Quick DLA form question

[Eulalia]

In the last throes of finising the form and it has been doing my head in!!

Anyway something that is not at all clear and I have the DLA guidelines downloaded which have been very useful but not found an explanation..

At the very end of Section 2 there is the statement from someone who knows the child. I have a report from the nursery teacher. However on checking section 1 there is also a box which says "Who would you like to tell us about the child's illnesses or disabilities" should this be the same person?

Thanks.

[misdee]

it can be. i always get my HV to fill in both bits.

[Davros]

I got someone who worked with my son on an almost daily basis to fill in the part in Section 2 and then put our Paed in the other part (having talked to him about it). I think I wanted as much of it as possible filled in and had also talked to Paed about trying to get higher rate which I knew he supported and thought they would pay more attention to him.

[Jimjams]

I did the same as davros. The nursery manager wrote the report- and I put the paed down as a contact.

[Eulalia]

OK thanks - I have already provided details on the pead in the specialist section but can say her again or may try to get a hold of the SALT who saw him recently ... god all done at the last minute!! Got to be in by the 28th and need to allow time for postage.

[Davros]

Send it Recorded Delivery or something similar. If you leave it really late, you can do next day delivery. And keep a photocopy. Good luck!

[mrsforgetful]

Eulalia...the relief as you actually 'let it go' is incredible!! Hopefully you'll get a decision before christmas- that would also mean you'd get a lovely backdated payment which in our case meant we could equipt our ds1's room like a sensory room... it's still 'strange' getting the money every month as ds1 has always been the same and we'd got used to the financial impact of having an Autistic child- so the money really makes such a difference to us even now we've been having it for almost a year!
I've just sent my appication in- and filling that in was worse as i don't have a 'single' diagnosis- i have several mental heath issues- i ended up taking 10 weeks to fill it in! A woman from the DLA called twice and i used this 'oppertunity' to verbally explain my difficulties- as i was struggling to write it into a logiacal order!
The difference it would make to me would be that even if they only paid me the lowest care rate- then would lose some of the guilt i feel due to feeling useless at every job i've done.... and if they paid the mid rate i would feel able to 'employ' someone to help me with the things that i find most difficult.
Well good luck to you Eulalia- hopefully we'll both have good news before christmasXXXX

[sickbucket]

make sure you photo copy everything - cause if they loose it all -you've got to compleate it all again - i know there's loads but u know what these places are like

[Eulalia]

Thanks again. Mrs F - yes good luck to you too

I am getting the SALT to be the person who knows the child. I have a report from her from the assessment week. Should I sumbit this? It says in the guidelines that extra reports can make a difference but am concerned that he may not sound 'bad' enough? Would he necessairly have a visit from a doctor though - I'd rahter suplly the report if it makes the difference to having a doctor visit. I don't think he'd look nearly bad enough in that instance.

[mrsforgetful]

We didn't include any additional reports- no guarantees thouh....but we did get DLA mid care and low mobility- which i was more than happy about! Also as i've said before...if you are worried that the 'true' picture may not be seen do what i did...i typed out a 'pretend/typical day'...i imagined every possible thing that he has problems with in any given day then wrote a 'day in the life of my asperger's son'- i wrote entries at 10mins intervals and included time spent 'reassuring/explaining/intervening' as well as the 'obvious' things.... by the time you've done that you will not be in any doubt as to how 'bad' he looks- we know in real life EVERYTHING would not happen in one day...but be honest- there are days when many things happen...and you are exhausted...those are the days to think of. XX

[Eulalia]

Yes I included a diary too Mrs F. Decided to put the SALT's report in after all as it said quite clearly in many places that his language & communication is at age 2.5-3 year level.

dh photocopied 2 copies and posted it off and got a certificate of posting. closing day is Friday so plenty of time.

Now we are just having a big glass of wine to celebrate doing all that work !

[mrsforgetful]

I got MY DLA approved today!!!! They have agreed mid rate care AND low mobility!!!! I am so relieved- this will make such a difference to me- it's not just about the mony- for me it 'confirms' that everything i struggle with is recognised and valid- and i do not have to 'justify' why so mch about daily life is so hard-all i want now is for the psychologist to agree that i have AS - i am sick of people saying that 'only i can get better'...i was happy being this way for years- it's only since i've been trying to 'fit in' that i have felt so low!

[coppertop]

Just reviving this thread to ask another DLA question. The form finally arrived today (only took them 2 weeks!). I've just been reading through it all and also the guidelines from the NAS site and have realised that the boxes are so tiny that I'm going to need to use loads of extra sheets of paper to fit everything in. The portage worker will be going through it all with me next week but I was just wondering how many extra sheets of paper you all used, and did you type the extra info or did you write it out by hand?

[mrsforgetful]

i wrote in pen- all over the page- around, in and out of boxes....they expect this- as you write things come to mind that you have forgotten- if you add sheets put your name address NI number childs date of birth etc on each sheet....that's where the computer is handy....i'm posting a 'guide to claiming DLA ' used for ds1- to you today- so that you hopefuly get fast descion....also don't forget to get part 1 off NOW as though you have 6 weeks it will FLY! There's not alot to part 1 and if you do it straight away you just 'tick a box' to say that part 2 will follow separatelyXXXXX

[coppertop]

Thanks, MrsF.

[ScummyMummy]

Hi there, Coppertop. Have filled out a fair few DLA forms over the years and would say don't feel you have to go with extra sheets, unless you really want to for your own thinking about ds or something. The form is actually pretty repetitive in some ways if you're filling it out for a child with autism/AS and you'll probably be able to give a clear idea of hyour boy's extra care and mobility needs within the space they provide. They won't be at all fazed by scribble, crossings out or bad handwriting, as Mrs F says. Good luck doing it- and don't be afraid to ask your Portage worker for support or even to do it for you. It can be v depressing for parents I think, as the way to do it effectively is to think of ds on his worst day and to forget all your good parenting instincts toward positive description. Oh, and, again depressingly, despite the claim that they look at functioning only when making a decision it doesn't hurt to stress the diagnosis IME- eg:X has been diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorder and this affects his communication profoundly in the following ways...; Because X has ASD he finds it difficult to play with his toys in an age-appropriate way. I help him by... It's supposed to help to mention the child's name a lot too.

HTH- don't stress too much.You will be fine.

[Eulalia]

I used extra sheets in most sections and typed them out. I found it helped to type them because I did go back and do some editing. Also it helps to stress that a 'typical' child of this age would not do X, or would be able to do Y. This seems to be a measure by which they deem if your child needs support. Examples help - I put in an example of ds's playgroup outing last June just before he was 4 and said that he was unable to take part in the organised races whereas even the 2 year olds could understand the rules.