Carer's Allowance - stunned

PolishBigSpender

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

Yes, I agree - I know a little girl like this - she is not naughty , just needs loads of attention from her parents to keep her 'on task'. I didn't even know she had AHDD until I was told - certainly I didn't think there was anything wrong with her behaviour, just noticed that she was a 'demanding' child in the amount of attention she needed.

This is what I think the problem really is - children who simply require more attention than others are labelled with ADHD, when in reality, they're possibly just attention seeking and are needy. I'm not criticising those children for that - everyone is different, and if a child needs to feel reassured and loved constantly, then it's fair enough. But it's sad that the child is then labelled as an 'ADHD' child - when in reality, as you say, she just needs lots of attention to keep her focused.

However, it may manifest in different ways. I can't really judge only knowing one child with it!

I know a couple of people (adults) with it, and you would never guess they had it. They are well educated, intelligent people - but with the problem that they need to take frequent breaks from whatever they do. In exams, it manifested itself as needing to stretch their legs regularly - no need for medication, simply common sense. But they were children when Poland was dreadfully poor - the money simply wasn't there to prescribe Ritalin to them, so they learnt to cope without it.

The huge problem with ADHD as a whole seems to be the 'easy fix' approach - it's easier to medicate a child than it is to address the underlying causes. I appreciate that poor teachers can also be a problem in this respect - and so any child with such issues should be dealt with on a case by case basis, rather than the '10mg Ritalin Daily, Next!' approach.

lukiesgirl wrote:

but is an avid attacker of anyone who claims for disability benefits.

I'm an avid attacker of anyone who claims benefits for things that can be dealt with in more appropriate ways. It is not appropriate to get an ADHD child used to a lifetime of benefits, particular where parental/educational failings can and should be addressed.

However, I would also avidly support any campaign to increase benefits for those that genuinely need it. If you are confined to your bed and require 24/7 care, why shouldn't you and the carer receive enough money to make the lifestyle at least a bit more comfortable?

lukiesgirl

PolishBigSpender wrote: »

This is what I think the problem really is - children who simply require more attention than others are labelled with ADHD, when in reality, they're possibly just attention seeking and are needy. I'm not criticising those children for that - everyone is different, and if a child needs to feel reassured and loved constantly, then it's fair enough. But it's sad that the child is then labelled as an 'ADHD' child - when in reality, as you say, she just needs lots of attention to keep her focused.

I know a couple of people (adults) with it, and you would never guess they had it. They are well educated, intelligent people - but with the problem that they need to take frequent breaks from whatever they do. In exams, it manifested itself as needing to stretch their legs regularly - no need for medication, simply common sense. But they were children when Poland was dreadfully poor - the money simply wasn't there to prescribe Ritalin to them, so they learnt to cope without it.

The huge problem with ADHD as a whole seems to be the 'easy fix' approach - it's easier to medicate a child than it is to address the underlying causes. I appreciate that poor teachers can also be a problem in this respect - and so any child with such issues should be dealt with on a case by case basis, rather than the '10mg Ritalin Daily, Next!' approach.



I'm an avid attacker of anyone who claims benefits for things that can be dealt with in more appropriate ways. It is not appropriate to get an ADHD child used to a lifetime of benefits, particular where parental/educational failings can and should be addressed.

However, I would also avidly support any campaign to increase benefits for those that genuinely need it. If you are confined to your bed and require 24/7 care, why shouldn't you and the carer receive enough money to make the lifestyle at least a bit more comfortable?

Sorry Polishbigspender but you do tend to target those of us who have children with disabilities. I agree there are people who abuse the system but you should not tar all of us with the same brush. I am sure that other parents of disabled children felt, as I did, absolutely grief stricken when we were forced for financial reasons to claim benefits. Just for once put yourself in our shoes. I hope you never have to see your childs name on a letter and the word DISABLED written next to it. I for one would give all the money I have to have an able bodied child but it is never going to happen.
Thank you for signing the petition and supporting carers but could you please be a little more sensitive in your posts - we really do have enough to deal with.

