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

donnalove

just wanted to add something

my eldest daughter is dyslexic, she also has a lot of problems with self esteem, which has effect on her personal hygiene. when she was 10 years old i applied for dla as i was having to tell her all the time to wash,clean teeth, bath etc, and she was on school action plus with some help at school.
she got turned down for dla, reason being most 10 year olds have to be told to wash,bathe etc.
she was statemented 18 months ago but only got 2hrs teacher time so didn't apply. after review of her statement last year her hours went up so i applied again for dla and she was awarded it (had decicion within 1 week) she is 121/2 now. what also helped was the way it was worded.
instead of "i have to tell her" i was told to put "i have to prompt her"
the wording of the forms is very important.

so to the lady with 9yr old adhd son keep trying and fighting and also try and push to get your son statemented (it actually took me 4 years to finaly get the teachers to accept she was dyslexic).

cosmile

hi,just to let you all know,i have applied several times for dla for my son,who has severe renal failure,and has a catherise,and is almost on dialysis and sometimes is quite ill,needs to be told to take meds,wash etc i was turned down twice for dla for him,so i appealed and today i went to the hearing,with my son who is 14,the people were really nice,did ask loads of questions to both of us,went back for the decision 1 hour later as they were very busy,and guess what he got awarded middle rate backdated from feb 05.it just shows you if you keep going you can get somewhere in the end....i feel so happy today...but i came out with such a banging headache from the tension.....my advice is keep going..

Fran

cosmile,

Thanks for sharing that good news. I'm glad you got it in the end.

Nikki

Just thought I'd add my experience to this thread. My oldest son has ADHD/ODD and had never heard of DLA until one of the mum's at school told me about it. My first application was refused(filled it in myself)so I just forgot about it, until someone told go to our local advice centre. The people at the advice centre helped me fill it in and hey presto we got the DLA. When you fill the form in you have to describe your child when he/she is at their worst. It's much easier with outside help as they are removed from the situtation. For a Child with ADHD make sure you tick the learning difficulties box as being unable to concentrate on school work is a LD(I hadn't looked at lack of concentration as an LD on my 1st application). What may be normal for an ADHD child is not normal for a child without ADHD, I overlooked many things that are normal to us but are not normal for families without an ADHD child. To the Lady with the 9yr old you should get DLA as he sounds the same as my son, at 10 my son is not allowed out unsupervised as he also has no road sense and is not stranger aware(he gets lower rate mobility for this) - he tells complete strangers his life story and that's when I'm with him!! Just had to reapply for DLA and am waiting for the outcome.

jb1964

Just came across this thread when looking for any info on Aspergers. My daughter who's 12 has just been diagnosed with AS. The CPN who visits mentioned allowances during one session but to be honest I didn't know what she was talking about and didn't like to ask as there were lots of other thoughts going through my head.

What exactly is the allowance for - I work full time and she attends (poorly!) mainstream school - my mum looks after her between work/school and when she is off sick. She has loads of problems that causes masses of headaches for us all but I don't understand why there would be an allowance for it - I could understand for an older child who can't get work but for under 16's - am I mis-reading something. (Sorry for sounding dull).

Any help much appreciated.

Ted_Hutchinson

Can I refer you to my reply here
The form to fill takes at least a couple of hours (if you know all the answers) to fill in so really you need to read the guides first and then seek advice so you appreciate what's involved better.

jb1964

Many thanks, seems like a mine-field.

aliyah

has anybody got any advice about a reconsideration of DLA?

my 14 year old has been receiving high rate care, low rate mobility for the last 2 years. this ran out in July and I heard last week (!) that it has been disallowed.

apparently the info provided from his school was the basis for the refusal.

My son has (as yet undiagnosed!) ?ODD/ADD and chronic depression, he is in danger from harming himself and is often unaware of the true intentions of others.

The school actually made a child in danger and child in need referral and he is given a lot of extra help at school and home, has an adolescent outreach worker and is on the waiting list for another assessment with a child mental health unit.

he has been like this since he was a toddler.

the paperwork that the DLA sent to the school, was filled in by somebody who wasnt fully aware of my son's true state and said he has no extra help compared to all other pupils... :mad: It is so disheartening to have his claim denied on that basis.

after complaining over the phone, DLA staff took my version of care needs and said they felt the decision may have been incorrect. I now have 4 weeks to gather any info which could help our appeal.

i know the actual form was filled in well, as I have another son with long term medical issues and have been filling in DLA forms for years. His case went to appeal in 1999, and we were finally awarded after 9 months of hassle. No trouble with repeat claims since then though.

if anybody has had a successful reconsideration i would be grateful for any advice or if you have any ideas on what further evidence I can send.

thanks as always

djkdjk

attendance allowance appeal, can any one help

lisaalbania

kazindahouse wrote: »

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.

hi kazindahouse
i was told since my boy was around 4 years old that i would not be intitled to dla and so never applied for it.i had a work focus inteview and was told by my then advisor that my son was more than intitled and insisted tht i fill in the forms, i did and my son who will be 16 in december and has been awarded for just 7 weeks now. i am absolutly mad for being told all these years that applying would be a complete waist of time, but i am even more mad at myself for listening to those ignorant people. my advice to you is to try,try and try again. i suppose it all depends on WHO reads your claim rather than the information that you provide within it.
good luck honey xx