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Original poster

DLA Mandatory Reconsideration 2023

874 replies

Mumofboysteamginge · 11/02/2023 10:58

Hi, I’ve been following the DLA wait times thread since I applied for my 7 year old son in October. We had the decision yesterday and it was declined 😭 I was absolutely devastated.

We applied because my son was involved in a serious RTC (we were going on holiday with our friends, he wanted to travel in their car following us, a car came round a bend missed us but hit them head on) understandably he struggles with the fact he was the only one in the car and blames us for letting him in there). He was the only one awake and conscious in the vehicle, he has chronic flashbacks, normal everyday life things (sirens, bangs, travelling, weather conditions and so on are triggers) they send him into a state of survival and all his rational thinking is gone. Nights are horrendous for him, he lives like his life is in constant threat, he fights sleep and often gets dressed in the middle of the night so he’s ready should anything bad happen. Flashbacks are more prominent through the night.

school are aware of his issues. Now he’s under CAMHS school have been asked to stop any mental health interventions as this could interrupt the trauma therapy. hes happy at school because of the structure and routine, no real unpredictability etc.

anyway I’ve done this tread for anyone going through MR and hope we can all support each other through the process!

xxx

OP posts:
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EmmatheStageRat · 26/02/2023 13:21

My teen lost her sight at 11 and is now registered blind. She was turned down for DLA (she also has other disabilities). I asked for a MR and she was awarded MRC and LRM. It helped that I had a shit-hot welfare rights advisers from the RNIB complete the paperwork!

Macariosmummy · 26/02/2023 18:01

@gloriawasright thank you, I just find it hard trying to prove that he is up a lot through the night and that he needs to be constantly watched as he has no sense of danger etc etc xx

gloriawasright · 27/02/2023 23:45

Macariosmummy · 26/02/2023 18:01

@gloriawasright thank you, I just find it hard trying to prove that he is up a lot through the night and that he needs to be constantly watched as he has no sense of danger etc etc xx

The very nature of a night time issue means that it is hard to prove. With or without a diagnosis.
Without being a fly in a wall nobody can know how hard it is for the family.
But don't give up. Keep a diary for a couple of weeks and write every single thing that happens at night down. It's very easy to forget that what you are going through isn't what other parents have to do.
We as parents become so accustomed to an altered way of life that it becomes your "normal".
Send this info in when You do ask for the MR. At the very least then,you will have this on record and it can be useful when you go through to an appeal ( assuming the MR is unsuccessful)
By the time an appeal date comes round ,you might even have a diagnosis. And any award will be backdated for months as the date is from when you first apply.
There are some great guides online as to how to fill the form in .and sadly it can all come down to how things are worded when filling in the forms .
Your application is already in so now you will have to put as much info into your MR request as possible .
There is no amount of information you can give that is too much.
So get a large notepad and write as much as you can. It's a brutal insight into how difficult life can be for a family,and it's quite emotional to go through it all.
So be prepared for some weepy moments Flowers

Macariosmummy · 28/02/2023 11:49

@gloriawasright thank you for your advice, I’ve had a decision letter back with the reasons and there are quite a few, apparently the school said Macario don’t seem to be sleep deprived although he has bags under his eyes and moans/cries all day due to this, like you said I have lack of evidence of his sleep problems but I did send a letter in for referral to sleep clinic, I said my sons needs help toileting, getting dressed etc but the school have said he doesn’t, the school have just said he don’t need help with anything at all. He doesn’t “wipe” properly but when he is at school he never goes for a poo as he don’t like it and says “it feels weird to do that if his not at home” and also we wouldn’t want a stranger wiping his bottom he would be so uncomfortable with that, also he has no sense of danger and will run into the road and if he is up at night I need to be awake with him as he tried to put things in the microwave or has shoved knives in the toaster, ran hot water, climbed up at windows etc but apparently he don’t need more supervision than another child his age 🤦🏽‍♀️ I’m at my wits end, I have been keeping a sleep diary as I need it for the sleep clinic so I will get that copied and send that in, I do think the MR will be declined too unfortunately xx

Ashmicwil · 03/03/2023 06:46

Hi all applied for a MR on 27th January and had a phone call Wednesday to say we have now been accepted I can’t tell
you how stressful it’s been the waiting and not known, hope people who are waiting are getting a result they want this week my letter said 11 weeks I received a text saying 4 and when I rang she told me it was 5 weeks and they change the duration everyday depending how busy they get.

