DLA application question - How Long Have you Had This Illness or Disability?

[PavlovtheCat]

Do I put
a) when it was first 'diagnosed'

b) when it first started to become a relatively serious problem, resulting in me taking time off work taking meds almost daily, having to adjust my daily living, but managing ok - this is when they have taking it as a 'disability' for work purposes but i know the criteria is different, but it during this earlier period that OH report stated I was having difficulty with daily tasks such as washing, dressing and other daily living activities etc and that the assessing GP would thus class it as a disability - but it is unlikely that at that point it would have been consistently serious enough to qualify me for DLA if I had applied then.

c) when it became so bad I started seriously considering applying for DLA, when it became so bad I felt I would be more likely successful in a DLA claim (but, did not apply then as I hoped it would go away...) and when it became so bad I realised that our finances were suffering and would continue to suffer for the foreseeable future as a result of the condition?

Put all of that on the form, you can't give too much information. There are pages at the back that you can put extra information on, or you can add your own pages, numbering them to relate to a particular question. If you do the latter, make sure you put your name and N.I. number at the top of all extra pages.

sorry to read you're having to go through this, Pav

i would put the date you 1st started to see a doctor about your condition - this was the onset of it after all

dame the date I first saw GP was like 2.5 years ago!

dawn oh I didn't think of that! Can I just put in that section - see page no2 for details? And then put in the additional section what additional pages I have and what questions each page number correlates to? so section 13-page 2&3... ?

Can I type the additional notes? or does it have to be in handwriting as the rest of the form is being hand written (I can't do it online as I only have Mac laptop and the online form is not compatible with Mac (grr). Otherwise I would find this all soo much easier! But, if I can type the additional notes, that would be really helpful (like when I complete a job app by hand, I can attached typed person spec)

I suspect it will be better to do additional pages and number them, because it is a fluctuating condition so I need to explain how it affects me on my worst days, my bad days and my better days.

and meant to say Thanks dame it is shit, but, I should have done this months ago. It has taken this having a huge toll on my relationship with DH (and a poem written by DD aged 6 which I wasn't meant to read) to finally accept we really do need some help to cope with the impact of this disability on me and our family. We have to change our lives hugely, which we had not really done enough of (hoping it will sort itself out/burying our heads in the sand) and so we are making some big changes. We are making them with or without DLA support, but this would help to fund some of it. If I am not successful in my application, I will just cut back in other places (although, not sure where, I have postponed my gym membership as I am not using it not prepared to cancel it in the hope I will return soon! don't drink alcohol any more, don't smoke, not really eating so much these days, I refuse to give up chocolate!).

To get DLA I think you need to let them know that the condition is not temorary so putting in detail of how long you have been suffering (ie date a) and how things have not improved dispite all available medical help should help them to see your situation is not temporary ( so dates b and c should come somewhere in your notes). I only have experience with child DLA forms so I may be wrong! I understand how difficult applying for DLA is - I put it off till ds was nearly 9 and abviously never magically going to 'outgrow' his disability, but it is even harder for yourself and accepting the reality. Once you have DLA you can always ask for reconsiderstion if you improve in the future. I have an illness which has had a huge impact on us all including of course finacially and it is hard to accept. I haven't given up chocolate either!!

Meant to say - I am sure typing is fine - possibly preferable ( well it would not be readable if I wrote it!)

Pav, i made our 1st (successful) claim for DDs dla last year, and just wrote 'from birth' on that bit, although her condition wasn't DXd until almost 5yrs after that.

it took me 6mths to get my head together enough to fill it in, it's a wretched form, the process to finish it alone should be documented and shown to all those who cry 'skiver'

not sure of your personal circumstances, but have you been in touch with any support organisations linked with your disability at all? they often have written and telephone support/guides to help you fill out an application

CAB have advisors who can fill in the form with you. They do it all the time and will be able to answer your questions. I haven't done many myself, but I would suggest avoiding the 'see p.13' approach. Dot all ies and cross all tees seems to be the recommended method.

Found a guide here.
I believe Cerebra also have one.

Yes I had an experienced lady from the money advice unit (MA- part of CAB)come out to fill in ds form. She brought her laptop and was prepared to type it out with me. I had already filled it in on our computor so it only needed checking. I think there is a long wait (months) now due to all the changes in other benefits, but it may be shorter if just checking a filled in form. They (MA) are used to the questions and know how to fill in the answers to avoid misunderstandings and not overlook things that most of us routinely play down.

shotgun CAB and disability support groups are all full for up to 6 months, but I can take the form in with me for a 'drop in' and get it checked over. Maybe I will write it all on the computer, print it off and take it with me, and see what they say - if there are errors I can change before 'writing it in best' on the actual form. I should have just registered for the 6 month appt when I first looked into it as having someone come with their laptop to pretty much write it for me would be ace.

It's a good practice for my summary skills though as I always write too much, it will make me be more concise

Do you mean they're full for home visits? our bureau does 2 hour appointments to fill them in - maybe that's unusual but it's worth enquiring, if only to avoid the tedious waiting.

