is it worth applying for dla for my son

cidergirl

my 11 year old son has learning difficulties at school but is not statemented hes on action plus but has a lot of one to one help at school . he has behaviour problems . and needs a lot of prompting at school and at home he has just been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder but they wouldnt commit themselves to the hyperactivity bit as they saw no evidence while watching him one afternoon in school he is on slow release tablets a form of ritalin . he has trouble sleeping and is depressed and shows off a lot at home and when we go out he is impossible to handle . do you think i should apply ?

holistic_witch

Its worth giving it a go. My 6 yr old has Adhd odd when applied since has speech and lang, Autistic spectrum. He can only be refused. He would prob get middle rate/high care and low mob if he can walk. They get there feedback from school not doctor when they are school age.
They really dont medicate unless Hyperactivity is suspected that was the critiria for our son. He is on a newish form called Medikinet. He has calmed down a little to allow the other issues to be seen. so he at last getting some help!!!
If he has been on meds for a few months with no improvement it may show that it is NOT hyperactivity but if he has calmed a little then his dose may need sorting. It took my son 3/4 mths to show any improvement. It least he not trashing everything in site now only occassionly.
Stay with it, keep fighting and he will get the help he needs. We have had a long hard journey and its only just getting there 3.5 yrs later.

Phone up and get the form they can date it from there and it will get backdated. Get someone from welfare to help, our CAB has stopped this service but yours may not have

Hope it goes ok

cidergirl

hi thanks medikinet that is what they have given my son , my older son 18 who does have adhd but has not long been diagnosed has concerta . my 11 year old says he cant eat on these tablets does it affect ur son like this?

holistic_witch

swings and roundabouts. he will have a good breakfast then meds. he eats a school dinner then depending how he is its either I cant fill his boots or like the last few days eats hardly anything. He did lose weight the first couple months which dr worried about but then he went up again. I gave regular little healthy snacks dried fruit, cheese, any fruit he would eat but not sweet stuff as know he would get hyper and not eat then at all.

cidergirl

thanks will try to fill in form to see how i get on

hayleyjl

Hi

You should definiately claim, I am in receipt of DLA, middle rate care and lower rate mobility, for my son who was originally diagnosed with ADHD at age 7 (he is now 14).

First to warn you DLA do not give up benefit awards that easily for this type of disability and the questions on their claim forms are only easy to fill in for physical disabilities. Make sure you think of every single type of behaviour your son displays, what extra care is required from you because of this and how this affects your son. When filling in the form always keep in mind the question... Does my son require more care than any other child of his age would?... and mention that difference in your answer.

It is likely that they will order a medical examination by one of their doctors but you can contest the medical report, if that is the case, at appeal.

I claimed 4 years ago for my son and was denied, I then appealed and eventually took it to tribunal, not only did I win my appeal but the tribunal also decided to extend my award for an extra year. I contested the Doctors report in my appeal because the doctor was obviously no expert on my sons condition and her comments were flawed. The tribunal also agreed with me on that point!

When my sons review date came up in May 08 the DLA suddenly decided, for no reason, that he now only needed lower rate care. I appealed that and was again successful. This time without even going to tribunal so maybe the system is getting better.

Now the good news, if you persevere, appeal (if you need to) and take it to tribunal the chances are that you will be successful. I say this because I wish that someone had told me this when I made my first ever claim for my son 7 years ago and when I was refused I thought that there was no point in appealing and gave up.

You also mention that your son is not statemented, I would advise that you speak to the school about this asap.... I also had to fight for this and it took a long time but it will help protect your sons place at his school. When a child is statemented for a disability the school can not exclude the child for behaviours which are caused by his disability and they have to make all efforts to ensure that your child has the correct support in place to enable him to fully access the national curriculum.

My son displays traits of all conditions on the Autistic Spectrum, is medicated for his ADHD and receives therepy and is taught coping mechanisms for his other problems. He also has a SEN (statement of educational needs) in force at school. He is really clever and excels at his sciences but if I hadn't maintained good relations/ regular contact with the school and fought for my sons education he would have slipped through the net.

It is possible our situations are different as there are many different levels of Autistic Spectrum Disorders of which ADHD is one, and you don't go into much detail about your sons problems but having a child with this type of disability is extremely hard and it is likely you will need to fight to get the help he needs.
Just a tip...when he was younger my son also used to be extremely difficult when I took him anywhere and only found out later that it was the stimulation and stress of being out in crowds/ busy restaurants etc that caused this. On the rare occasions I can get my son to venture out we go to quiet places eg. the cinema at times when no one else goes.

Oh don't forget....
...If you get awarded middle rate care from DLA you can also claim carers allowance of £53.10 pw (you can earn up to £90pw before any deductions are made from CA)
...If you are in receipt of Child Tax, you need to ring them and let them know as soon as you are awarded DLA as they will pay a disabled child premium on top of your existing premium.
...If you are in receipt of income support you will be entitled to receive the disabled premium form them (income support do deduct income received from CA but you are still better off)

Good Luck

claresupermom

Hi you should def apply for DLA for your son. My son was diagnosed with high functioning autism 3 years ago and he receives middle rate care and low rate mobility. He doesn't have a statement. You should are also well within your rights to take your son back to the docs if you are not happy with the tablets he is on as there are other tablets and different strength doses aswell.
Hope this help. Clare X

NoahsPennilessMummy

definately apply.
My son has autism and has been getting high rate care and low rate mobility since diagnosis 4 years ago. He has a statement too.
He is in the process of being assessed for ADHD now also and has processing disorders and dyspraxia.
The form is time consuming and depressing and negative but stick with it.
The Cerebra website has a good 60 page guide to filling it in correctly.

cidergirl

thanks for all your replys will give it a go i never ever applied for my older son whos 18 now he has adhd noone ever told me that i could , cant believe ive struggled all these years with no help at all with my younger son im gonna make sure i get all the help i can this forum is great

black_paw

it a wonder what wonderful info you can find on this brill site , i've found lots of things and had answers to my worries explained in plain english , i can understand its a life line

jenhug

you can claim (OR RATHER ELDEST SON CAN CLAIM) Provided he still has care needs too.