DLA for a two-year-old on autism assessment pathway

[Boymum234]

Hi I was wondering if anybody had any experience with dla? My little boy is just over 2 and is on the pathway to be tested for autism he has a speech delay(currently non verbal). I was just wondering if anyone ever recorded dla for a child of this age, also if so how long was it for the descion to be made? Thankyou

What support does he require over and above that of a child the same age?

He requires a lot of extra support both day and night. I have added all this to the form, along with supporting evidence from health professionals. My son can’t say 1 word when assessed a child of his age on average can say around 50 and also starting if not stringing sentences together. So communication is a massive factor leads to frustration and then he head bangs.

Through work, I've come across many, many 2 yr olds awaiting assessment for Autism.

It is incredibly unusual for DLA to be awarded for such a young child as, as @MurielTheTerrible says, the parent would need to prove a high level of support being needed over and above what any 2 yr old would need. That is different from saying how a child might be different from their peers to describe them for an assessment of their needs, it is about how much supervision and intervention you need to provide over and above what you would provide for any other 2 yr old.

Not as young as yours, but my non-verbsl autistic son was 3 when he got awarded his middle rate dla

What type of support does he need at night that would be different? Are you paying for help?
Lots of 2 year olds have speech delays but wouldn’t get DLA. Are you able to work or use childcare- or does his needs prevent that? Basically what can’t you do because of it all. Like if it was the worst day of all things combined.

I struggle to see how a 2 year old would need more daily support just because he has delay with his speech and expresses understandable frustration.
Yes, of course I imagine it is more difficult for the parent to manage, however most 2 year olds need round the clock care.
My son needed S & L input at 3 years old, this was provided by the NHS. There were delays in securing the intervention and I felt he needed more but I didn’t think it warranted DLA.
Are there other areas of his care which he needs support with?

@JustGiveMeReason I totally understand this. As you are probably aware the forms for the dla are extremely long and in depth about the extra care needed ect. I was so hesitant about putting in for it but was advised by a medical professional, I suppose all that can happen is he will be declined and I’ll reapply when he’s older. @Appletapple yeah I’m fully expecting to have to reapply when he’s abit older, I’m glad your little boy got awarded was it a long process or awarded first time? @fashionqueen0123 I cannot work no as we have been looking for a childcare setting to take him on but with his head banging when frustrated it needs to be a small setting, he also gets overwhelmed around other people so that causes meltdowns. No I don’t pay for care I care for my son and am at home to so I don’t need to pay for someone else to. On the night it’s when he sleeps and then he can be awake hours on end having meltdowns and doesn’t settle. I’m not saying he deserves dla cos he has a speech delay at all. I’m sorry if that’s how it came across

@Iwillcomeouttheotherend im sorry i never explained it better it’s not just a speech delay he’s got suspected autism he’s on the pathway to being diagnosed and also having salt input. I have an older child myself and feel this time around is alot different and he requires different levels of care. No matter the outcome I will be happy I was just wondering if anyone was in a similar situation

2 of my children got dla from when they were babies (5 months old and 3 months old) but they had lots of medical needs. One was later diagnosed with moderate learning disabilities and the other was diagnosed with autism. One of mine was awarded dla while on the autism pathway but he was 12 so a lot older than your son.

He got it first time! I think he got it for 2 or 3 years

It must be very worrying for you especially the head banging. My son also did that but thankfully grew out of it by the time he reached about 4 or 5.
I think you would need to focus on the different levels of care needed that are over and above.
I wish you all the best, I know how worrying it is. 💐

Id just make sure you concentrate on those type of things then and not the speech. You may not get it but Id mention the childcare etc

I think it's quite common for 2 year olds to need round the clock care. My dgs used to wake up 3 times most night and DD and dsil were always up trying to get him back into bed and it went on until he was about 3 1/2. He was late to talk too but very active all day and night. At 6 1/2 he was diagnosed with ADHD and then got DLA. My DD had to send in letter from consultant and evidence from school as he was given EHCP from 7 and that's when she applied for the DLA. He has to do lots of physical activities in the day after school so he can sleep in the night. He's 10 now and swims 40-50 lengths every night and then does a 3km rum. He just never gets tired. He does the 5km adult park run with his Mum on a Saturday buts gets angry with her because she can't keep up with him any more. Personally I'd wait until your DS gets more evidence from nursery or school to apply because just a consultant letter is often not sufficient evidence.

You can get little padded helmets if the head banging is severe and frequent. I'd look into those.

Ds was on pathway at two (also non verbal) we applied and got it. He gets middle rate and I get carers. I filled the forms in describing his harder days (which tbf most days are harder ones) it’s hard because my instincts are to defend him so it felt like I was describing him in the worst way. We also had a paediatrician report (who put him on pathway) as well as speech therapist, health visitor and key worker at nursery who all gave reports. Professional evidence carries a lot of weight.