PolishBigSpender

lukiesgirl wrote: »

Sorry Polishbigspender but you do tend to target those of us who have children with disabilities. I agree there are people who abuse the system but you should not tar all of us with the same brush. I am sure that other parents of disabled children felt, as I did, absolutely grief stricken when we were forced for financial reasons to claim benefits. Just for once put yourself in our shoes. I hope you never have to see your childs name on a letter and the word DISABLED written next to it. I for one would give all the money I have to have an able bodied child but it is never going to happen.

The problem, I feel - is that you can have a very severely disabled child, who is in need of constant care and is practically immobile. Then you have an ADHD child, who could very well be just badly behaved and badly brought up - yet both are considered disabled. It's certainly nonsense that the latter child should be entitled to benefits and even Carers Allowance - and in my humble opinion, money should be diverted from these cases to pay for the child that is seriously disabled.

It is an absolute travesty that the UK government is allowing ADHD children to claim valuable benefits, while carers of genuinely disabled children are having to struggle on the miserable amount of carers allowance available. I see that your child has severe mobility problems, often requiring the use of a wheelchair. To me, it is frankly absurd that while the carer of an ADHD child can claim carers benefits and thus be passported into 16 years (minimum!) of benefit entitlement - you have to struggle on the same amount despite your child obviously requiring far more care and attention.

It's sad when you see brain damaged children that can walk receive the same amount of 'mobility' benefit as an ADHD child.

novelli

PolishBigSpender wrote: »

The problem, I feel - is that you can have a very severely disabled child, who is in need of constant care and is practically immobile. Then you have an ADHD child, who could very well be just badly behaved and badly brought up - yet both are considered disabled. It's certainly nonsense that the latter child should be entitled to benefits and even Carers Allowance - and in my humble opinion, money should be diverted from these cases to pay for the child that is seriously disabled.

It is an absolute travesty that the UK government is allowing ADHD children to claim valuable benefits, while carers of genuinely disabled children are having to struggle on the miserable amount of carers allowance available. I see that your child has severe mobility problems, often requiring the use of a wheelchair. To me, it is frankly absurd that while the carer of an ADHD child can claim carers benefits and thus be passported into 16 years (minimum!) of benefit entitlement - you have to struggle on the same amount despite your child obviously requiring far more care and attention.

It's sad when you see brain damaged children that can walk receive the same amount of 'mobility' benefit as an ADHD child.

you clearly have no idea what ADHD is and how it affects children and families. If only it was simply bad behaviour, it is so much more than that, and unless u have lived with it 24/7 you are in absolutely no position to say the things you say. ADHD is not bad behaviour, these individuals often struggle on all their day to day activities, and it is people with attitudes like yours that encourage these root problems to come out as frustration and bad behaviour, the bad behaviour you see in some of these individuals, is generally as a result of living in a society that simply does not understand them, and being surrounded by negativity and ignorance.
Giving medication is not to stop the bad behaviour, thats not how it works, it helps them to focus and concentrate, put their brakes on, think clearer, thus preventing the frustration that leads to the behaviour.The bad behaviour seen is the RESULT of inadequately treated/mismanaged ADHD not the sole sympton.
Give these young people the adeqaute education and less ignorance in society and they will thrive, but for as long as misinformed people like yourself continue to think they know it all then our society will sadly continue to fail these spirited, lovable youngsters!!!

starchild1972

PolishBigSpender wrote: »

It's sad when you see brain damaged children that can walk receive the same amount of 'mobility' benefit as an ADHD child.

ADHD children rarely get the mobility component.
DLA is for disabilities,long term illnesses and conditions both physical, neurological and psychiatric.

PolishBigSpender

starchild1972 wrote: »

ADHD children rarely get the mobility component.
DLA is for disabilities,long term illnesses and conditions both physical, neurological and psychiatric.

