Assitance with funding for a child with additional educational needs

shegirl

lolly_896 wrote: »

BUT mobility isnt the only component!!

She didn't state it was.I have no idea why the poster who picked her comment and said she clearly doesn't understand the system posted what he did.

Kingfisher stated 'care and/or mobility needs' which is self explanatory.She also stated that DLA is not always appropriate for learning difficulties.

Niether of those statements mean you have to have mobility needs to claim DLA.

The mind boggles!

kingfisherblue

lolly_896 wrote: »

BUT mobility isnt the only component!!

No, it isn't, and I didn't say it was. I do know a bit about DLA, since my son has been in receipt of HRC since he was three months old and HRM since he was three years old. He is now 14, so I've filled in the forms a few times (always accurately and honestly, I might add).

I added the links because Jamie Carter stated:

My son is autistic, and doesn't have any mobility needs at all. But he gets DLA.

I merely pointed out that children with autism can qualify for the mobility component of DLA, and provided a number of links to verify that. I know several families who have children with autism, and every one of those families receives the mobility component, mostly at the lower rate, but a couple at the higher rate.

The same poster told me in an earlier post to stop posting incorrect information - yet the information that I posted was accurate. As a result of this comment, and the one quoted above, I assumed (perhaps wrongly) that the poster's child receives the mobility component of DLA, but the poster states that the child does not have any mobilty needs. It therefore sounded as though the mobility was awarded incorrectly, but this could only happpen based on information received by the DWP. I then said that if the mobility component had been awarded incorrectly, the poster should inform the DWP - this is the correct procedure to avoid any over payments and allegations of fraud.

So whilst I concentrated on the mobility component of DLA, based on what I had read posted by Jamie Carter, I at no time said that this was the only component.

kingfisherblue

shegirl wrote: »

My son gets high rate mobility too,along with high rate care.
With regards to social services and the childrens disability team,you do not have to be 'really struggling' to get anything from them.The help does tend to lean towards those with higher care needs but you do not have to be 'really struggling'.Those of us with use of the respite centre down here through social services have it because of severity,so our kids can have their own time safely,so we can have a break.'really struggling' doesn't come into it-there is a difference between really struggling and a break being beneficial to the parent and child.For what it's worth to the poster who state they were told how well they're doing,well I get that too and they are often amazed at my coping skills,but I still have respite and can access other services for the benefit of my son- nothing to do with 'really struggling',for his benefit to give him a life!

If you do ever have an interest they can do carersassessments,provide or point you in the direction of activities and workers to enable your child to take part in things they otherwise wouldn't and to do so independent from you (important for them),they can also provide information on funding and many other things.They're not big bad people and it's not child protection.

Excellent post shegirl - social services do vary from area to area with what they can offer, but they do aim to help families with their needs. They are often a mine of useful information about accessible activities in the area, and can sometimes arrange additional respite during holidays.

Joining the carer's centre, if your town has one, can also be very helpful. At our local carer's centre, we have a parent support worker who can help with a wide variety of needs, from helping to fill out forms or arrange benefits checks, to finding information about a specific diagnosis, from helping with problems in education to sourcing grants - and she's also there if you need a shoulder to cry on, or just a coffee and a moan.

kezlou

Hi thanks again for clarifying about social services and how assessments are done.

I actually had a social worker between the ages of 11 and 16 yrs and quite frankly i had the worst experience with them it was unreal. I know other social workers who are not like this and are quite brilliant at what they do.

I'm not saying social services are all bad, please believe me when i say this, me and my partner prefer to keep the circle small for now. At the moment we have full control over what is happening with our child's education. I know it sounds very controlling, and it is, but we think its best for him.

If in the future we think we require assistance from them trust me i'll be straight on the phone.

Thank you Daska for the advice regarding school fees and non-mainstream school. I actually didn't realise that and i will look for the publication regarding an independent statement.


May i say that it is not people like kingfisher who stop people form claiming DLA. In my particular case it is me and my partner who think we shouldn't apply for it because a) we do not want our child labelled, b) if other children and parents find out he may be picked on at school c) we do not think we are entitled to it.
This is not a slight on anyone, so please do not be offended it is just our concerns.


I've just looked up the parent partner website and found an address for one where we live. Thanks for that kingfisher i'll give them a call tomorrow

Thanks shegirl, i managed to find a carers coffee morning break type thing on a Wednesday morning so i may pop along next week. Turns out it at the same venue where my son attends a group for children with ASD so thats good.

