Claiming benefits - DLA, Mobility, Attendance Allowance - DO IT NOW!

kazindahouse

I have applied twice for dla for my 9yr old son, who has ADHD and has to be treated as a child with AUTISTIC SPECTRUM DISORDER, by his doctor.
The first time i was turned down, so i just left it, then a friend told me that the DLA is always turned down the first time, and i should apply again.
So i did, and again i was turned down, but this time i asked alot of questions as to why i was turned down, and they opened an updated application (not an appeal), this meant i could send in more information, and if this is turned down again (still waiting to hear.... Seems to take forever) i still have the appeal.
Aparently the letter is in the post... as they will not tell me what the outcome is over the phone.
So sat here waiting to see what the outcome is with my fingers crossed, as this money will come in very handy for taking my son out and joining clubs for him, as he has no sense of danger at all, so can not be allowed to go out on his own, as he will just cross roads without looking, and will talk to complete strangers, also local kids seem to be quite nasty to him or know that he is easily led, and can get him into trouble, or blame him for things knowing full well that he will take the blame for them, as he is desperate to keep his so called friends, even tho they only want to play with him until someone else comes along...
Anyway me just rambling on... i will give an update, when i have received the letter..
Good luck to anyone else who is going through the same thing...

MyUserNamesTaken

Just out of curiosity, how does a doctor treat a child with an autistic spectrum disorder? My son has Asperger Syndrome (ASD) and doesn't get any treatment or help from the doctor. He gets DLA. There is no medical treatment for ASD. ADHD, on the other had, is a different matter. If I were you, I'd check with your doctor to see exactly what he's doing with your son, as ASD and ADHD are two completely different things.

kazindahouse

MyUserNamesTaken wrote:

Just out of curiosity, how does a doctor treat a child with an autistic spectrum disorder? My son has Asperger Syndrome (ASD) and doesn't get any treatment or help from the doctor. He gets DLA. There is no medical treatment for ASD. ADHD, on the other had, is a different matter. If I were you, I'd check with your doctor to see exactly what he's doing with your son, as ASD and ADHD are two completely different things.

Sorry hands not working properly today (i have palandromic rheumatism), so just wrote an outline...
Anyway, my son has had a diagnosis of ADHD, he was then tested for Autistic Spectrum Disorder, apparently they have 3 boxes they have to tick to say weather a child had ASD, my son tested high on 2 counts for ASD but because he doen't cause alot of trouble if his routine is changed, this meant they could not diagnose him with ASD, but his doctor recomends that my son should be treated as if he has ASD, with things like schooling etc...
I hope i have explained this properly, as i find alot of things totally confusing with respect to what has happened to my son, and everything seems to be a fight just to get a little help for him. especially at school, as the headteacher will not recognized ADHD, this nearly resulted in my son being excluded from school, and the HT saying to my son that if he does not change his ways he will be in trouble with the police by the time he is 12 and is heading for prison when he leaves school..... yes i had to stop myself from smacking him in the mouth, not that i would have had the strength.
Anyway i will stop rambling..... hope this makes more sense now... apologies

Ted_Hutchinson

It isn't true that all DLA claims are refused first time of asking.

Here are the figures for initial claims for the last 3 years
YEAR.... ...2002 .........2003..........2004
CLAIMS....431,620.... 437,740..... 432,265
AWARDED.231,780 .....217,525..... 201,285
%...............53.7% ........49.7% ........46.6%
It does look as if the trend to disallow is increasing as the percentage figures appear to be in decline.
But nevertheless about half off all new claims are disallowed initially rather than 100% of these a further 10% will be awared at reconsideration. and about 70% of those who go to appeal will get their award so don't despair. But also it is worth trying to find a Welfare Rights Professional who could help you with an appeal should it be necessary. Unless you have good new evidence the chances are that the current review of your case will be a waste of your time and theirs as before they prepare Appeal Papers they always look at awards again and knowing this they often only take a cursory look at this stage.

coffeeandfags

Good luck with your claim Kazindahouse!! I am waiting to hear about my daughters DLA claim for ADHD too. In fact their 8 weeks are up on Friday so hopefully i will hear soon. Apparantly we are waiting for the reports from the psychiatrist! The money would come in really handy as i cant keep her going on food when the Ritalin wears off.... i feel like a right b**** when i tell her "no"

coffeeandfags

MyUserNamesTaken

kazindahouse wrote:

Sorry hands not working properly today (i have palandromic rheumatism), so just wrote an outline...
Anyway, my son has had a diagnosis of ADHD, he was then tested for Autistic Spectrum Disorder, apparently they have 3 boxes they have to tick to say weather a child had ASD, my son tested high on 2 counts for ASD but because he doen't cause alot of trouble if his routine is changed, this meant they could not diagnose him with ASD, but his doctor recomends that my son should be treated as if he has ASD, with things like schooling etc...
I hope i have explained this properly, as i find alot of things totally confusing with respect to what has happened to my son, and everything seems to be a fight just to get a little help for him. especially at school, as the headteacher will not recognized ADHD, this nearly resulted in my son being excluded from school, and the HT saying to my son that if he does not change his ways he will be in trouble with the police by the time he is 12 and is heading for prison when he leaves school..... yes i had to stop myself from smacking him in the mouth, not that i would have had the strength.
Anyway i will stop rambling..... hope this makes more sense now... apologies

