Is it worth applying

strong96

My daughter suffers from Scolosis, hypermobility of her ankles and coagulopathy.

yes her movement is affected, yes its sometimes that bad she is bed ridden, yes she is on high dose meds.
has physio 3 times week,
specialist every 4 mths
don´t know yet if surgery is needed cause they have to wait till she is 16, she is only 14

Tally-Ho_2

strong96 wrote: »

My daughter suffers from Scolosis, hypermobility of her ankles and coagulopathy.

yes her movement is affected, yes its sometimes that bad she is bed ridden, yes she is on high dose meds.
has physio 3 times week,
specialist every 4 mths
don´t know yet if surgery is needed cause they have to wait till she is 16, she is only 14

Sorry but what are you thinking of applying for - you haven't said in your post.

strong96

sorry, DLA

earwig

yes i would give it a try let the dla tell you weather or not she can claim dla she may be able to get mobilty rate so give it ago know one knows your daughter condition better then you and the doctors who treat her and you are the people who will be given the info about your daughter condition to the dla so they will have all the facts and if she get the dla well done if she dosnt all you have lost is a bit of time getting the forms done:)

wattdallas

strong96 wrote: »

My daughter suffers from Scolosis, hypermobility of her ankles and coagulopathy.

yes her movement is affected, yes its sometimes that bad she is bed ridden, yes she is on high dose meds.
has physio 3 times week,
specialist every 4 mths
don´t know yet if surgery is needed cause they have to wait till she is 16, she is only 14

Hi it doesnt matter about age its what degree her curve is.My daughter had an 82 degree curve and had surgery at eight years old.

Indie_Kid

As Watt says, you can apply at any age. Because she's under 16, you need to prove that your 14 year old has care and /or mobility needs above the average 14 year old or has the same needs as a younger child.

strong96

well i´m going to give it a try worst they can do is say no and then nothing really lost.
got full medical report from her orthopedic specialist and full report from physio to send with it.

sunnyone

strong96 wrote: »

well i´m going to give it a try worst they can do is say no and then nothing really lost.
got full medical report from her orthopedic specialist and full report from physio to send with it.

Please remember that its care and mobility needs only that affect DLA and not age or diagnosis, just give them a good picture of her average days care/mobility needs, you can mention her better and worse days but only if you also give them the details of how frequent her better/worse days happen.

Please dont be like the woman on the news this week who decided to tell them of only the worst day she ever had moons ago, she did what some people advise (including some ill informed CABs staff :eek:) but its wrong and you dont want to have to look over your shoulder for ever waiting to get caught for fraud as she has been.

the last paragraph is not an insult to you byw but many people do believe the worst day myth and I/other posters do mention it to anyone who might be claiming for the first time.

FleurDuLys

A child with a typical case of Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis wouldn't usually get DLA as it typically doesn't cause them to have care or mobility needs. Children with other conditions alongside the scoliosis may have additional needs though. Hypermobility goes alongside scoliosis in a lot of kids with scoliosis and again, in a typical case this is relatively mild and doesn't cause huge problems.
If you feel that your daughter's case is particularly severe and it is having an impact on her life so that she has a real need for help with care and mobility then it would certainly be worth applying for DLA.

BTW, scoliosis surgery can be done at any age if it's really necessary, there is no need to wait until she's 16. This does suggest that her scoliosis isn't severe - surgery is usually advised when the curve has reached 40 degrees, and plenty of much younger teenagers have it done.

strong96

hers isnt typical and getting worse she takes adult dose dyclefinic for pain relief, her hypermobility is in her ankles and kness nothing to do with her scoliosis, only 2 ligements are found in her ankles instead of 3, she has a coagulation disorder which she bruises easy and her knees actually swell with blood if she tries to walk to far, they are looking at surgery because of the degree of the curve but said it would be better to wait till shes 16 as by then most of her growing would have stopped, she is scanned every 3 months to check on the curve , it also doesnt help that she is 6 foot tall she has a special bed brace she must sleep on. her ankles give way and she has to wear special supportive shoes

FleurDuLys

Yes, it's always better to wait until as much growth as possible is done before fusing the spine, as it halts growth. In a lot of cases though, there is no choice - the surgery has to be done earlier. Most kids wear braces 23 hours a day, some get away with wearing nighttime-only braces like your daughter does. All kids are monitored to check for curve progression and many take strong painkillers (I've worked with kids and adults with scoliosis and other spinal conditions for the past 8 years).

This is by-the-by though; her DLA is awarded on care and mobility needs, and it does sound like your daughter may qualify, especially because of the effects of her other conditions. So it's worth trying, if it will be a help to you both

BTW has she been checked for Marfan Syndrome? I'm presuming she has, but having scoliosis/hypermobility and being 6 foot tall, it would be a good idea to ask for her to be checked for this if she hasn't already.