Is this forum exceptional then? I've seen quite a few posts on here where parents of ADHD children have said that they receive the lower rate of mobility for their ADHD child (which I find astounding!).

The whole question, I guess - is ADHD a disaiblity that requires benefits?

It's hugely off topic, but why isn't DLA linked to treatment? It seems ridiculous that in some cases, DLA (and all the benefits that follow on from it!) can be paid because the child is a terror who has never had any firm boundaries set.

Peanuckle

PolishBigSpender wrote: »

Is this forum exceptional then? I've seen quite a few posts on here where parents of ADHD children have said that they receive the lower rate of mobility for their ADHD child (which I find astounding!).

The whole question, I guess - is ADHD a disaiblity that requires benefits?

It's hugely off topic, but why isn't DLA linked to treatment? It seems ridiculous that in some cases, DLA (and all the benefits that follow on from it!) can be paid because the child is a terror who has never had any firm boundaries set.

Tell you what, why don't you toddle off and qualify as a doctor? Should be really easy for you since you obviously know everything especially how to deal with a child with ADHD. Until you're qualified to comment then it would be really nice if you wound your neck in and stopped trying to make parents, who are already coping in difficult circumstances, from feeling worse. :rolleyes:

lukiesgirl

Peanuckle wrote: »

Tell you what, why don't you toddle off and qualify as a doctor? Should be really easy for you since you obviously know everything especially how to deal with a child with ADHD. Until you're qualified to comment then it would be really nice if you wound your neck in and stopped trying to make parents, who are already coping in difficult circumstances, from feeling worse. :rolleyes:

Here, here!

PolishBigSpender

Peanuckle wrote: »

Tell you what, why don't you toddle off and qualify as a doctor? Should be really easy for you since you obviously know everything especially how to deal with a child with ADHD. Until you're qualified to comment then it would be really nice if you wound your neck in and stopped trying to make parents, who are already coping in difficult circumstances, from feeling worse. :rolleyes:

Shall we start with looking at ADHD itself, then?

I found some interesting research from some well qualified individuals which raise the following points about ADHD.

• it is a clinical diagnosis for which there are no laboratory or radiological confirmatory tests or specific physical features
• diagnostic criteria have changed frequently
• the rates of diagnosis and of treatment substantially differ across countries, particularly Britain, Australia, Canada, and the United States

As a trained scientist, it would seem that ADHD has no scientific merit - particularly as there is no way of measuring it. Compared to other psychological/neurological disorders, it appears that ADHD is very subjective - and a patient can be interpreted in different ways.

Then there is the very persuasive argument that ADHD children simply do not behave in the way that society expects them to, thus the labelling of the children as having a 'disorder'. Perhaps the argument falls down when you see violent behaviour from ADHD children - but there is no way to measure this, particularly if the child was allowed to be violent when small.

The terrifying thing for me is that there is some evidence to suggest that parents are using ADHD drugs in order to improve their child's performance in school. This is frankly terrifying and disturbing, and although I haven't researched it fully, it would seem that ADHD can be thoroughly abused by parents intent on academic gain by their children.

I would be interested in having one question answered.

Why do ADHD children receive the mobility component of DLA? There seems to be quite a few people on this forum who are receiving this - but what is it awarded for? I can understand it being given to Autistic children - but for those solely with ADHD, what is the justification for the award?

Broken_hearted

While I will admit some cases are down to bad parenting or troubled homelife. There are also cases where the child is ill and needs help. Like all benefit areas there will be some who play the system, I used to work in a school in a not son nice area which had a higher rate of these children as some their parents pushed for diagnosis for the extra money and others had very unstable home lives which cause them to have serious behaviour problems.
In the school my son goes to (much larger than the one I worked in) there is only one child with this problem.Although that child does come from a broken home, his parents are well off and do their best to find help.Carers on the other hand is vital.


PBS the mobility is awarded because of the assumed lack of control the parents have, they require taxis for outings or a car as the childs behaviour is unpredictable. So NO it isn't needed.