Disabled facilities grant

[GrantAdvice]

www.gov.uk/disabled-facilities-grants

Does anyone know about these grants or been successful in applying for one?

I have two disabled DC who currently share a room. The layout of the room means it cannot be divided or rearranged and there isn't an option to move them to a different bedroom (the only people they could swap with would be DH and but their room layout wouldn't accommodate a double bed as it's L-shaped).

As they're getting older their needs are conflicting which leads to them disturbing each other during the night, this results in them getting angry with each other which disturbs the rest of the house, they end up tired next day which then has a knock on effect for other behaviour and so on. They don't have the cognitive capability to deal with these issues appropriately so redirecting and behaviour management only goes so far. Obviously the finer details are more complex than that but it would be too long to detail here but as an example, DCa has an episode before bed that results in a meltdown with screaming, attempted to self-harm, etc and I need to be with him to supervise for his safety and to help calm him. DCb is asleep in bed in the same room so this wakes him up, he is then in a panicked state, I need to send him to my room to sleep in my bed while I sort DCa. By the time I have sorted DCa, DCb is either in a state and also needs support or is asleep and either needs to be carried back to his bed or woken up and led back to bed. Both DC are then tired next day so find self-regulation even more difficult and this has its own knock-on effect.

One of the options we are looking at is moving which I'm loath to do as one DC is due to start at a special school and we live really close so it right now, other DC will likely go to this school too once old enough. However another option that's been suggested is looking at applying for one of these grants and use it to convert the loft to create an additional bedroom so that they're separated at night.

Has anyone successfully applied for this purpose? How was the process?

(Please no comments about why have them if you knew they'd have to share a room, etc. I didn't know either DC would be disabled or that we'd be in a situation where sharing would be untenable).

Guess not...😁

sorry we have had grants but it was for a lift and bath. so can't help.
but bumping

Hi.
This is the exact situation we were in.

Do you have ot involvement?

The process was looooooong!!

Start with getting your list of why moving is not an option.

For us it was there had already been a dfg for me to have an accessible wet room plus we'd had a long of escape proofing of the house and garden for the kids. Also location was ideal as it was very quiet and noise was a huge trigger.

We got the ot on board and began the application process. It took a couple of years from assessment to the extension being finished.

Look on your local authority website about how to apply. Its a perfectly good reason to apply.
Its up to 30k only. Govt haven't changed the amount for years and sometimes they will pay more on a discretionary basis but generallyhave no budget for this now. If they dont have budget for this then you may be able to approach children's social care if work is needed to meet the needs of the children. You will need an assessment for this.
The process can take ages though so I'd get the ball rolling ASAP.

Have you and DH had carer's assessments? That might be a place to start. It is a few years since I retired, but one of my patients was a f/ t carer for his wife and I advised him to get a carer's assessment and following that he got help to install a lift in their house. Just a thought, sorry I am not really experienced in this area.

personally i would move house. will be less stressful for all of you.

Would a conservatory type extension be doable? My friends did one for their disabled adult child. Cheaper and quicker than a loft.

Thank you

We've had a referral made to the early intervention hub to look at support strategies around it all, that goes via the local authority SEND team so I'll ask for information about it as part of that and get the ball rolling.

I've never had a carers assessment, I'll ask about that too. Is it a supportive process? I had an assessment once, it was a post-diagnosis thing from CAMHS, and they said that because I was working it was making DC anxious and exacerbating his ASD behaviours. They then suggested that nothing would improve unless I considered giving up working so that he felt more secure. Which, like an idiot, I did. And things didn't improve. Shocker. I just don't want someone coming out to list all the ways they think I'm doing it wrong? I've worked a lot of years to get on top of DCs needs, manage their routines, and so on. There's this issue with sharing a room but aside from that I feel like we're on the ball.

Family member is a surveyor and reckons we'd be looking at £25,000-£35,000 based on creating two small bedrooms (stairs would go in the space occupied by their current bedroom), depending on what they find when they get in there to have a proper look (e.g., does the structure need any alterations).

DC schools are literally minutes away by foot. Younger DC is settled and happy at their school after a period of school refusal, older DC is starting specialist provision soon and it's walking distance too. Youngest goes to a support club that is next to where we live. Our GP is here, our dentist is here, both are very familiar with DC and their needs as we've been with them for years. My mum lives close by and helps us out with childcare when she can, she's the only person the DC will stay with. My volunteering job (aka, the only time I get to myself outside of the house) is around the corner. The area we live in relatively quiet, our house is away from main roads and is opposite a park so there is minimal danger to the DC from traffic when they play out (no danger awareness) and as I can see the park I can surrepticiously supervise them from the house when they're playing there while building their independence skills by giving rhem a managed opportunity to go out "unsupervised".

Moving would create too many changes, it would massively unsettle them, and would have a detrimental effect on them.

That might be a consideration. We have an outhouse that could potentially be knocked down and an extension connected to the house built on that space.