Original poster
Mumofboysteamginge · 07/03/2023 07:47

All evidence has been scanned on now for MR, I sent 2 emails from school, both confirming that he has an emotional need in school and one saying he is getting an IEP and pupil passport. GP notes re mental health, short 10day prescription for sleeping tablets. Letter from CAMHS stating that Archie’s has sensory processing difficulties that cause the freeze flight fight response due to trauma.

I started the mr on 10/02 so just over 3 weeks. Now starting to worry xxx

OP posts:
Macariosmummy · 07/03/2023 10:12

@Ashmicwil hi I was just wondering what evidence you sent in for the MR please? I don’t know what else I can send thank you

Original poster
Mumofboysteamginge · 08/03/2023 09:53

I asked my sons CAMHS practitioner to do me a letter and she did one. I sent emails from school confirming that my son is in the process of having an iep and pupil passport, I also sent gp notes from appointments he has had prior to camhs referal. Then added a letter with an explanation of why I disagreed with each point they raised as to why he was declined and cross referenced with the evidence xx

OP posts:
Original poster
Mumofboysteamginge · 15/03/2023 10:34

Mr now with a dm the wait is horrible!!!

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Shellbel10 · 15/03/2023 11:59

Best of luck

Shellbel10 · 21/03/2023 20:01

Hi @Mumofboysteamginge how did you get on

Macariosmummy · 22/03/2023 15:04

Hi everyone how’s everyone getting on? I sent my MR off yesterday and got as much evidence as I could but I still feel like I will be declined but 🤞🏽 xx

WreckTangled · 22/03/2023 18:37

I sent mine off a couple of weeks ago. Not expecting it to be awarded 🙄

Macariosmummy · 22/03/2023 19:38

@WreckTangled thats exactly how I feel, good luck 🤞🏽

Shellbod81 · 22/03/2023 22:21

hi all my MR was declined last month , took 6 weeks for decision so I’ve gone to appeal now , the only reason seems to be as there is no plan in place in school ….I’ll just wait and see what happens at appeal now I wish you all luck x

WreckTangled · 23/03/2023 07:31

Oh that’ll be ours declined then as ds doesn’t have additional support at school (9 children in his year group so it’s just not necessary) but I know plenty of people who get DLA when their child doesn’t have a 1:1 or anything. Honestly it’s so inconsistent!

Macariosmummy · 23/03/2023 10:50

@Shellbod81 its ridiculous that means we will be declined too as my sons new school don’t support him at all, I managed to get a letter from his old school stating that they were going to put an ECHP in place but we were moved so he left the school, I don’t think I’ve got enough evidence tbh I’ve sent all I have 😢 good luck with your appeal 🤞🏽

gloriawasright · 23/03/2023 18:55

Shellbod81 · 22/03/2023 22:21

hi all my MR was declined last month , took 6 weeks for decision so I’ve gone to appeal now , the only reason seems to be as there is no plan in place in school ….I’ll just wait and see what happens at appeal now I wish you all luck x

Do you ever get called into the school because your dc is struggling with something? Do you ever get phone call from them ? Extra meetings about them ?
All this is evidence too,it can prove the school are contradicting themselves by saying he has no extra needs .

Original poster
Mumofboysteamginge · 30/03/2023 16:07

Hi!!! We got awarded HRC and LRM I’m over the moon for my boy. 1 year award due to guidelines xx

OP posts:
Macariosmummy · 30/03/2023 16:37

@Mumofboysteamginge that’s amazing, you must be over the moon xx

WreckTangled · 30/03/2023 19:01

Oh that’s amazing! So pleased for you both

Shellbel10 · 30/03/2023 19:46

Amazing news!

Original poster
Mumofboysteamginge · 30/03/2023 20:09

I’m over the moon for him. Things just seam to be getting harder each day. We are starting to adapt the house so he has his own space… we have to remember we are our child advocate, nobody else will do it for us. We know them best. NEVER GIVE IN!! xxx

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WreckTangled · 14/04/2023 07:13

Four weeks since they received mine and I’ve heard nothing. Guess it’s a decline again..

webuiltthiscityonrockandwheat · 15/04/2023 09:32

This is an interesting thread. I'm just starting to process of filling it out for my 5 year old. He very likely has autism and has just been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and needs a lot of care and treatment. The whole process seems daunting. I hear from parents of children with IBD saying they were awarded it first time and others saying they had to go to tribunal so I have no idea what to expect! I'll be following this closely for advice!