Attendance allowance

[flygirl767]

Hi so while I have some time off work I thought it would be a good time to get cracking on the dreaded AA form. I was wondering if anyone could offer any advice in the best way to complete it?

DM has been formally diagnosed with Alzheimer's so I am hoping that will be sufficient for her to qualify but I know there are recommended ways of describing the help she needs.

My advice would be to not be afraid to repeat yourself! Go through everything in activities and spell out problems quite literally.
I didn't have all health professional names or details so would say attended physiotherapist's appointment at named hospital in summer 2019. I had precise details of all medicines and put down all medical issues even minor, we gave permission to contact gp.
Remember it is just to do with personal care, not shopping or housework.
Allow at least a couple of sessions to fill in form. Go back and check when you're not tired.
We got full amount for MIL and partial payment for my DM, entirely appropriate in my opinion, awarded first time.

www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/attendance-allowance/claiming-attendance-allowance/help-with-attendance-allowance-form/

This should help with knowing what to say.

Remember it is just to do with personal care, not shopping or housework. But personal care does include feeding yourself. So does she need to be reminded to eat? Does she eat appropriate stuff?

Thinks of all the little tweaks that you and she have made to make her life easier. These are all responses to needs. "A need that is met is still a need". Beware of thinking, eg "she doesn't need help with feeding because I cook her main meal, leave her a sandwich for tea, and make sure the breakfast things are left out on the side"

There's also the intangibles, like my father wouldn't bother to swivel the chairlift round at the top of the stairs (which had a tiny platform and exit to the side) so he was guarded from the drop down the stairs by the armrest - social workers were really on to that in terms of "not recognising danger"

Include dates whenever you can, or "between August 2020 and December 2020 she had five falls, two of which resulted in hospital admission" rather than "she often falls and hurts herself".

And don't forget the less frequent things - eg she may be able to wash herself but can she raise her arms to wash her hair? Or soap her back?

@MereDintofPandiculation yes obviously personal care includes eating your meals, but not housework or shopping as I said.

Don't be me. If you are filling it in as the pdf to print it when you've finished, do read (properly) the instructions about opening it and saving it in a pdf reader. It is moderately upsetting to find that your frequent saves were pointless and you have to start again from scratch.

I have no idea whether I filled it in well enough to tick the boxes for qualification so am not in a position to offer any advice other than to leave yourself plenty of time to go back and add what you've forgotten rather than banging it in the post as soon as you are done Things will occur to you when you think you've finished which is where the pdf is handy because you can just add a bit more where it needs to go.

Fill it in on the basis of the worst days, not the best.

We had success with DFIL and DMIL's applications by stressing how frail and vulnerable they were. Actually used the words throughout the form. There's no harm in repeating things. And it's true, think of their worst days and how they fail to cope.

It was quite an effort to persuade them to apply, and took a full day to draft everything and a full day to fill in the paper forms. They don't trust the internet.

Be prepared to be upset about documenting the changes you’ve had to make already and in the future.
Take breaks if needed to compose yourself. If she didn’t need the support you wouldn’t be applying.
Also like pp said look at every task over a day from sleeping, eating, washing dressing and hygiene needs, sensing danger, mobility and any other mental health needs.

Hi OP, I’m very sorry about your mum’s diagnosis. The Alzheimer’s diagnosis and list of medication IS usually enough to qualify.

I used to process benefits (not AA) but have made successful claims for my aunt and DM and a PIP claim for someone off MN.
Feel free to pm me for any assistance, I’ll respond overnight or in the morning.

A diagnosis is not the only consideration. A person with a diagnosis may have few problems or lots. And your DM may have problems apart from Alzheimer’s. I have successfully completed many AA claims. Here are my tips. When the forms asks about needs, think difficulties. A person might say they don’t have a need. They manage. What needs to be written in the form is exactly how they manage. Whether it is with help, with aids or by doing things differently.

Never say subjective words like sometimes, occasionally, often. They like specifics e.g. 3 times a month, taking 30 mins each time.

Don’t be brave or underplay anything. Describe in detail a bad day
Just because a person can manage, don’t disregard it e.g. getting out of bed I put 1 hand on the edge of the bed and wriggle to the edge. I then use both hands to push myself to be sitting on the side of the bed. I wait for 5 mins until pain subsides/I stop feeling dizzy/feel strong enough. Then I lean in a bedside table and push myself to a standing position. I wait until I feel strong enough to move away. From first waking up to moving away takes 10 mins.

Vulnerable is a good word. And frail. Also what are the risks to the person currently. Consider memory, do they need encouraging to take medication or food. Is there any element of self neglect. Communication could be a big problem. Can they read, understand and reply to letters/forms. Can they deal with telephone calls. Who gets their medication from the doctor.

Examples of previous problems or behaviours complete with consequences will be useful. I used to write down how the customer was answering the questions. Whether they struggled to give the answers, whether they were distressed, emotional.

Back to physical problems. You will see that all elements of personal care are covered separately. So in the toilet part, give a number of times they go to the toilet plus how they would get to and use the toilet. Any accidents. Any extra bathing. How long it would take until they were back in their chair. In fact I would remind them of the problems getting out of a chair. Getting out of a chair is key, because of how many times they do it. Describe in detail how they do it. So if they go to the toilet 10 times between getting out of bed and going to bed at night and each time takes 10 mins, they will use the total time - 100 mins towards their decision.

It will take a long time to complete the form. Good luck.

Sorry about the lengthy reply. I went into civil servant mode.

