daughter's dla appeal tomorrow

newleaf

I'm so sorry this didn't go as it should have.
I agree with your WRO (what does that stand for?). You should reapply in 2 or 3 month's time, and include a copy of the consultant's report with the claim. I know you are fed up and I completely understand you have had enough, but at the end of the day you are doing it for your daughter. She is entitled to that money and therefore I believe you should continue to fight for it.
Can you get anyone else to write some supporting evidence? - school, a respite carer, after school child minder, anything like that? It can be anyone who has a lot of contact with your daughter and can clearly identify and describe the things which make her different from other children of the same age. The decision makers will consider all the evidence submitted with the claim, and the more information you can give them, the better chance they will make an appropriate award.
Hope you will feel better after you have slept on it. Keep us posted.

Lady_K

Jetcat, Really sorry that things did not go in your daughters favour today

All I know is if it were me I would not wait 2 or 3 months I would re-apply straight away. Your situation is the same now as it will be in 2 or 3 months so you have nothing to wait for if you believe the decision is wrong and you do. It seems a lot of wefare rights officers say wait for a while but unless you are waiting for new medical results to come through I really don't see the point in waiting, you believe they have it wrong and even they said the consultants report was dated after the dla's decision but it wont be when you re-apply so they can't ignore it.

If you can get any extra supporting evidence its helpfull but not essential if you can't and if you think it might help you don't have to have the same welfare officer next time around, some are better than others

newleaf

Ahh ... Welfare Rights Officer! ... thanks. It's been driving me round the bend trying to work it out!

Newly_retired

Not absolutely sure but I seem to think there must be a period of time before you can apply again after being turned down. Hope someone can confirm this.

jetcat

Newly_retired wrote: »

Not absolutely sure but I seem to think there must be a period of time before you can apply again after being turned down. Hope someone can confirm this.

thats what i think as well - i also think i need a period of time to recover before applying again!

munchings-n-crunchings

Hello jetcat,

I think you need to kick start everything into action.
Without some of these assessment being done, your daughter might not be accessing the school curriculum as well as she might, and will not be getting the understanding she needs.

I know I sat in my son's head of year's office, and tried to explain his difficulties in understanding and using language, and I just felt I was making excuses for him, and the school staff were not taking any notice.

You need you S&L referral. They are not going to say your daughter's communication difficulties are due to dyspraxia or Asperger's, that will be down to the consultant, but it will all be part of the bigger picture.

I'd also suggest contacting your local education authority's Education Psychology dept. Ask them specifically if there is any help they can give towards your daughter being assessed.
My daughter has a WISC III test done, it's a type of intelligence test. The results will show strength and weaknesses in multiple areas. I can show you my daughter's so you can see if requesting something like this would help.

My daughter's OT used a test called TVPS Test of Visual-Perceptual Skills. It looked at 7 area's on how her brain uses, processes and remembers the information it receives. Specifically ask about it, as the report is really useful.
My daughter wears red lens glasses, so the OT tested her one week without her glasses, and 2 weeks later with her glasses. Without her glasses, in some areas she was on the 9th percentile, and wearing glasses, she moved to the 47th percentile, so quite a dramatic improvement, and it was information worth having.

When you are trying to explain a hidden disability, it's like banging your head against a wall, and you really need to have the reports as evidence to back up what you are saying. Even saying that, it's not easy. Outwardly, your daughter looks like one thing, but inside, it's something completely different.

Try and set yourself the target of 3 months, to try and get some more reports sorted.
I think you need to make it clear to the consultant, that the current approach is not working, and you need to have a clear picture of how your daughter is being affected.
When you have these reports, they will all be current, and can be used in your reapplication,

Regards
Munchie

jetcat

thanks munchings - the meeting you describe with your son's head of year - i had one of them too, with the exact same feelings as you!

I am going to ring her consultant, and ask when her follow up appointment is, so we can discuss a S&L referral - I will also look into if i can refer her myself.

I have another appointment with her class teacher next week, and am hoping to get a few little issues ironed out with her, such as getting changed for PE etc.

thanks your your advice, your son is lucky you are there fighting his corner!

munchings-n-crunchings

jetcat wrote: »

thanks your your advice, your son is lucky you are there fighting his corner!

Ha! He wouldn't think so!

My son is now 19, but dropped out of school at 15 after his mock exams. He was 14 when he was finally diagnosed, so I understand what it's like, trying to get understanding without a proper diagnosis. By the time my son got his, he was labelled as rude, disobedient,uncooperative...you know the sort of thing. His diagnosis didn't change minds.
At 15, he had a mental breakdown, as he never got the support he needed, and never went back to school.
But, I found an E2E scheme that took him, and one thing led to another, and now he is training to be a plasterer.

My daughter, now 14, has the same diagnosis of Asperger's, but has the additional DCD and food intolerances, asthma.
She's speaks very articulately, and uses all the right words, in the right context, but doesn't have a clue what she's taking about. Imagine trying to get that across to teachers.

I'm sure you can do your own S&L referral. The definite answer will only be a phone call away.
Check this link for your nearest area. This is how I located mine.
http://www.communicationmatters.org.uk/Resources/AAC_Centres/aac_centres.html
I just did the referral by email, stating her current diagnosis, what her difficulties with language were as I saw things, and what I hope to achieve.
They even went into daughter's school and gave advice on my daughter's issues and how to support her.
List everything she doesn't understand like humour, joke, idioms, sarcasm. Think about how she is with instructions, like if you said 'fetch a brush and comb' and you get the comb as it was the last thing mentioned.
all his information will help build up a picture.
Think about why your daughter gives one word answers, and what it achieves?
Ask my daughter what she did last night, I guarantee the answer would be 'Stuff' It means nothing, and unless you push for more detail, it ends the conversation...perfect! She uses this time and time again.
Can you daughter wait to ask you something, or does she jump in like a toddler?
Will she dominate a conversation, about what she wants to talk about, without any regards for anyone else?
These are all keys to conversational social skills.


If you don''t ask, you don't get! and if you sit back and wait, someone else will jump in before you.
I'll ask for anything, as long as I do it in a nice, polite manner, and I accept that they can so no, then full steam ahead.

Anyway, can write an book on this, and unless I go now, this will end up being chapter one,
Feel free to pm me if you want to

Regards
Munchie