I'm also going to enquire at Dasiy chain and see if there's any groups where my son can go and see if there's anything for siblings, so my older son can attend. We all need some time to ourselves and i think, for my peace of mind, if do it through these crb checked people at least i know my children will be safe.

Jamie_Carter

kingfisherblue wrote: »

I am not giving the wrong information - filling in the form honestly is what I advised, and I agree that there is nothing to worry about in that case.

However, filling in the form about worst days only is fraudulent.

No it isn't. As long as you state that on the worst days a or b happens, then there isn't a problem. The way you worded it was enough to scare some people from even applying.

Jamie_Carter

kingfisherblue wrote: »

I do understand the system thank you.

Mobility can be paid at the lower rate for children if they need guidance and supervision above that of a child of a similar age - this includes children with autism. I know of several families with an autistic child who receive low rate mobility for their child.

Mobility can be paid at the higher rate mainly for physical disabilities, but also for someone who receives high rate care, and who is severely mentally impaired and has very dangerous and disruptive behavioural problems. I know of two families who receive HRM because of this, and both children have autism.

This link may be helpful to you:

http://www.autism.org.uk/living-with-autism/benefits-and-community-care/disability-living-allowance/dla-high-rate-mobility-for-children-with-asd/dla-high-rate-mobility-the-law.aspx

ETA: another link:
http://www.cerebra.org.uk/English/getinformation/finance/Pages/DisabilityLivingAllowance.aspx

Part 5 on this link:

http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/f23.htm

Well that's not what you said is it??

shegirl

Thanks!

I do worry about people taking social service involvement via the children with disabilities team the wrong way.it does lead to some missing out on the help or advice they could have.

I also don't like the use of 'really struggling' as it's not the way to describe these things,each person has their own view of struggling and the assistance can also be preventative (I know I'd end up losing my marbles one day!).The disability teams aim to enable a more normal,easier life.

On the other hand though they can be totally useless,like when you really are struggling.An example being when I fell and damaged my foot several weeks ago (it still isn't right and I wasn't able to get it checked again) and couldn't so much as stand on it.Was told I needed an X-ray and to get to a&e in my pain induced tears and to contact social services to arrange care for my son while I went and help with things while I couldn't walk.Their response?Oh,we don't do things like that especially with him being on 2:1 care!!!!!!!! After a few days of hopping around and crawling up stairs trying to calm a strong 13 year old in multiple meltdowns I managed to get it x-rayed!Was meant to back but haven't been able to do that either.My son scared the hell out of me both while I had to hop and crawl and during the period on crutches!!!

kingfisherblue wrote: »

Excellent post shegirl - social services do vary from area to area with what they can offer, but they do aim to help families with their needs. They are often a mine of useful information about accessible activities in the area, and can sometimes arrange additional respite during holidays.

Joining the carer's centre, if your town has one, can also be very helpful. At our local carer's centre, we have a parent support worker who can help with a wide variety of needs, from helping to fill out forms or arrange benefits checks, to finding information about a specific diagnosis, from helping with problems in education to sourcing grants - and she's also there if you need a shoulder to cry on, or just a coffee and a moan.

kingfisherblue

Jamie_Carter wrote: »

No it isn't. As long as you state that on the worst days a or b happens, then there isn't a problem. The way you worded it was enough to scare some people from even applying.

They would only be afraid of applying if they were going to give information for worst days only. To state A or B happens on worst days, you also need to say how often those worst days are.

Jamie_Carter

kingfisherblue wrote: »

Jamie Carter, you might also find this publication useful:

http://www.cafamily.org.uk/pdfs/DisabilityLivingAllowanceLearningDisabilities.pdf

Incidentally, you didn't say whether your child gets care or mobility components of DLA, or both. If he gets mobility, but you genuinely believe that he doesn't have any mobility needs, then you should inform the DWP that you are receiving an incorrect benefit. Having said that, the DWP would only award DLA on information supplied by the parent/carer, and sometimes by doctors, teachers, and other professionals.

I'd also like to add that I am keen for anyone to claim DLA - adult or child - if they have care and/or mobility needs. I just don't like people exaggerating their needs on the forms, as this is dishonest.

Why would he get mobility components, he has no mobility problems, and I never said he did?

Just because someone gets DLA, it doesn't mean that they have mobility problems, as you implied.

Jamie_Carter

kingfisherblue wrote: »

They would only be afraid of applying if they were going to give information for worst days only. To state A or B happens on worst days, you also need to say how often those worst days are.

So why use scare stories then?

All you have to do is be honest when filling in the application. That's not difficult, in fact it ,makes it simple.