DLA applied for - what happens now?

seven-day-weekend

My son's girlfriend is diagnosed with Aspergers' Syndrome (my son also has it, but much milder than his girfriend). She also has balance problems and a slight hearing loss due to a perforated eardrum. She has applied for DLA.

She left it too late for the CAB to help her before the date on the form, so we have had to do it as best we can between us. Our son helped her and then rang us and asked our advice too. We have all tried to show how her disability affects her everyday life and what help and support she needs.

She also has a report done by an Ed Psych when she was at Uni (where she had to drop out because she couldn't cope with the everyday life). She has sent a copy of this in with her claim.

Anyway - what happens now? Will she have to see a Dr and how long is she likely to have to wait before she hears anything?

Thanks for any advice.

Oh...and I'd better have some info on the appeals procedure!:rotfl:

munchings-n-crunchings

Hello sdw,

From having 2 children, a boy and a girl, with Apserger's, I think the outcome will just depend on who is looking at the case....and I know that's not much help.
For my son, I had lots of supporting evidence about the severity of the communication side of his disability and yet it went all the way to tribunal. I made it clear I thought he should have LRC + LRM, and he came out with MRC +LRM.
With my daughter, I only had to take it to the reconsideration stage, but this certainly prepared me for my son's case.

I can take upto 3 months, and can depend on if they require further information from a doctor or college etc.

When claiming, the following terms need thinking about, and will help explain the care your son's girlfriend needs, Have a look at this link.
http://www.benefitsnow.co.uk/dmakers/default.asp

I know I have read somewhere, that 'communication' is a 'bodily function', and so if someone that is on the autistic spectrum needs help in communicating with others, this should come under that heading.

If the application is declined, you will have the opportunity, to address the points raised from the above link.

Here is an explanation of the appeals process.
http://www.benefitsnow.co.uk/appeal/appeals1.asp

And if like me, it goes to tribunal, here is the link.
http://www.benefitsnow.co.uk/appeal/appealtribunal.asp

Here is another useful page that the DWP use, to inform them about conditions.
This is the page, and the links relating to Asperger's Syndrome.
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/medical/med_conditions/asd/

I would think it's a possibility her balance problems are due to dyspraxia, my daughter is diagnosed with DCD which is what they call dyspraxia nowdays. Most people with AS have some degree of motor function problems, although some have it over and above what would normally be expected, hence the separate diagnosis.

Did they keep a copy of their forms??
I would just spend a little time, having a look thru the links, and making some notes on points that may be of use.


Good Luck,

Munchie

seven-day-weekend

Thanks so much for your informative posts and links - not looked through them yet, but will do so later.

The balance problems are apparently due to the perforated eardrum, but we have mentioned how it affects her. (My son is slightly dyspraxic due to his AS).

They did keep a copy of the forms.

uksal

Direct.gov.uk give the follwing information:-



Once you have made your claim

Once you have made your claim, you can get advice on Disability Living Allowance from the Disability Living Allowance helpline who should have access to your records.
Telephone: 08457 123 456
Textphone: 08457 22 44 33
The helpline is open 7.30 am to 6.30 pm Monday to Friday.
Email: DCPU.Customer-Services@dwp.gsi.gov.uk
You can also use the RNID Typetalk service.
It will usually take around 39 working days to deal with a new claim, unless the claim is made under the special rules, in which case it will be dealt with much more quickly.

Often claims get turned down simply because insufficient description of exactly how the person disability affects them, for example I applied for my son, who has a similar "none visual disability" and was turned down because I stated that he needed supervision when walking along a street, which was interpreted as "my son prefers to have company when out" however I should have written, "my son needs supervision when walking along the street as he trys to jump infront of cars as he finds it funny and does not understand that if he walks or jumps in front of a car the car would not be able to avoid him and he would get killed" My son has the diagnosis of Dyspraxia, which often overlaps Aspergers, Autism, DCD and other non visual disabilities, which can make the problems more difficult to make people understand. Dyspraxic children often have real difficulty understanding the world around them as the often process information so slowly that they take time to see the problem.

If you do get turned down there is a website that can offer you advice

http://www.advicenow.org.uk/advicenow-guides/problems-with-benefits/turned-down-for-dla-aa-think-youre-not-getting-enough/

When claiming it is important to remember that this is a benefit based on whether you need additional help, not how much you spend on additional help, or how much you would like to spend. Describe what it is that you need help with, spell it out so that there is no misunderstanding. DLA is not an exact science in the same way that some disabilites don't affect people in the same way.

For anyone thinking that they may be eligible for DLA it is worth checking to see if your council offer support in completing the forms and (if you get turned down) supporting you through the appeal process.

bex4adz

Hi I have Asperger's and I didn't have any problems when applying for DLA. I sent in evidence from my GP, and also from Asperger's East Anglia (which is a support group) and I think it was about 4 weeks before I got a letter saying I was entitled to it.

seven-day-weekend

Thanks everyone for your helpful posts and please keep everything crossed!

duchy

I'm waiting on a dla claim for my 17 year old aspergers son too.
Hope the wait isn't too long for either of us !