Disability benefits should be cut

[benandoli]

OK so if a family has a child with a disability which results in that family having extra costs then they should have disability benefit and use the money to cover those costs. I am sure that many families in this situation should receive more. However, can someone please explain to me why a family who have a child with a disability, adhd or autism for example , where extra costs do not result , where the earning potential of the family has not changed as a result or indeed where the family never worked anyway should receive extra funds courtesy of the tax payer. Also why should parents in this situation receive a carers allowance and then work less hours as a result of the allowance rather than as a result of the caring that needs to be done? Many families are well deserving I know and they should probably get more, but many are working the system and getting their kids over diagnosed.

i wonder how many people not "in our world" know how much a VOCA costs.
I think ours came to about 9 grand with all the extra stuff you have to buy.

Sacti, they didn't delete for content

We agree that this post is insensitive to say the least and can quite understand why you find it offensive. But we don?t tend to delete things on those grounds, as we do believe folks have a right to express their opinions, though clearly we?d rather people phrased their thoughts rather less robustly.

On the whole, we think it's better to let the boards self-police in these instances, as it's very rare that a tasteless comment is left unchallenged - and we can see that you and others have done just that on this thread.

that was the response I got...........

charity routes take so bloody long wanted him to have it now

CANCEL THAT
JUST FOND ANOTHER EMAIL WHERE THEY SAID SORRY AND HAD DELETED, OOPS

we had to buy it as getting charity money takes forever, and dd needed it now.

LOL 2shoes (about MN posts, not the VOCA obviosuly)
Our single biggest expense is the car I think: there's a bus to the shops, but not either SNU, or home to the only childcare there ever is, or anything we can use with the boys really.

The boys bother get LR mobility which shows they have needs which any fool can imagine times two must make anything complex, but not HR so we run teh car from the DLA. not complaining, seems justified, but if it emans I can make it to IEPs, hospital appts (always scheduled minutes after school run so bus impossible..... three last week alone), etc thenit's worth every penny.

The car broke last month so that was £2k gone striaght up to repalce. OK, that's fine.

(DH does have to run another for work and uni, but he runs a Smart car so costs well down on average)

heard today ds will probably be downgraded on the dla care element. he has cp and has to be catheterised 6 times per day ffs!

Mabs I hope you will fight it, that is just plain daft.

not sure i have the energy 2shoes :( back to hosp tmro, really looking forward to see you on sat x

Mabs- first level of fighting is just to write to them to ask for it to be looked at agin; with another letter / report / status assessment for backing if possible (hospital visit should be able to cover that).

When ds3 was downgraded to zero Movility DLA we wrote to ask for them to lok at it again whilst thinking we probablt wouldn't have energy to take to tribunal..... was sorted fine.

thanks santimoany, not been told officially yet, just rang as i heard nothing and that is what she 'thought'.ds had major surgery 3 weeks ago, still pretty unwell so i am losing my mind at the mo :(

LMAO this thread is outrageous! My DS was diagnosed with Aspergers and as for not imposing extra costs - ludicrous! Find something that is disability related and the QUADRUPLE the cost - there's your extra costs. Believe me some children with ASD or ADHD can be incredibly difficult. Any parent dealing with that deserves a bravery medal and a knighthood for me, never mind an extra £45 quid!

I'd gladly stop claiming DLA if it meant I could be cured of epilepsy and have my left elbow back. I'd give anything to be able to drive so that I wouldn't have to use a bus ever again.

Just to be able to remember what I've done in a day would be worth everything.

I hope you are never in a position to find out how ignorant you were op. Going through the stress and begging that claiming DLA is, is not something I'd wish on my worst enemy.

I'm quite shocked at the extent of the flaming the OP is recieveing here.

My ds had been diagnosed with ASD, and I was advised by the NAS that I could claim benefit for him. However, we are lucky, and his ASD does not affect him too severely. Of course it makes a difference to alot of things, but thankfully for us we can cope with those things. I have no idea whether we could get DLA for ds, we could well be turned down, but going from the experiences of others, if we explained everything on the form as worst case scenario, we might have a good chance. It all happens, just not all the time.

So why is the OP wrong for critisising someone in my situation that can manage without the money but chooses not to? My childs ASD does give us extra expenses, but we don't need money from the government to cover that. We sacrifice something else. I'm not trying to sound like a martyr, but there must be lots of families like us, some who choose to claim and some who do not. I too think it's wrong for families to claim if they don't really need to.

