DLA.....Not filling in by hand??? Using the Computer?

[TheRealMrsF]

I know that you can fill in the forms online...but i've got manual forms for Leigh that i've had since february....sent part 1 off...but haven't even started part 2.....and then to cap it all my DLA expires in Aug...so have the DWP chasing me for my renewal forms.

Now...as you know on here i have posted heaps of info about me and Leigh...so i wondered whether i could print stuff off and stick it on the form.....or go online and fill in the forms then print the whole lot off....meaning that i also then have a copy on my PC.

I use the BHAS to help wioth filling in...and i understand that sticking in bits off paper is ok etc....

But i am worried they will think that i have copied 'anything' that i want off the internet etc...and that they won't believe me.

Help!!!

[coppertop]

IIRC with ds1's form I just printed it out on the computer and attached it to the form. I think that if they seriously believed that you'd just got it off the internet (unlikely I'd have thought) then they would just send someone out to do a medical whatsit. They'd soon see for themselves that it was all true.

Do you fancy starting up a MN DLA support group? I've always said that I wouldn't bother applying for ds2 yet because day-to-day life with him isn't too bad. After the past week or so I've changed my mind. Ds2's portage worker thinks I'd be mad not to apply. Ds1 is 5 in a couple of months so there's also mobility to apply for. Am I right in thinking that we have to go through the whole thing all over again with ds1 even if we're just applying for the mobility component?

[TheRealMrsF]

i'm not sure about that mobility thing- as i mine are older....as usual..... we will wait for somone 'knowledgable'

yes.... DLA needs a dedicated section...

[coppertop]

Well you can guess at my level of expertise from my use of the words "medical whatsit".

[KarenThirl]

Hi Mrs F. I've used a literal cut-and-paste for several years for my own IB forms. I type the answers into Word so that I can go back and edit as many times as necessary until I get it right (and I can take as long as necessary too), then shrink the font and margins down so that the section fits the relevant part of the form. I've never had a negative response about this and my own claims have been successful.

I'm in the process of filling in the DLA forms for J atm and it's mind-numbing. But I'll be using the same technique 'cos it makes it easier to read for the poor DWP people.

The Cerebra guide also suggests you gather as much evidence for Section 2 (green form) and include it when you send the form. Apparently the DWP usually only contact your GP and that's with a standard form which might not fit the claimant's circumstances, so if you want evidence from say, a Health Visitor, ask them to write a report to include with the claim. I'll also be including written accounts from parents whose kids won't play with J any more, giving reasons why, to add to the Social Skills section.

I shouldn't think they'll think you've copied stuff, but if you are concerned you could try phrasing it so that it's not grammatically correct, dodgy punctuation etc, so that it looks less like a word-for-word transcript. You may have to try being ineloquent for once, Mrs F!

[TheRealMrsF]

thanks karen!

Yes....i like () the idea of what u said about getting people to stae their reasons for not allowing their kids to play with the child....really horrible having to do that- but it shows the DWP exactly how diffuicult it is for our kids!

So....just to clarify........you type/transfer stuff to a word coc....then print it off and physically use glue to stick it in the right boxes??? (as opposed to 'paste' meaning 'copy'n'paste onto a computer doc)(no laminating required!!!!!!)

sorry to labour on this....just worrying!

[coppertop]

A word "coc", MrsF? You've been spending too long on the storage boxes thread.

Karen - about the parents refusing to let their children play with J.

[KarenThirl]

Yup, that's exactly what I do. Pritt 'n' paper. Having said that, this thing is developing into War and Peace so I might have to just attach the whole bloody lot and reference it from the boxes on the form. How are you getting on with yours?

As for accounts from other people... yes, it's upsetting. The Cerebra site says you might have to accept your child's situation is worse than you acknowledge when you're living with it day to day, but for the purposes of the form you have to deal with it. It's not nice having it in writing why your kids' friends don't like him any more, but it's a fact and needs must, I'm afraid.

[macwoozy]

Good luck with the form filling Mrs F. I bet yours will be a masterpiece

Coppertop, I heard through MN, sorry can't remember who said it, but that there is a good chance that by applying for mobility after already getting the care component could actually affect the rate of care component that you already recieve. This has concerned me so much that I'm hesitant to fill out the mobility form, I get high rate care component and don't want to jeapordise this.

Have anyone heard of this??

[heartinthecountry]

I've just got the DLA renewal forms through for dd - have shoved them to the back of the drawer as can't fact them right now. This will be the third time I have to fill them in for dd and she is only 2.5! CT - I'll defo be joining that support group.

But, would love to know where you can get the form on-line? My handwriting is shocking these days .

