Child DLA re-application advice please

quietheart

My son has received DLA for the last 18 months and we are having to re-apply. His condition is slowly improving, we currently get high rate and now I am hoping we will get medium rate as night-time is not such a problem now. Previously I put my son's psychologist down as the person to contact, now she has left and we now longer have access to the service the next best person is his Speech Therapist. Without going into detail I don't fully trust her confidentiality (she works with friends of mine), she would be the best person to be contacted though. So I'd like to know if I could put her on the form without speaking to her about it beforehand, I'd rather she didn't know about the DLA as it's so political.
Does anyone know how often DWP contact named professionals or it is normally the GP who is contacted. I don't think anyone was contacted on his original claim.
Also any tips of reclaiming in general - I'm dreading this doing that form again!

Jummy

I'm in the same position.
My son's DLA has come up for review and i have only just started to fill out the forms even though i've had them for weeks now.
I wanted to know if it is worth getting his GP to fill out the section on the back of the form.
His GP will do it but i wondered if they will still write to him for info.
I dont want to waste the GP's time if in the end they still send out forms for him to fill out.
We had to wait 26 weeks for a decision 3 years ago so I'm hoping things will be sorted sooner this time round.

quietheart

26 weeks - gulp!
I had the decision in less than 2 - supposes it depends on where you are in the country then.
I feel like I'm in the wrong for claiming DLA as my son appears perfectly "normal" but he is statemented and has previously been awarded it. I guess I should stop worrying about what others think....
Good luck with the forms though. Have you kept a copy of your previous form so you can copy information over?

Jummy

Yes i've kept copies from last time which will help.
Good luck as well!

Penny-Pincher!!

We had to re-apply for DD earlier this year. DLA didnt contact anyone and we got a decision in 4 weeks and was awarded till her 16th birthday...she is currently 11.

Just give as much info as you can.

HTH

PP
xx

madhouse

We applied in the summer this year, I didn't get anyone to fill in the back as I felt I had supplied enough evidence in the form of doctors reports etc. Claim was dealt with very quickly and it was raised to the high rate care until 16th birthday ( he is currently 11). I don't believe they contacted anyone as it was dealt with quite quickly.

I enclosed reports from appointments for the last 2 years with our claim.

Good Luck

Madhouse

emg

I'm a speech therapist and sometimes get asked to fill out DLA forms. If you dont tell the therapist then it is reasonably likely she will find out anyway as I find the DLA often ring to verify information - I find this particularly happens to SLTs as the DLA staff know a lot less about the types of disabilities that we work with and so often have lots of questions.

Is your child in school? I have known the headteacher or special needs coordinator to help with DLA claims - is there any chance you could approach someone like that instead if you are not too happy with the SLT?

Obviously confidentiality is really important in our job. If you feel that the SLT is sharing information inappropriately you should complain to the SLT Manager. Also, if you feel uncomfortable due to her knowing your friends you could ask to see a different therapist.

Good luck with your claim.

quietheart

emg wrote:

Is your child in school? I have known the headteacher or special needs coordinator to help with DLA claims - is there any chance you could approach someone like that instead if you are not too happy with the SLT?

Thanks for your reply. My son is at school but that is where he has made the most progress, he's had the same teacher for 2years and trusted her so is at his best there. SLT is far more anxiety inducing and that's where problem lies so the SLT does see more of the issues. The SLT hasn't been inappropriate at all but she could justifyably speak to another professional involved in my son's care and it's her I'm more concerned about!
Thanks again!

emg

Is the SLT aware of your concerns? We have to have consent to share client information with any other professional (except in the rare cases like a child protection allegation or something). Now and again I get parents who ask me not to divulge information to a particular professional (particularly if they are going to tribunal) and although I try to encourage them to allow the information to be provided to the people who need it, if that is what they have requested then I am professionally bound to stick to that (it's all part of the Data Protection Act). Even if you have previously consented to information being shared, parents can verbally withdraw their consent to this at any time.

quietheart

That's useful to know I wasn't aware of that. I'll give it some thought and see what's best - thanks again.

russetred

The best advice I was ever given regarding filling in any of the DLA Incapacity etc is pick the blackest day you ever had multiply by 10 and describe it.Keep a copy of your answers for the next time though I did know someone who was awarded DLA for her child one time put the same answers the next and was knocked back. Never accept rejection no one in these agencies really understands what it is like to raise a child with a learning disability and/or physical problems.Remember when it comes to your child you are the expert.Mother to a severely autistic young man now with benefits awarded for life.