, my dr now who i see is fantastic he is very into helping me and is just great but im concerned the letter was from the middle dr, i know drs can be a bit funny but she was awful even giving me a medical certificate the once which i get every month saying suffering from headaches lol, so if it was from her could dla take that, the consultant one i havent a worry about cos my Psychiatrist i would guess talks with him.
oh and also is this amount of time normal to await a decision from dla

blimey sorry that went on.

thankyou for reading

also forgot to ask, what is supersession cos when i have got them letters saying about no decision yet it mentions supersession, am a bit confused on what they mean by that, im on dla right now and am on it till 2010 on lrc for depression, thats without the ocd.

will try not to edit again i just keep thinking things and have to type them before i forget again, not sure how or why but since getting this conversion disorder my memory has gone from excellent like remembering say 10 mobile numbers without help, to not remembering things i have done 2 seconds previous its very strange.

anyway what i was going to ask is it worth me phoning dla and giving them new contacts to ask about me, like new physios now which are out of hospital, my psychiatrist who is helping me so much, and making sure the letter off the gp they asked for was not off the middle doctor, i just thought also my third doctor was heavily involved with my first doctor about me and she discussed it all with the third dr, so hes known about it from the start so u could call him also the first dr, i hope i havent confused you cos i just confused myself this last bit but i do know what i mean lol

angelheart-xx

Thanatos wrote: »

Hi, ok as far as the mobility component is concerned, its very unlikely you could get anything more than lower rate as the official line is that an ADHD child is fully capable of walking unaided (they may need supervison however, but thats where lower rate comes in.) From the wording you used, i am going to make a wild guess and say the Decision maker was looking at the mobility component from the Severely mentally impaired perspective which is the only way they could really bring her in on the higher rate - however, the criteria for Severely mentally impaired (which is a deeming provision - automatic qualification) are VERY strict and must go through our internal doctors for their medical opinion. I can honestly say i have never seen a child with ADHD and (as you mentioned) an ability to "clean herself" get a higher rate Mobuility award.

Regarding the care component, I would have expected some sore of award for supervision.

If you were refused totally, I would suggest there is a very good chance of getting at least a lower rate of both components on appeal and suggest any additional evidence from medical professionals you can lay your hands on would be benificial.

was wondering as they havent actually contacted my daughters consultant the first time will they do it this time or do i have to request it ,as she is willing to support my claim she isnt my gp but consultant that diagnosed my daugher with adhd, the represntation unit which is helping me said i shouldnt need to call and ask though unsure what to do??
xxx

fizzel

Dear Thanatos

I am 44 i suffer with OA in my toes ( 3 surgerys ) now fused!! but very painful I have OA in my Cervical Neck and Meneires ( spinning vertigo that causes vomiting and just debilitates.

i applied in June and was disallowed so after speaking to my Gp i asked for the Decision to be looked at again- I have had another home visit ( 2 since june) by a dwp doctor and am waiting his decision, if it is a ko then i guess my only option to to appeal,

I get frustrated by the whole system as i understand the government are cracking down especially on those who shouldnt be on this benefit ( but seem to sail through the process whilst those genuine get taken through the mill & back to try and succeed, seems very unfair.

i know it goes on how your illness effects you!! and i am clear that this is like playing russian roulette each day- as my main worry is "dizziness" and i have already lost my job due to absentism and spinning episodes i suffer-which are not just a bit of lightheadedness this is full blown fairground spinning and i cannot open my eyes at all its that fast and am just left to wait till this subsides which can be up to a few hours-then i am left with a headache and feeling very poorly the rest of the day. The Osteo Arthitis creates its own set of problems which i suppose i cope with as its something that will get progressivly worse the older i get but the meneires is ruining my quality of life i have 4 children and my poor husband has alot to deal with. i have read up alot on this and find that it is very hard to get a successful claim for menieres, why is this

thanks:eek:

CatherineS

Hello Thanatos. Like you I am new to this forum. I think it is great that you have taken the time to answer all these questions and I hope you might be able to give me some advice too as I am currently in the process of filling in my first application for DLA which needs to be returned by 13/11/08.

