Income support and employing someone

[Confusedina]

I have a DS who is 7 and has ASD. I want to employ someone to look after him weekly whilst I go out on errands. I am a LP and get income support. Can I use my Income support to pay their wages? I don't want DWP to come and say that I shouldn't be using the money in that way and end up taking it from me.

Does anyone know about this

I don’t think there would be any problem with that but if he’s 7 why can’t you do your errands while he’s at school?

You can do what you like with your money, though I don’t know how they’d find out you’re doing it?

Is he in school? Does he get dla/pip?

Have you applied for DLA for him OP? Not that you can’t spend the income support however you choose, you can, but DLA could help with extra costs, also carer’s allowance and tax credits disability element.

There’s also the Family Fund you can apply for annually for help with things he needs.

Following this as I believe, and I may be wrong, that someone else can claim the Carers Allowsnce for your child if they (the child) are in receipt of DLA. They have to earn below the income threshold which I can’t remember what it is off the top of my head...

No, he doesn't get DLA because school won't support him with it but I am trying to.

He's off school because school isn't meeting his needs

DLA does not come via school, it is a financial benefit which you can apply for. Think you may be thinking of an EHCP which again you can apply for yourself. Has he been excluded?

No, I mean. He does not have DLA because it requires a letter from school to support his diagnosis but school isn't supporting him

The school cannot diagnose him, it will have to be done via a paediatrician or educational psychologist. I suggest you go the your GP.

DS already has been diagnosed by a paediatrician. He went to mainstream school but I took him out because he was not being supported as he should have been. We're currently trying to look for a suitable school for him. In the meantime, I want to apply for DLA however DWP wanted to contact his previous school first before going to paediatrician but school is unsupportive and won't write a good letter for him.

Agree with pp that school can not confirm a diagnosis, if you have a letter from paediatrician or doctor who diagnosed your son this would confirm ASD diagnosis

the paeds info should be enough to apply - also has he got an EHCP because it sounds like he needs one so his needs are met - the school sound dreadful - do you have support from Parent Partnership or similar locally

@Confusedina the paediatrician can write on the DLA form, it doesn’t have to be school. If you can explain that the school were unsupportive and give any written evidence you have of that, it will help too.

All you need from school is his level of education where they have him at. You then use this information to support your application for DLA for him

You can then also get the local authority involved as if the school have not met his needs causing him to be out if education this a discriminatory expulsion.

If you explain to the DWP that he is not currently attending the previous school will they be happy to talk to paediatrician. A diagnosis does not automatically equal DLA or additional support but hopefully paediatrician will have a record of the needs of your son through their assessments that can be useful?

Hi op

You don’t actually need any diagnosis to claim dla, I filled the forms in for dd myself and declined contacting school

I sent letters from the drs and wrote about how her conditions affected her demonstrating the difference between dd and an average child of her age

There are a number of guides on various charity websites that show you how to complete the form

If you get dla and you should, this will open the door to other benefits, carers allowance and enhanced benefits

If you need more support and direction pop over to the special needs board where there are lots of mums in similar situations who can help

Hi again, I also agree with previous poster that if the school has not been supportive try and get in touch with your local SEN team and check if there are any parent partnership or parent support groups who can help with making sure your son can get the education that he deserves (sorry I don't know if they have one of these where you are but worth looking into). Good luck x

You can spend your income support on whatever you want. You could ask social services (disabled children’s team) for an assessment to see if he would qualify for direct payments or a personal budget. CAB can help with filling out DLA forms but you do ideally need schools support.

To get DLA it seems to depends on how well you fill out the form. I sent in supporting evidence from speech and language therapist, occupational therapist, optometrist, pediatrician and child's school. The more evidence you can sent in the more likely you will be to get it. If you get middle or higher levels you can claim carer's allowance of £64 if you earn less than £120 per week. If they are contacting your child's previous school you must already have applied. The reason they are contacting your sons previous school is to find out his cognitive functioning age. You should have enclosed a photocopy of original letter from pediatrician with your application. Always keep original letters as they could get lost in post. Maybe you need to try to get him into a special school. That is what we did when mainstream school could not fulfill child's educational needs.