It's not date of diagnosis necessarily, and I think they don't pay for first 3 months after onset of condition. I would put the date when you first saw a dr about it as well.

shotgun that was for going in - I didn't even know they did home visits! I might call again, see if it has changed. Or, maybe I will pop in to the drop-in and see what they say about it all, just get some advice.

So the question 'how often' is that daily or weekly? (some are stated, but most are not)

ok, ignore me, I just re-read it. It is daily!

Sorry, been working, or at least trying to look as though I'm working!

Yes Pavlov you can refer to numbered pages, and you can type them. Doesn't need to be handwritten. Let them know it fluctuates, it is more important to be honest than to do worst case scenario.
Good Luck and do pm me if you need a hand.

dawn oh crap I have started to handwrite it now! thank you, I do have a quick question, so if it's ok, I will PM you.

Thanks everyone, goodness, what an absolute shocker of a form! And, it is taking me a very long time as I can't sit for long to write it or type it

trazzle tbh, all of the dates comply with the 'first three months' I am just not sure when this officially became a 'disability'. It's been going on forever I have just pretended it was something that would go away one day. So I go on it's disability status for work purposes and they backdated all my sickness absences relating to this as 'disability' once they realised this was going to continue for 12 months or more and the OH GP report confirmed it - which was before the most serious 'episode' from which I have never fully recovered (prolapsed, severely dehydrated, torn l5/s1 lumbar disc, dehydrating at a rate of knots so it seems and sciatic nerve damage to boot). So, yes I think I agree with those saying, take the date from speaking to GP, but will take that from just over a year ago, when he first said it was possibly not muscle or ligament related and investigations started.

I am hoping that once they remove the disc and fuse the bloody segments together I shall be hopping and skipping once more lives in cloud cuckoo land

oh and I fucked the form up. I typed up my thoughts and got it all ordered before starting to write in the sections, so mostly it's ok, with additional info to put on separate sheet of paper all properly organised in each section. So, I got to the bit about hobbies and I was so like 'yes, swimming!' that despite my ordered list on the computer to follow I put the 'outdoors' stuff on the 'at home' section, and so had to do the 'home' on the 'outdoors' bit Twat. It was at that point DH took the pen off me and shut the computer down 'enough Pavlov, you have done too much, you are tired/will make mistakes...' I wanted to do it ALL today cloud cuckoo land again

Oh well, if I don't get it for being a Twat I can appeal that can't I?

(shotgun that first site was really useful in simply explaining what might be seen as 'needing help' and are things I didn't consider that I need help with, but do, like DH having to always be there when I go to new places as I don't know the terrain, or in crowds as if someone knocks me or I miss a footing on uneven surface my spine can 'lock' and I can fall over. I would never have considered that, that in fact, I don't actually go out (not even work it seems these days!) any more for fear of it 'going' when I am out.)

mags interesting about showing them it is not temporary. I was worried about including first MRI scan results/report as it states that the bulge/tear was relatively minor, and the final one shows that it is now much more serious (but not serious enough to bump me up the 15wk waiting list to see neurosurgeon!) but, my concern with that it, yes it shows it is not temporary and in fact getting worse, but the docs and spinal assessment team took such a long time to order the last MRI (wanted to try new things, namely that I was not faking it I think that it took place in Dec, so that is not 3 months, although the spinal assessment guy told me in August, he would hold off the MRI but it did seem that things had negatively progressed 'lets give it 2 months and try xyz'. I just don't know how much of that he would have written in my notes. He might have written 'she is trying to get out of work as she has a deadline she can't meet, she is attention seeking, she is stressed, she is depressed - and all the other excuses people give for back pain'. So I am worried that it will be seen that this only got worse in Dec, when in fact, it got worse in June, but the different medical departments between them have been soooooooo slow in forwarding things.

It's funny isn't it that despite me lying in bed with significant severe sciatic pain, constantly, at a scale of 7/10, I still almost doubt that this is something other than in my head, or not that it is in my head, but that my own negative attitude is causing the pain. I shall blame a chocolate teapot osteo for that saying it is not so bad because the MRI says so, so I need CBT to 'cope' and manage my stress as it is likely stress related (in feb last yr). But, then I feel better and know it is not psychological because I saw my GP and he says 'you have given this such a good crack at sorting it, you are the most conscientious back pain sufferer I have seen, I admire your determination to work through it - push for spinal fusion now' (and he never says stuff like that, he is known for his conservative treatment approach (or, Do Sod All).

Sorry, just realised I went off on a tangent. I took tramadol. That is the only possibly explanation

Best of luck with it. What you said there ^^ about going out - your words - is the sort of thing you need to make sure you repeat at every opportunity.

oh should I ? I haven't done that! I think I mentioned it once. I have lots more to add on an additional page for the 'mobility' section so I will put it in there, and in all the other sections again in my 'additional info' pages.

Thanks everyone for your help.

Good luck with that form - it took me about a week to get through it

I put every bit of info I could possibly think of on there

I well remember the emotions and feelings that were all wrapped up in the process too but once it was done it.felt like a weight had been lifted