dla forms

tiannaleigh

Hi does anybody have any advice for me please,ive had the dla forms about 5 weeks now to claim for my 3yr old autistic daughter,I havent a clue how to fill the form in ,its compleatly behond my capabilities.
my daughter goes to school everyday in the afternoons and the c.a.b is a long bus journey away so I dont have the time to get there and back to before taking her to school.
ive just found out that the form needs to be handed in within 6 weeks of receiving it,an its still sat in the drawer an i have no idea how to fill it in ,any ideas would be hugely appriciated
thank you
tiannaleigh

munchings-n-crunchings

Hello tiannaleigh,

There are a number of organisations that could help you fill out these forms.
Due to your daughter's age, it's a bit harder to prove her care needs are more than a 3 year old without the disability.

Have a look to see if you have a branch of DIAL in your area.
http://www.dialuk.info

Also Mind may be able to help.
http://www.mind.org.uk

There is also the Shaw Trust, they may be able to help
http://www.shaw-trust.org.uk

There is also Welfare Rights, contact them thru your council.

Have you met yet with your social worker, they can also help with things like this.
You can also put their details on the claim form, as an additional point of contact for the DWP.

Try answering the questions on a blank piece of paper.
Think about:-
Behaviour issues.
Is she hyper sensitive to noise and sounds, feels and textures.
Is she on a special diet- often children with autism have food intolerances or are on a Gluten Free / Casein Free Diet. Does she have other issues around food.
Does she have sleep issues? List each problem separately
Does she have obsessive behaviours?
Think about her sense of danger.

Just list everything down that you think may be applicable, even though it may seem small.
Ask her pre school to write a statement or report. The DWP will almost certainly contact them, so providing in advance will help.

Take this information with you when you have found help. You do need help in doing this claim. Sometimes, an adviser may be able to see you at home, so it's always worth asking if they do home visits.

Good luck,

Munchie

tiannaleigh

thanks Munchie,this is a big help il try an contact those companies,answer to your question about the social worker,no i havent met her yet,i had a women come out last week to arange earlybird course and she said social worker should have been already and said she would email her but havent heard anything since,
on top of this form ive had another one sent out today about a statment for school as they are paying for full time help for her and want half of it paid so ill be contacting the above places for both if possible
thanks again
tiannaleigh

cheap_charlie

Someone at Citizen's Advice Bureau may be able to help you fill it in too.

I do sympathise - I found the forms depressing and very difficult but somehow found the strength to do them.

I hope you can get someone to help and your daughter gets what she is entitled to.

Blackpool_Saver

I have just been to hell and back doing my sons renewal, caring for him has made me ill, but I still had to do the form, this is the 4th time for me, please keep posting with your progress, or feel free to PM me .

welshman1982

Hello, I've found a site which I've used myself a few times http://www.benefitsnow.co.uk

Its straightforward and simple enough to use it. I've had some experience with DLA forms for myself and other people. Their are 2 best pieces of advice which I can give.

1. When filling in the DLA claim form remember for every question you have to put down what its like on the worst day you have experienced. It doesn't matter if this really bad day only happens now and again that it what they are interested in. Worst case scenarios give them a better idea of things at its worst. If you just answer for an average day the assessors won't be getting a full view of things.

2. When sending any forms to DWP/Jobcentre/Benefit Centres keep a copy and if you can post it recorded delivery. I know from personal expereince how bad these places are at losing forms or saying they haven't received things. If you send it recorded delivery at least you then have proof of when it was delivered and who signed for it. Plus if you have a copy and they ask for more information or do one of their follow ups you have a record of what you sent. Hopefully you won;t need the copy atall but its handy to have just incase.

Anyways, hope this is of some help. Good luck with it all.

Associate

Hi tiannaleigh,

You've received some excellent suggestions and I'm sure some of those organisations are going to be able to sort this out for you.

I was thinking though, if it still proves to be difficult for you to go to one those organisations or for them to come to you, as a last resort, what about getting one of the Teachers or Professionals at your daughter's school to help you fill out the Form.

Even though this isn't as ideal as CAB or Welfare Rights guiding you and they won't have their experience, but the staff at the school are likely to be professional, thorough, are familiar with your daughter's health, and probably quite used to filling in Forms generally. So rather than not fill it in or having to do it on your own, this may be a better alternative and you could probably have someone assist you when you drop your daughter off or go to pick her up.............just a thought??

Best wishes,

Jay

tenacioust123

welshman1982 wrote: »

Hello, I've found a site which I've used myself a few times http://www.benefitsnow.co.uk

Its straightforward and simple enough to use it. I've had some experience with DLA forms for myself and other people. Their are 2 best pieces of advice which I can give.

1. When filling in the DLA claim form remember for every question you have to put down what its like on the worst day you have experienced. It doesn't matter if this really bad day only happens now and again that it what they are interested in. Worst case scenarios give them a better idea of things at its worst. If you just answer for an average day the assessors won't be getting a full view of things.

2. When sending any forms to DWP/Jobcentre/Benefit Centres keep a copy and if you can post it recorded delivery. I know from personal expereince how bad these places are at losing forms or saying they haven't received things. If you send it recorded delivery at least you then have proof of when it was delivered and who signed for it. Plus if you have a copy and they ask for more information or do one of their follow ups you have a record of what you sent. Hopefully you won;t need the copy atall but its handy to have just incase.

Anyways, hope this is of some help. Good luck with it all.

Hi

I agree with most of what you have said, apart from "fill the forms in as though it is your worst day". Please be very careful and aware that if you make your disability look worse than it actually is you may not get DLA on this basis. My advice would be to be very honest, state how your average day is and also put however on a bad day it is xyz, then say how many times you have a bad day.