I have had relapsing-remitting Multiple Sclerosis for nearly 10 years. As I don't use a wheelchair I had never considered myself to be "disabled" and as such, it never occurred to me that I may be eligible to claim DLA.

When I am in remission, I can go for weeks when I am able to lead an almost "normal" life and look perfectly fine (although I still do suffer from severe fatigue and other minor ailments such as the inability to write properly).

Then, bam, out of the blue, I can have a relapse which makes me virtually housebound and judging by what I have read so far on this website, at this point I should definitely qualify for the higher rate DLA for both mobility and care. This can go on for anything from a couple of weeks to a few months, until it all settles down again until the next time.

It was only a few weeks ago that an MS nurse suggested that I should apply. I started filling in the form, and because I am quite well at the moment, I realise that there is no way I would qualify based on what I can do at the moment. But I am worried about filling in the forms and putting down the worst-case scenario, because if someone came to check up on me, they would see, from outward appearances, a very normal looking person. I am worried that I would get accused of lying.

Also, I've always been a very positive "glass half-full" kind of girl. I refuse to visualise myself in a wheelchair and I am always cheerful and upbeat. I'm now wondering if this is now going to work against me, because when the DWP contact my GP, he's probably not going to back up my claim to the extent I will obviously need him to do. I don't scuttle off down to the GP every time I have a relapse because I prefer to heal myself by positive thoughts and alternative therapies such as reflexology etc and only resort to steroids in the worst case scenario.

Do you (or anyone else on this forum) have experience/suggestions of RR-MS?

Thanks in advance for any advice you can give me!

deb68_2

CatherineS wrote: »

Hello Thanatos. Like you I am new to this forum. I think it is great that you have taken the time to answer all these questions and I hope you might be able to give me some advice too as I am currently in the process of filling in my first application for DLA which needs to be returned by 13/11/08.

I have had relapsing-remitting Multiple Sclerosis for nearly 10 years. As I don't use a wheelchair I had never considered myself to be "disabled" and as such, it never occurred to me that I may be eligible to claim DLA.

When I am in remission, I can go for weeks when I am able to lead an almost "normal" life and look perfectly fine (although I still do suffer from severe fatigue and other minor ailments such as the inability to write properly).

Then, bam, out of the blue, I can have a relapse which makes me virtually housebound and judging by what I have read so far on this website, at this point I should definitely qualify for the higher rate DLA for both mobility and care. This can go on for anything from a couple of weeks to a few months, until it all settles down again until the next time.

It was only a few weeks ago that an MS nurse suggested that I should apply. I started filling in the form, and because I am quite well at the moment, I realise that there is no way I would qualify based on what I can do at the moment. But I am worried about filling in the forms and putting down the worst-case scenario, because if someone came to check up on me, they would see, from outward appearances, a very normal looking person. I am worried that I would get accused of lying.

Also, I've always been a very positive "glass half-full" kind of girl. I refuse to visualise myself in a wheelchair and I am always cheerful and upbeat. I'm now wondering if this is now going to work against me, because when the DWP contact my GP, he's probably not going to back up my claim to the extent I will obviously need him to do. I don't scuttle off down to the GP every time I have a relapse because I prefer to heal myself by positive thoughts and alternative therapies such as reflexology etc and only resort to steroids in the worst case scenario.

Do you (or anyone else on this forum) have experience/suggestions of RR-MS?

Thanks in advance for any advice you can give me!

HI
I have MS was rr but has progresed now pm me if you wasnt to chat or need any help if i can i will.
THANK YOU for doing this IM sure it is helping a lot pf people

lorraineb

shawbarbara wrote: »

hi can anyone answer my question a lady was paid a personal injury claim payout following a really nasty rtc out of her award she had to pay back DLA {paid to her during her years whilst awaiting settlement} what i would like to check is this normal procedure and if she was due to pay it back out of her settlement - should she not have received a statement/evidence that DLA that they got the money i would be greatful if anyone could help me get her an answer thankyou

I am ex DWP benefits advisor, I know you have to pay back Incapacity Benefit if awarded compensation, but have not heard of DLA being reclaimed, check with DLA unit ,but could you be confusing it with Incapacity Benefit?