Disability Living allowance form

[belledechocolatefluffybunny]

How do you fill it in for a disease that come and goes? Do I use the best/worst times?

Thank you.

Some people say use worst but I try and give a balanced view - I use the word sometimes a lot.I also write loads on mine as I find it quite hard to explain how i am from day to day.Long form as well so take your time.

I think I've already written the wrong bits in the wrong places

Thankyou.

Mistakes don't matter imo and my handwriting is bloody awful - just shows them how ill you are and how difficult it is to complete these forms.They are way too long.

Last year we put DH's good day/worst day status in almost every category on DLA form for DH's illness; like yours it's worse some days than others. He was awarded DLA so being this transparent was fine for us. We did this rather than trying to somehow 'average out' his good days and bad ones.

I also seem to remember looking for help online by googling 'filling in DLA form'.

Good luck! Took us a whole week, on and off, to fill in this dreadful form

I have relapsing remissive MS so when I am ill I am really ill, I have no idea when I will relapse though but the effects are very similar to being very drunk. I am fine most of the time apart from the nerve damage and fatigue (now controlled with medication), do you mention how the medication helps??

My DH also has a progressive illness with good days and bad days, and meds that vary according to how ill he is.

As far as I can remember we didn't overtly include the effect of his medication on the DLA form, although we did have to list what his meds are; what we seemed to concentrate on was what a good day means for him, and what a bad day involves. I was advised that when filling in this form it's very important to say exactly what a bad day is, and be as detailed about a bad day as possible. Don't gloss over it, or tone it down. After all, the DLA is there to buy in services you can't supply for yourself: so if you can't go shopping, you can pay someone to do your shopping for you, etc.

My DH felt a bit, well, fraudulent for only saying what his bad days are, which is why we put down both extremes on his form. He was happy doing that, and his application was successful - but of course that's just his experience.

With the form DH had to contact details of his gp and hospital consultant. We assumed they would supply all the info needed for the DLA assessment regarding DH's varying medication, and the effect of said meds.

How are you getting on with the monster form? Good luck

I may just stick some blank paper over the bits I've already filled in and start it again I have no idea when I will relapse or how long I will be very ill for. The last time (a couple of weeks ago) my poor neighbour did all the cooking for us and poor ds needed to guide me to the shop at the bottom of the road as I had one eye facing outwards and the other one forwards, it was very difficult to see, I also felt very 'drunk' aswell.

Hi Bellede C. I have my form ready to fill in. (Tomorrow's job....)

I have found a booklet at www.mssociety.org.uk/support_and_services/free_publications/dla.html which I am hoping might help.

I have also been told that the CAB is good at the wording on these forms.

Good luck with the form - it looks truly daunting.

It'll be OK. I'll make a start in a little while, it's hard to know what they want as MS isn't a predictable disease IYKWIM. Thankyou for the link

You can explain clearly, and it will give them a good idea. So something like:

"I have relapsing/remitting MS.

On a good day I can....

On a not so good day I can only....

On a bad day I can't....

On a worse day....

I can go for a few months at a time having mostly not so good days with some good days, but then have a block of time when I have lots of bad days and some worse days. I do have periods of complete relapse, when everyday is a worse day, and this takes me a long time to recover from.

It isn't possible to predict when I might have a relapse. However in the last year, I have had x relapses, lasting x weeks/months. Even when the initial relapse is over, I am left weakened for several weeks afterwards.

I never have a time when I feel completely well, and even with the medication, I am affected on a daily basis when doing x (x being the activity they are asking about).

Thank you.

Also, you can use Microsoft Word to type your answers and then just attach them to the back of the form. Write "see attached answers" on each question, then make sure that each answer clearly labels the question it relates to, and each page has your NI number, