Can i afford to give up work to look after disabled son?

pmlindyloo

rogerblack wrote: »

This is the important bit.
DLA reassessments do not stop, simply because PIP is rolled out.

It is possible a child may not 'continue to satisfy the eligibility criteria' for DLA.
Awards are not simply frozen till the child reaches 16.
Awards can be reassessed at any time.

If the entitlement to DLA is a strong one, then there is less risk of this.

I am not saying that this is likely to happen, but the possibility should be borne in mind.

Whilst this is true, benefits are changing all the time so no one can predict what is going to happen in the future.

I am sure the OP is not trying to live on 'free money'' as someone so unkindly put it.

Working full time and having the school ring daily because of problems must be very stressful, as is trying to get a child statemented and getting the help that child needs.

The OP asked what help was available so that she could consider her options.

I am sure that she will not leave her job on a whim. Home tutoring and looking after a disabled child is not an easy alternative I am sure.

Crossed posts:

Razzie, don't let sad people like this affect you. Just press the Ignore button.

LunaLady

Ignore him/her/whoever they are pretending to be today.

merlin68

You will get £100 with is and carers and about £142 tax credits and child benifit plus your mortgage interest and council tax paid all health costs.
You will also get cold weather payments, family fund for yearly grants, cant think at the moment of what else we used to get.

pmlindyloo

merlin68 wrote: »

You will get £100 with is and carers and about £142 tax credits and child benifit plus your mortgage interest and council tax paid all health costs.
You will also get cold weather payments, family fund for yearly grants, cant think at the moment of what else we used to get.

Where do you get these figures from?

Please break them down as regards IS and CA - they do not look 'right to me'.

Happy to be proved wrong

dandelionclock30

Op thats a difficult situation for you to be in, but its a shame to have to give up your job.
Could you not go up to see the head of year and ask for more support for him? They do have a duty of care towards special needs children.I know that you said that he is in the process of being assessed for a statement but they cant just leave him to rot in the meantime. You can also get in touch with your M.P if you think the school is fobbing you off!
Also if you do homeschool him then this will isolate him further and how will he then manage at college or with getting a job?. If hes struggling now he'll really struggle-more so, if hes used to being at home all day, and then goes to college.Its not much of a life for him at home all day and in the long term its not good. You dont want him at home and on benefits all his life.
Also theres the issue of you getting back into the workplace after he reaches maturity.It will be very difficult as you will have a big employment gap and with the job situation as it is at the moment, you might end up at home for good. Can you manage with that?
These are some things for you to consider.I would be going with the option of getting him more support in school, even if its difficult and you have to carry on to get it.
Will it really help him or you if hes at home all the time?

razzie

Oh believe me I have thought about all this! I have thought about nothing else for the past year! I am in and out of the school- they know me well and have fought for him to be put on school action plus, fought for an IEP and then practically had to write it for them! The trouble with mainstream schools is that they really can't meet every child's needs with classroom of 34 kids and the owness on the child to organise themselves and cope with 10 different teacher styles... They are doing what the law requires them to do but without a statement there are no resources etc.
As for home schooling I have already researched it and can link up with homeschooling networks and meet up with different groups. I'm not sure how many social skills he is getting from school really apart from swearing, bullying and going out with each other! I've thought of turning the spare room into a study room and following some study programmes on line. He can still take his exams.... Thanks for all the info though still not sure we can actually live on what's being said are the benefits.. I just want my son to be happy ... Life is too short. He's been so down and talked about killing himself but he is getting some support from CAMHS now.

dandelionclock30

Its a difficult situation for you to be in.I hope someone is offering you some support too.

sleepless_saver

You can do a quick benefit check yourself. http://www.turn2us.org.uk/benefits_search.aspx#

princessdon

I get your benefits as circa £1400 pm (depending on council tax bill) Plus mortgage help which depends on your mortgage rate and balance etc. Plus dla so you could be better off actually (mortgage depending)

Horseunderwater

Income support - comprises lone parent £71 + £64.99 dependant child + £17.40 family/lone parent + possibly enhanced disability child £22.89 or severe enhanced disability £56.63 and perhaps carers of £32.60 /week - you'd def get 1st 3 not sure what ones you'd get re disability or as carer, so could be a fair old sum - just for the income support alone. Hope that gives you more of an idea.