[heartinthecountry]

macwoozy - I think I remember that conversation and as I read it, I think the poster (can't remember who either) wasn't saying that you would lose the care component by claiming for mobility, but that by sending the form off again for the mobility bit they would re-assess the whole lot and therefore MIGHT come to a different conclusion. But, I would have thought that if nothing has changed since the last claim for care it shouldn't affect it. Infact, I think I would fill the form in putting - as claim made on xx/xx/xx - in all the spaces apart from those relevant to mobility. But don't know if you are allowed to do that.

That is how i understood it - could well be wrong!

[Potty1]

Think it was misdee, maybe?

My understanding is that if you apply for mobility once you are getting care they can re-assess everything. After all they are a law unto themselves.

Agree about the form that goes to your doctor - it's a standard form and sometimes the questions don't 'fit'the situation and I think this especially with ASD as opposed to physical disability. Plus they have a postage stamp space to write the answer in when you really need seven sides of A4 . I made a list of everything I wanted the school/HV to say (basically wrote the letter myself) then asked them to type it and sign it. That way you know what you're getting.

Good luck with it!

[misdee]

we had to re-apply recently for dh's DLA care componant. it meant we had to fill in the mobility section as well, and we were told over the phone that they may change the mobility award if they felt dh condition had improved since we last filled in the form. Obviously knowing they look at both parts mean u worry about about losing mobility. I dont know if u apply for monbility when they reach 5 that u have to re-fil in the care forms. but if you do then they do look at the whole claim again.

[coppertop]

It's a bit of a dilemma, isn't it? We get middle-rate care allowance for ds1. He's made lots of improvement since I applied last year but these only keep working if you put lots of effort in IYSWIM. If I treated him like an NT child we'd be having all kinds of problems. I'd have to apply for him again when he's 7 anyway so I still don't know if it's worth the risk.

HITC - The third time already?? The DWP like to make us suffer for every penny, don't they?

[coppertop]

It's a bit of a dilemma, isn't it? We get middle-rate care allowance for ds1. He's made lots of improvement since I applied last year but these only keep working if you put lots of effort in IYSWIM. If I treated him like an NT child we'd be having all kinds of problems. I'd have to apply for him again when he's 7 anyway so I still don't know if it's worth the risk.

HITC - The third time already?? The DWP like to make us suffer for every penny, don't they?

[coppertop]

Oops!

[macwoozy]

Likewise. I have to reapply when my ds is 6, which is just under a year away, and he has made big improvements since the last time I filled out that dreaded form. Although still really hard work compared to NT child. I don't really think I've got the effort or strength to do all that form filling again. I even had sleepless nights over it!!

[onlyjoking9329]

dla like to try and scare parents by saying if you apply for mobility then they may change the care level, dunno about anyone else but my three never lost there top rate care when they got mobility and i don't know anyone else that has lost out, however i do know lots of people who have not applied for mobility cos DLA have scared them off.

[TheRealMrsF]

i called the DWP and they said though the form is available online TO BE PRINTED OFF AND FILLED IN BY HAND......they do not have a version that you can fill in online..... i think this is stupid- as the Tax Credit forms etc are online ....so the technology is there....but yep...the DWP like to see us suffer!

[Davros]

Yes, that's exactly why I was worried about not accepting what we'd been given which was higher rate care and middle or no mobility (can't remember now). So i left it, didn't want to rock the boat. Then for some reason I decided to take it on (brainstorm!) and thought I'd take it as far as I could and I did get higher rate mobility too so it was worth it. I'm not sure how much of a risk it really is but any assessment is going to mean it can go down as well as up (sound like one of those investment adverts!). That's why I'm worrying now about our Soc Svs assessment coming up and them cutting our DPs, ugh!

[heartinthecountry]

I know CT! Our first award was only for a year and the second one 18 months. I really feel like putting a note in with this application and telling them to go look up Aicardi Syndrome on the internet and then come back and tell me that my daughter is ever not going to need DLA. She will always be quite severely disabled, she will always have epilepsy. Why the f**k they keep making me fill in these heartbreaking forms I don't know.

Oops - guess I am pretty angry about it!!

MrsF - also think it is ridiculous you can't complete the form on-line. Maybe that would make applying too easy .

[KarenThirl]

I'm sure you used to be able to do the forms online. You certainly could for IB, but it had to be done in one go and wasn't practical. IIRC they upgraded the online forms so you could save and go back to them. Perhaps they've changed completely since then.

[Easy]

I'm just designing on-screen versions of legal council forms for a client ATM.

Maybe next time my work dries up (probably after next week), I'll have a look at designing Word templates that mirror the DLA forms, so anyone with word can fill them in, and save as a standard dcument. Would anyone be interested?

[TheRealMrsF]

EASY...can i 'test' them out for you?!!!

[TheRealMrsF]

karen..yes all i could find was a link to a form you filled in by hand....lets hope EASY can solve the problem!!!

[Easy]

I'll let you know when I get chance to do them (which will be never if I don't get off MN and get my paying client's work done)

I should have thought about it last year when I applied for my DLA