DLA for son with ASD?

C3PO2001

Hi, I am after some advice please.

I have an 11 year old son with Autistic Spectrum Disorder and severe dyslexia. He is due to start secondary school in September and I dont know how I am going to cope.

His school finishes at 3pm and I work full time! There is no after school club like his primary school and I have no family local who can help me collect him. All of is friends that will be going to the same school will be walking home alone but my son is not capable of this due to his problems. There is also no way he can sit in the house on his own from 3:15-5:30pm when I get home from work. He has very high anxiety levels and self harms and he also has an eating disorder.

I have no alternative but to cut my hours down at work so I can be there to pick him up at 3pm. This is obviously going to be a big financial loss to me as I am a single mother and already on a low wage.

Someone has told me I may be able to claim for DLA which will obviously supplement my income but I have never considered it in the past and dont really know if I would be entitled.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks x

shoe*gal_2

If he needs significantly more care than another child his age you should be able to claim DLA and Carers Allowance (CA if you earn less than £100 a week). Can you claim more tax credits if you reduce your hours? Is there a child minder you can use? ASD is something you can claim for so don't delay - you can fill the forms out online now I think, or give them a call for the forms. I have to say the forms are awful so take your time and have plenty of coffee on hand. If you have a statement from school, IEP or anything similar send a copy as supporting evidence. I send the statement, speech therapist report, ed psych report etc etc but still have to jump through hoops. What do other kids his age do after school? I mean if he didn't have a disability would you leave him on his own at 11? They might say a child his age needs supervision anyway because they are being very difficult at the moment.

Good luck and if you want to ask anything or the forms make you tear your hair out feel free to message me. I've just done them for the third time for my son's renewal. Two days of hair pulling and lots of chocolate.

Dunroamin

Rightly or wrongly, most 11 year old children wouldn't be allowed to spend 2 hours at home alone after school so this doesn't seem like special care needed because of his problems.

Have you checked the effect on your tax credits if you cut your hours as this should compensate you to some degree.

shoe*gal_2

If you do qualify for mid to high rate DLA and can claim Carers this explains other help you can get as a lone parent -

http://www.nhs.uk/CarersDirect/moneyandlegal/carersbenefits/Pages/CarersAllowance.aspx

I don't know much about it as I'm not a single parent. I only know about DLA for severe autism. My son needs one on one at school and supervision day and night at home. If your son can't walk unsupervised you may be able to claim mobility allowance too. Children with severe mental disabilities can qualify if they are a danger to themselves or others.

C3PO2001

Hi, thanks for replies.

I understand what your saying about a child of that age not being left alone after school and I totally agree but I know for a fact that children at his Primary school were doing this in the last few months of year 6 and will continue to do it. This means I am unable to ask any of other parets for help.

I just dont know what to do. I have enquired about tax credits being increased but I am paying back an overpayment at the moment (due to no fault of my own!) so any increase wouldnt really make much difference.

I am just in such a mess. I want/need to work but I need to be there for my son also.

With regards to the DLA its not just his care after school, he is quite demanding most of the time. He doesnt sleep and his routine and eating habits are just crazy. I could just about cope before because I had a lot of support from his primary school and afterschool club but without this i dont know how I'm going to manage.

Hes a very unhappy little boy and is particulary fragile at the moment because of going up to big school. His behaviour is getting worse not better.

I have enquired about childminders but there is no one local who is able to pick him up from school and take care of him until i finish work.

Does anyone know if there is anything else I can do?

DaisyFlower

What about a student from the final year of high school? The school may be able to point you in the right direction of a very sensible older teen wanting to earn some money.

shoe*gal_2

He sounds a bit like my son who is the same age. I would not be able to leave him with an older teen - even a child minder would be difficult because he needs a lot of supervision. You are right that support drops off once they leave primary. The levels of care change massively and if you don't choose a special needs school it's a struggle for the child, parent and teachers. Like I said earlier apply for DLA and mobility and if you want some support from someone in a similar position please message me and I'll do my best to help you.

Another thought - I read that all disabled children have the right to a social worker who can advise you on help available. I'd be loathe to involve them without doing lots of reading first though.

C3PO2001

As 'shoegal' says there is unfortunatley no way I could leave him with someone he doesnt know. He is going to struggle enough with all the changes and new routine as it is, if I introduced a new 'carer' to him he would freak out completely!

I think I have no alternative but than to try for DLA and reduce my hours at work.

Lots of coffee and chocolate on stand by haha!!............... x

kingfisherblue

Even if you get DLA for your son, it could be several weeks before you receive a decision. Presumably he starts at his new school in a couple of weeks - what will you do then?

Social Services might be able to help, particularly if you are planning to claim DLA for your son. They aren't the scary childsnatchers that people think. You might want to ring your local Children with Disabilties team for advice.

You could also contact autism groups in your area, or your local carer's centre, to see if anyone can make suggestions. SS can help with finding these for you.

If you do reduce your hours (and it is not a requirement of employers to allow you - they can refuse if business needs show it is not possible), then you might also qualify for additional housing benefit and council tax benefit, as well as child/working tax credits.

If you are successful in getting DLA for your son, remember to contact CTC as soon as you receive your award, as there is an additional element paid for a disabled child.

SuziQ

My youngest is on the Autism spectrum, and I receive HRC and LRM for him. He is on his third award now aged 10. I know exactly what you mean by the sleep issues, also I have been unable to leave him in any after school clubs, his teachers just about cope with him, but the staff in after school clubs just aren't equipped to deal with such a 'different' child.

I used the Cerebra website to help fill in the forms, they have a guide to completing a DLA application on there that I found excellent. The form is very repetitive and you have to say how much care he needs over and above a child of his age, the time the care takes you and what would happen if he didn't receive that extra care.

You also need to give a range of care needed, not just complete the forms like it was his worst ever day. I keep a diary which really helps me to complete the renewals.

There is a section of the form that someone who can back up your claim can complete- a good person would be the school SENCO or his teacher, I have used both.

Also tell his doctors you are applying as they may contact them- my GP never sees him, so I went in and talked to him about my son and what is going on, but on the form I did request they contact his paed. She has now left and the replacement has told us point blank he won't fill in DLA forms, so I don't know what will happen then, although his award runs a few more years, they can decide to contact you any time.

There may be a professional who can help you to complete the form. The first time I applied the woman said to me she didn't think it worth applying as he wouldn't be awarded anything! I completed it on my own, his portage worker completed the sheet at the back, and he was awarded HRC ( he was too young at that time to get mobility.)

Good luck!

julie03

would just like to add you can get cab or you can contact someone from the autistic society, mine was filled in by cab and they wrote everything down i just talked
also if you phone dla yourself you will get a dated form and they normally backdate from that.