Great 'What discounts can I get when I'm disabled' Hunt

victoriablisse

Just to let people know that if you're a Carer in Tameside you can get yourself registered at the Carer's centre (it's on Warrington St in Aston Under Lyne, just down the back of Wilkinsons) and then you'll get their newsletter which tells you all about various things happening in Tameside and offers free days out and things to Carers and the person they care for. You can drop in Monday-Friday 10-3 to talk to someone and they can help you with benefits and all kinds of things. It's a fantastic service and helps you realise you're not the only person in your circumstances and others are out there who understand what you're going through.

I know this isn't *strictly* for disabled people, but I think if it helps the Carer it's bound to help the person they are caring in the long run!

kingfisherblue

Our Carer's Centre in St. Helens (also at the back of Wilkinsons!) is brilliant. It is open 9.30-4pm, Monday to Friday and offers the same as the one in the above post by victoriablisse. It also offers life books, carer's emergency cards, therapy treatments such as massages and reiki, chiropody, and the Caring With Confidence course.

The days out are for carers only, but respite care can be arranged.

There are regular groups for parent carers and carers of people with dementia. There are also parent participation sessions, to help develop the future of disabled children in the area. Workshops and training are available as well.

You can also apply for a carer's grant, which is awarded at either £300 or £600 for short breaks (holiday, cleaner, massages, year long cinema pass, etc - whatever helps you to have a break from your caring role). You don't even have to fill in the forms - the staff will fill them in for you, while you have a cup of coffee.

You can even just drop in and have a good cry if that's what you want. Sometimes you just need to talk things through without being judged and without worrying if you''re going to burst into tears. It doesn't matter at our Carer's Centre - it's you that matters and if a chat and a good cry is what you need, that's fine with them.

BTW, there is no charge for any of the services, courses, trips, etc from our Carer's Centre.

kingfisherblue

Just had another thoguht, but as it is a totally different topic to my above post, I decided that it would be better as a separate post.

For parents who have a disabled child and have an annual income of up to £25,000 (including benefits - the rules changed to include these on 1st April this year), you might be able to apply to the Family Fund for a grant. The grant can cover all sorts of things - white goods, bedding, trampoline, holiday, clothes, driving lessons, laptop, specialist car seat, etc.

Now, I applied for a holiday at Haven and received £500. It is sent directly to Haven, but you can use it towards more than one holiday if you want to, providing you book within nine months of receiving the grant. I have booked a week at Hafan Y Mor (North Wales) in the summer holidays. It's one of only two Haven camps that have a half board option (the other is Craig Tara in Scotland). The brochure price is £675, with a 10% discount if booked before 2nd May. I booked today and quoted my Family Fund number. The same holiday came up at £419 - quite a large saving! I can use up to £80 of the remaining amount in vouchers that can be spent in bars and restaurants on the park. That left me with £1 unspent, which went towards the personal insurance (£6) that I took out. So the holiday and insurance has only cost me a fiver. The vouchers can be used towards lunches and drinks, so I won't be spending much on food while we're away. And best of all, I don't have to cook or wash up!

www.familyfund.org.uk

Indie_Kid

http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageImport_ShowContent&id=HMCE_CL_000184&propertyType=document information on VAT and adapted products for disabled people.

SuziQ

My son was granted an award from the Family fund last year: they awarded him a PC with printer, and a 12ft trampoline for the garden. He was and is absolutely thrilled with them. They are such a wonderful organisation. They do take a while to assess you though-I applied end`April last year and the award came through in October.

enjay_2

shykins wrote: »

ooh just thought of another thing i was told. If u are going on the eurotunnel u get upgraded to first class and get the associated drinks/food etc if u are in a wheelchair but still only pay the basic price. Havent tried this but was told by a friend who is in a wheelchair

interesting to kow about the kids discounts as my son has just been diagnosed with adhd (poss asd) . Problem is we have been turned down by dla and only have a privately paid diagnosis report - wonder if this would be acceptable at legoland etc

don't let them get away with it, if one nhs pediatrician won't give you a written diagnosis, go to another one two, until you get it! It will help you massively as you go along, but its best if it is an nhs one. Send that to dla/dwp and push until you get it. Just telling you from experience!!;)

kingfisherblue

SuziQ wrote: »

My son was granted an award from the Family fund last year: they awarded him a PC with printer, and a 12ft trampoline for the garden. He was and is absolutely thrilled with them. They are such a wonderful organisation. They do take a while to assess you though-I applied end`April last year and the award came through in October.

Thye're much quicker if you apply online (you can't do this for a first application though). Applying online takes less than five minutes and you get the decision within four weeks. In reality, the first time I applied online last year, I received a letter five days after applying, and this year it took eight days :T

hareymary

Halfords are now stocking all sorts of stuff for disabled folk. I got a back support thingy (you can pump air into the cushion to inflate it to suit you best) which was not on the shelf for disabled goods but elsewhere in the store, but I still got VAT back on it. I also got a good display holder for my blue badge & they have 'helping hands' (pick-up grabbers) & all sorts of other useful items. They sent a cheque for VAT refund very speedily & I would recommend them - & their stores are 'wheelchair friendly' so I could get my mobility scooter in easily & found the staff everso helpful!! I got a cushion for my car seat which swivels, so I can get in to my car sideways & pivot round to the pedals! Great!!!

Indie_Kid

Access to work - http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/eop/disab/AtW%20fact%20sheet.pdf There is information on Direct Gov too, for those who can't open PDFs. However, it wouldn't work for me.

isualive

I was recently given a driving grant. I can 45 lessons with BSM, 2 cracks at the theory & 2 cracks at the pratical test. I am now 8 lessons in!