Can I get any help for dyslexic child

Prudent

I have a 13 year old daughter with dyslexia plus auditory memory difficulties. She needs extra software at home, a laptop extra. As the software is specialist it is expensive. She also needs a higher level of care on my part than other 13 year olds as she finds personal organisations hard. Am I entitled to any extra help?

donnalove

yes you can claim dla for your child but it will all depend on how you word it.
i applied for my daughter when she was 10 and got turned down, i reaplied last year with some advice from a benifits councilor and she got acceppted. she gets middle rate care and low rate mob. It will also help if she is statemented at school,(as my daugter is) or at lesast should be on the top level of iep.
My daughter has trouble with personal hygiene and organisation as well.
If you have to remind your daughter to wash,get her things together, don't just say you have to remind her put down you have to PROMPT her.Also i was adviced not to put she was dyslexic but to tick the moderate learning difficulties box.
Input from the schools senco is also very helpful.

hope this helps.
please feel free to pm if you need any help.

Prudent

Thank you so much. My daughter isn't statemented as we live in Scotland and we don't have the same system here. She is on stage three of staged intervention, which is equivilent.
How do I get in touch with a benefits counsellor?

Prudent

Just realised I don't know how to get the forms either. Can anyone tell me where to get them?

kabie

This link tells you more about it including where to get a form.
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/lifeevent/benefits/disability_liv_allowance2.asp#howclaim

Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Benefits Enquiry Line (BEL) free on 0800 88 22 00
or

Disability Benefits Unit on 0845 712 3456
and ask for a DLA claim pack.

If you phone the claim should run from the date you request the form: they give you a number of weeks to fill it in.

Would be a good idea to start a diary to write down exactly what your childs needs are on a day -to - day basis. That way when you come to fill the form it should be easier. Remember they'll be looking at how much EXTRA care/ supervision your child needs and comparing that to their "standardised child" of the same age. Would be a good idea if you can find people in your area or online that have had a successful claim in similar circumstances to yours: a suuport group maybe.

Fleago

Hi Prudent,

Phone the BEL as per the advice from kabie and get your form sent out to you. Once it arrives, phone your local Council as they will most likely have a welfare rights section. Just phone the main switchboard for the Council and ask to be put through to Welfare Rights, then explain to the duty officer that you need help to fill in a DLA form for your child. If they can't help you themselves, they'll point you in the direction of someone who can

Fleago

donnalove

trouble is even though op's daughter has personal cares as well as dyslexia, if u mention dyslexia the claim will be rejected.
I was told to put moderate learning difficulties and state all prompting that she needed at home.
people just associate dyslexia with reading and wrighting difficulties(that would be the way they look at it) but i know personally this is not the case as my daughter has very low self esteem and because of this she neglects her personal hygiene. she has to be encouraged or prompted to even have a wash.She is also very disorganised and messy.
When i first claimed dla for her 3 years ago i put dyslexia and believe me i had the letter back less than a fortnight later rejecting her claim.The benifits advisor i spoke to told me that is why it was rejected.

bonnie_2

my hubby is dsylexic, he cant read and write as noone at school bothered with him.
he cant multi task. if you tell him something he forgets by the time his in another room.
he cant manage money or read agreements etc one of the reasons we got into debt because he just didnt understand budgeting or anything. funny because i have to tell him to wash and clean his teeth he dosent seem to remember if not.
providing you mention her care needs rather than the fact she is dyslexic you should be allright.

stellagypsy

My son is like Zziggi, finally diagnosed with Dyspraxia at 17, now he is at Uni and they can't be more helpful. He has got his lap top from his disabled student grant plus all the software he needs for his course. It is a real help to him. At school they treated him like an idiot, I'm so pleased he is having the last laugh on them now.

Just never give up, we kept pushing for him and it came right in the end. I think the schools don't want to spend the time or money on these kids, let her get to a college as soon as possible, it is totally different there.

Stella xx

Prudent

stellagypsy wrote:

My son is like Zziggi, finally diagnosed with Dyspraxia at 17, now he is at Uni and they can't be more helpful. He has got his lap top from his disabled student grant plus all the software he needs for his course. It is a real help to him. At school they treated him like an idiot, I'm so pleased he is having the last laugh on them now.

Just never give up, we kept pushing for him and it came right in the end. I think the schools don't want to spend the time or money on these kids, let her get to a college as soon as possible, it is totally different there.

Stella xx

You are the second person who has recently said to me that I might be able to get help when she goes to college. This would be most welcome as I know she will need things like voice activated software etc

donnalove

yeah i agree i told them when my daughter was in reception class i thought she was dyslexic as she was showing early signs(hubby is dyslexic) They didnt listen, when she was 8 they sent her to educational psycologists who did diagnoss(spelling) her as dyslexic but they still didnt do much for her untill 6 months before leaving primary school then they statemented her.She technically lost all her primary school years and i feel very grieved as they could have done more earlier