Ah, now I know what you mean. Firstly, the HT cannot exclude your son due to something that is caused by his disability (it's discrimination due to his disability, which is against the law). Next time he starts acting up, mention this to him. It doesn't matter what he believes in. At the end of the day, your son has been properly diagnosed by people far more knowledgeable on the subject that the HT. The 3 things you're talking about in regards to ASD are social imagination, social interaction and social communication (if memory serves me correctly). ASD kids are all different. Some will do better in some areas than others and vice versa. Now the diagnosis itself isn't important, although it does help. When applying for DLA, it's not about the diagnosis. It's about how much extra care your child needs when compared to a child who doesn't have your kid's problems. For this reason, the diagnosis isn't the be all and end all. You need to make sure you fill the form in correctly - they are looking for certain phrases, etc.


ADHD is now recognised by the DWP as a disability (up until recently, they were very inconsistent on the issue of ADHD). ASD, on the other hand, is easier to show. Not all claims are refused first time - mine wasn't. My son got high rate care and low rate mobility the first time around and I'm awaiting the decision on my renewal. They've made the decision on that already, but won't tell me over the phone. Apparently, I'll get the letter in the next few days. I know how you feel. The renewal took 4 weeks.

MyUserNamesTaken

Ted_Hutchinson wrote:

It isn't true that all DLA claims are refused first time of asking.

Here are the figures for initial claims for the last 3 years
YEAR.... ...2002 .........2003..........2004
CLAIMS....431,620.... 437,740..... 432,265
AWARDED.231,780 .....217,525..... 201,285
%...............53.7% ........49.7% ........46.6%
It does look as if the trend to disallow is increasing as the percentage figures appear to be in decline.
But nevertheless about half off all new claims are disallowed initially rather than 100% of these a further 10% will be awared at reconsideration. and about 70% of those who go to appeal will get their award so don't despair. But also it is worth trying to find a Welfare Rights Professional who could help you with an appeal should it be necessary. Unless you have good new evidence the chances are that the current review of your case will be a waste of your time and theirs as before they prepare Appeal Papers they always look at awards again and knowing this they often only take a cursory look at this stage.

Ted, I think something worth mentioning is that those figures are for all applications for DLA, rather than just applications for DLA on behalf of kids. Obviously, with the amount of adults out there trying to "work" the system, the results will be a little bit skewed. I think more claims on behalf of kids go through first time than they do with adults claiming for the first time. Shame they don't split the figures up, to be honest.


The other thing to mention is that if you appeal, make sure you do it in person. Don't do a paper appeal. You've more chance of overturning the decision if you ask for a proper appeal meeting.

Ted_Hutchinson

MyUserNamesTaken wrote:

ADHD is now recognised by the DWP as a disability (up until recently, they were very inconsistent on the issue of ADHD). ASD, on the other hand, is easier to show.

Disability Handbook details these conditions in
Chapter 36 - Behaviour Disorder and Attention Deficit Disorder
Chapter 37 - Autism and Asperger's Syndrome
It's worth checking these though as problems occur when the "official" understanding doesn't match with your actuality.

Ted_Hutchinson

MyUserNamesTaken wrote:

Ted, I think something worth mentioning is that those figures are for all applications for DLA, rather than just applications for DLA on behalf of kids. Obviously, with the amount of adults out there trying to "work" the system, the results will be a little bit skewed. I think more claims on behalf of kids go through first time than they do with adults claiming for the first time. Shame they don't split the figures up, to be honest.

I think, but cannot prove, that the adults who you claim to be screwing the system could just as easily also be the parents involved in child claims.
For other readers the complete statistics are here

Disability Living Allowance Quarterly Statistics: February 2005

The other thing to mention is that if you appeal, make sure you do it in person. Don't do a paper appeal. You've more chance of overturning the decision if you ask for a proper appeal meeting.

I agree with you on that wins from attended appeals do far better than unattended.
67.8% win where both claimant and representative attend
58%win representative only
58%win when claimant alone attends
28% win nobody attends, paper evidence only.

kazindahouse

kazindahouse wrote:

Sorry hands not working properly today (i have palandromic rheumatism), so just wrote an outline...
Anyway, my son has had a diagnosis of ADHD, he was then tested for Autistic Spectrum Disorder, apparently they have 3 boxes they have to tick to say weather a child had ASD, my son tested high on 2 counts for ASD but because he doen't cause alot of trouble if his routine is changed, this meant they could not diagnose him with ASD, but his doctor recomends that my son should be treated as if he has ASD, with things like schooling etc...
I hope i have explained this properly, as i find alot of things totally confusing with respect to what has happened to my son, and everything seems to be a fight just to get a little help for him. especially at school, as the headteacher will not recognized ADHD, this nearly resulted in my son being excluded from school, and the HT saying to my son that if he does not change his ways he will be in trouble with the police by the time he is 12 and is heading for prison when he leaves school..... yes i had to stop myself from smacking him in the mouth, not that i would have had the strength.
Anyway i will stop rambling..... hope this makes more sense now... apologies

Hi guys, just an update, we have been turned down again, i can not believe this, they have even admitted on the phone that he requires more supervsion and attention than a normal 9yr old, i am so angry.
I will now try an appeal, can anyone help me as i am not very good with words and have never had to do anything like this before.