Ask for a carers assessment, also on your council website...it maybe under adaptions and equipment...it can be slow but have seen all sorts of solutions..usually you can't specify a specialist OT will advise... based on dc needs and for the future ..
I've not seen a loft as have only seen for physically disabled children so a loft wouldn't be suitable but I have seen extensions...if you have space and support around you then working on existing house makes sense. Sometimes you get combined build so part grant part you ..if you wanted something specific like a new kitchen !
If they don't think they can work with your existing house then may help with a move..

This was my experience - You can't choose who does the work. So bear in mind quotes you get mean fuck all.

It goes to tender and only contractors on their list can bid and I am absolutely convinced they whack up the price for a dfg quote!

We had a hell of a time. First time round there were no bids! It went out again and we got three, two of them around 50,000 or so and one around 30000!

Obviously la chose the lowest.

We had to sign to confirm we would pay however much it was over the 30000 before they could proceed.

Had the same when my wet room was done. No choice. And the company were arseholes to us. 🤷‍♀️ But the guys who built the extension were great so it's the luck of the draw.

The other thing that drove me nuts was the meetings. A meeting to meet and plan a meeting. A meeting. A meeting to discuss the meeting. A meeting to discuss the meeting about the meeting. Six different people coming out to look at the same brick twenty bloody times.

It was ridiculous.

But, when you need the grant you have to suck it up.

Don't get me started on planning permission or whatever it's called. We live in a conservation area so that was a ballache too.

But. It got done in the end and they have benefitted enormously.

I used to process these years ago for a social landlord so my info may be out of date but basically we’d get an OT referral from the LA to do the works. We’d instruct a specialist surveying firm to visit and draw up a schedule of works as per the OT recommendations and then get 3 x tenders from specialist contractors and choose cheapest/ quickest depending on priority. There were only about 5 contractors suitable anyway (as it is specialist work) so it rotated between them. OT was heavily involved in approving this and that especially changes to spec. We did extensions/ hoists/ level access showers, all sorts. Sometimes decanted people out.

As others have said it's a long drawn our process with no guarantee that you will get a grant and if you do you will have no control over who does the work or even what work is done (eg if you want loft conversion and they say ground floor extension is better then that is what you will get).
I would say you need an OT assessment for your DCs to back up your case for need of separate bedrooms as a starter. In our area that comes under the Disabled Children's Team.
There is very limited money in the pot for DFGs these days so if there is any way you can raise the funds yourself (assuming you're the home owner) then you will probably get a quicker result.

My mother was awarded the full one but it was useless as she had to wait a year for it and she needed the adaptations immediately and surprise surprise there was no voucher facility to organise the work herself.

I think small adaptations up to 2k can be authorised by a occupational therapist.

It’s a long slow process but your first step is to access your local OT for housing. Sometimes that’s the same OT who will be linked to your child’s special school, sometimes not. But if it isn’t your school OT should know who it is. Waiting lists can be several years long just to be allocated an OT so go in prepared to push hard.

you will need evidence as to why they cannot share. Most DFGs are to do with access for physically disabled children or adults, so if your children are not physically disabled (an assumption I am making because you are talking about loft rooms) you may have a battle on your hands. Proof from CAMHS or school or any medical professionals may be needed.

as others have said once you get an OT then there’s the paperwork for the DFG. You can ask your preferred contractors to quote, and it is legally possible to request the DFG be paid to you for you to pay your own contractor if preferred, however usually they will only pay the lowest amount they were quoted and then only after the work is completed to their satisfaction so it’s not at all an easy route to go down. Only family I know who did it that way ended up in court which is obviously not ideal.

the OT is legally obliged to recommend the cheapest suitable option. It may be that after all that they recommend you sleep downstairs giving each child a bedroom upstairs.

it’s definitely worth asking as local areas vary so much in quality of provision and it would be silly not to ask if your area is one of the good ones. But it may also be worth thinking about whether you could divide off your larger bedroom into two smaller ones with a bit of stud walling, or whether a conservatory might give you an extra room downstairs and then hive off a bit of the sitting room as a bedroom space for you.

completely understand not being able to move when you have your child in a decent Sen school. Hope you find a way.

Iirc there is a max amount which was generally £25k but it n occasional jobs would go up to £50k, bear in mind this was quite a few years ago. We have a v efficient system with everything in place but major works still took 6 months from OT referral to works approval and then 3 -6 more months to contractor on site. And we were super quick with everyone knowing exactly what was happening and when!

You can get a DFG for making your home safer - there was a court case about a very similar situation to this with a loft conversion.
DFG is up to £30k but LAs have discretion to pay more and there will be a consultation on increasing this amount later in the year.
Most LAs aren't short of DFG budget - but in any case it's a mandatory grant so they have to find the money for a valid application.
You can choose the contractor.
Check out the Adapt My Home org uk website

I had a DFG for autistic children who couldn't share a room. I asked for a loft conversion and they wouldn't fund that as they have a duty to fund the cheapest option. For us that was moving walls around. We had 2 bedrooms and now have a small double and two very small singles. Just enough room for a bed and wardrobe in each room, but it gave them their own bedroom.

The wait from application to completion of works was 4 years.

you dont need to move area, just to a bigger house!