@Smudgeis13

Sorry about the lengthy reply. I went into civil servant mode.

Thank you so much, some absolutely brilliant advice there and from PP's.

Just a few other questions, mum already has carers so do I state what they have to do for her? Also, I am filling it in so do I refer to her in the third person or complete it as though I am her?

There is a section for a professional to complete, did you get the GP to do this or someone else?

Thanks again

@Therealone Iwasn't intending to criticise. It's not necessarily obvious that personal care includes feeding (other than spooning food into a mouth) alongside the more obvious things like washing and toileting. Without prompting, I probably wouldn't have thought around all the things to do with my father's meals, like not getting round to eating, restricted diet, having to slide his plate along the work surface rather than carry it straight to table...

Fly girl. In your situation I would write down “Mum does this and that”. Plus any observations of your own “I have noticed that Mum doesn’t notice if her clothes don’t match, or if she has spilled food down her front”.

I never asked any professional person to comment. No one outside the home knows how your Mum copes. Apart from the Carers. Spell out everything they do.

Don’t forget to try for the night allowance too if appropriate. Think or ask Mum “ when you are settled in bed, are you sorted for the night, until you wake? The kinds of problems are as follows. Unable to sleep due to anxiety/pain/discomfort. Needing to change position. They will need how often and how long. Make an estimate. Every minute counts towards the decision. Does she need to get out of bed/take medication/make a drink/ deal with cramp. What risks are there?

The biggie is toilet needs. Most people need a night time wee. Again make an estimate of number of times/how long before back in bed settled. Can she make it in time? Any trickling or accidents. Does she have to walk across tge top of the stairs. Is she unsteady in her feet. Does she have a commode at side of bed? So same problems as getting out of bed. Any difficulties using commode. Who deals with it in the morning? Again number of times and length is important. To get the night allowance your Mum needs to have difficulties for a significant length of time. This is cumulative.

The process of completing the form is draining for both of you. But so worthwhile on a financial level. Plus once AA is awarded to your Mum, there could be other financial help available.

I filled it in for my dad. Thought about if he was living in his own with no help what did he need help with. Put everything including current carers. We sent a copy of his current prescription, copies of some consultant letters. Put every health condition down not just Alzheimer’s. Think about help making phone calls, attending appts, travel there etc.

Just a few other questions, mum already has carers so do I state what they have to do for her? Also, I am filling it in so do I refer to her in the third person or complete it as though I am her? I filled it in in third person

There is a section for a professional to complete, did you get the GP to do this or someone else? I can't remember that being a compulsory section.

Good to be doing it third person, is very dispiriting for the person applying to be involved as it's all about what they can't do. I remember being with a friend while an OT helped him with his AA application - we got a pretty good picture of his needs, but you could see him shrinking in front of us as it was hammered home quite how great his needs were. It was much easier with my father as I didn't have to show him everything I'd said.

Always write your descriptions based on a bad day, not a good day.
Age UK are very helpful if you need any advice about applying for anything.
I would recommend filling in a paper application, keeping a copy and posting it by recorded delivery.
I was trying to do it online and it was an absolute nightmare.
I found it helpful to gather all the medical information in the form of GP and consultant letters and medication information before I started.
It took me a few hours to complete applications for 2 people.

Carer's allowance and attendance allowance are two separate things. If you pay for, or carry out any care for your parents you can apply for carer's allowance. In some circumstances an elderly or disabled couple can claim carer's allowance for each other.
For example, one of my parents was blind and had very poor mobility, the other was deaf but pretty mobile. They were able to do specific carer's tasks for each other.

When filling in the form you highlight all the things she cannot or would not do. So for example your Mum may be capable of doing many things, physically but because of her memory she may/does forget.

Think washing, dressing, food prep and eating. Also medication, does she need to be reminded. Think from the time she gets up to the time she does to bed.

For example many people with memory problems can prepare and eat meals but due to their memory loss forget to eat or eat more often.

As much detail as possible, the diagnosis is not enough unfortunately, worst day scenario.

Good luck.

I recently made a successful application on behalf of my mum, mid 80s with increasingly poor mobility.

I filled it in as if I were her and got her to agree to the content and sign it. There is an opportunity to say you are doing it on behalf of someone else but it seemed to complicate matters. I printed out two paper copies. Did a draft, had a relative read and edit then rewrote it.

There is no separate form to apply for the higher (night) rate. The form is automatically assessed for eligibility for both day and night.

Think about the parent as if they have no help. I agree the form is about personal care, however there is a whole section about what activities you would like to do and need help with. The example they give is go for a swim. My mum was never very active or sociable so I didn’t know what to put but then I realised that my mum is now so immobile she can’t access her garden so I put that she would like to be able to sit outside for ten minutes. She is unable to do that without supervision. I also thought about what I do for her and remembered I select and return library books so I added that she would like to visit the library but is unable to do so.

Getting this money has been pivotal in getting my mum to agree to getting help (other than me ) in. I now need to source that help

Looking at this with my DF.
Anyone know how much it is they are likely to be given?

£59.70 basic rate
£89.15 higher rate if 24 hour care is needed

Thanks @MereDintofPandiculation is that paid each week?

That is the weekly rate but mum (new claim) will be paid every four weeks (might be every month, I can't remember exactly).

It's worth doing because it makes claiming other things easier, carer's allowance and carer's credit, council tax rebate are the first that pop to mind.

It's worth doing because it makes claiming other things easier, carer's allowance and carer's credit, council tax rebate are the first that pop to mind. Blue badge, too.