Can i claim DLA for my son with a Prolapsed Bowel??

happy_lass

i dont think u can get DLA for a baby anyway ( i might be wrong though, pls feel free to correct me) i think the OP is scared for her baby though (and quite rightly so).

kingfisherblue

My son has needed a high level of care since birth and has received high rate care since he was three months old. The DLA helped to pay for the cost of going to hospital and clinic appointments (petrol and parking) - some weeks we had appointments every day, often at the children's hospital which is not based in our town, but in a nearby city. It also helped me to reduce my hours to part time as there was no suitable childcare in the area (I eventually had to give up work completely).

I had expected my son to improve as he got older, and although he has in many ways, he has also developed several other conditions and he still needs substantial care both day and night. It wasn't the best time of my life when his consultant told me a couple of years ago that his needs will increase rather than decrease, although I was always aware that he would need lifelong care and would never live independently.

kingfisherblue

happy_lass wrote: »

i dont think u can get DLA for a baby anyway ( i might be wrong though, pls feel free to correct me) i think the OP is scared for her baby though (and quite rightly so).

You can get DLA care component from the age of three months, but the baby must have had the need for more care than another baby of the same age for those three months, and must be expected to need that care for at least another six months.

The mobility component (higher rate) is from three years, with lower rate mobility from five years.

happy_lass

:)my 19 year old daughter has just been awarded life long DLA. She is severely mentally impaired. When we first claimed DLA for her, we could only claim after her 5th birthday. But it has obviously changed since then.

happy_lass

kingfisherblue wrote: »

You can get DLA care component from the age of three months, but the baby must have had the need for more care than another baby of the same age for those three months, and must be expected to need that care for at least another six months.

The mobility component (higher rate) is from three years, with lower rate mobility from five years.

you have just jogged my memory kingfisher :odaughter gets and always has got the highest rate . She was about 5 when we first applied but you are correct in saying that you can claim for a child from the age of 3. Ive had that many forms to fill out over the years on her behalf that my brain is addled !!:rotfl:

kingfisherblue

It used to be from the age of five for mobility, but this changed a couple of weeks before my son's third birthday, so it would have been in April 2001 (he was born 1998).

Glad to hear that your daughter has a life long award happy_lass - my son has an indefinite award at the moment and it was reassuring to know that I probably wouldn't have to fill out the forms again for a while! With indefinite awards, you can be asked to give full details again at any point, but it's only a small percentage that are actually asked to do this.