It seems to me like alot of people think that as soon as they have a formal diagnosis of something the government owes them handouts. People should get what they need, and no more.

It is the assumption that a child with ADHD or ASD would not cause the family additional costs. And therefore, the assumption that DLA is just handed out to anyone who asks for it

I don't think the OP did assume that, she used the words 'where extra costs do not result'.

I don't think there should be an assumption that ADHD or ASD always causes extra costs.

I think the problem is at the moment the government are scrabbling about looking for ways to save money.

I really really hope that if someone has genuine need for disability allowance they really will get it.

Unfortunately I know two people locally one has agraphobia, doesnt stop her sitting outside smoking constantly - running her (cash only) business or going out drinking and another with back problems who still manages to carry on with all their physical hobbies but "cant work". Perhaps we do need to start "naming and shaming" these people to protect those genuinely in need but I know I for one would find that a very difficult thing to do.

Surely having a child with autism or severe ADHD WOULD affect the possibility of at least one parent working full time and therefore income.

"However, can someone please explain to me why a family who have a child with a disability, adhd or autism for example , where extra costs do not result , where the earning potential of the family has not changed as a result or indeed where the family never worked anyway should receive extra funds courtesy of the tax payer"

I read that as the OP saying that with ADHD and ASD she assumes extra costs do not result and earning potential of the family has not changed, which is certainly not true in all cases.

It also assumes that cases where additional money is not required are given money via DLA anyway - that being so easy to get!

As a SENCo, I would expect the OP to have more knowledge than she appears to have.

curlymama your choice, but most people can't afford to do that.
most people find that they are judged day in day out, so seeing the op on here was judging s situation she knows nothing about, what did she expect.

Choc, maybe I just read it differently to everyone else then, because I certainly didn't see that she assumes that no one ever incurrs (sp!)extra costs because oof a child with ADHD or ADS. Just that sometimes they don't.

My earning potential declined because of having children at all, not because one of them has ASD. But maybe that's just me. I know DLA is not that easy to get, but I don't for one minute believe that there is nobody out there getting it when they don't really deserve it.

Purpleswan, sadly we probably all know of people like those you know. I know one family that have a 23yo son with fairly severe autism, and they get all sorts of benefits for him. Both parents have worked in the past, but one has now chosen to take a very early retirement, and because of his son has been able to do so, and remain very well off. They have just bought a second house for the son to live in, as they understandably want him to have some independance, and they go on two two week long haul holidays a year. They manage to leave the son alone or with other people when it suits them.

Op - I think you are being unfairly flamed. I think you are not critising those whose children genuinely need extra help getting benefit. You are talking about families such as my (very close) relative who get a lot of benefit for their child who does have special needs but does not cost them anything extra to raise than any other child. They use the money to have extra holidays each year and admit they dont need it and are shocked at how much they get for a dc who doesnt actually need anything extra to their other, non special needs, child. They will openly tell you that - and they have tried to stop certain 'benefits' such as the nappies they get on prescription, but to no avail. They still get them in huge quantities so give them away!

There are cases which are assessed wrongly as there is a generalised approach and not an individual approach.

Sorry 2shoes, x posted.

I can afford it because my ASD child doesn't result in a huge amount of extra costs. I have had to pay for transport and parking for hospital appointments, and I've had time off work for the same. Other than that it's just things that benefit him, but that are not essential. Those things, to me, are just part of the costs of having children. Obviously for parents whose children are more severely affected, the costs might be higher, and they should get help with that.

I don't see how you can assume that the OP knows nothing about this, she's already said that she is aware that some families need the money. But she is also acknowledging that some don't, like mine. Not because we are rich but because ASD does not automatically mean a huge increase in costs.

I actually find it very judgemental that you would assume that my son does need all sorts of extras just because he has the ASD label. He just needs some things done differently, not necessarily more expensively.

Starlight - what should they spend it on. DC is at school - local school, in village. Their dc has no other needs than their other dc who is not getting the benefit. The nappies are no longer needed as dc dry night and day, as they have told LA.

What could they spend it on - there is nothing needed. No special equipment, no socialising as dc at local school and has friends etc as any other child would. Dc is no more difficult to look after than any other child.

Genuinely confused.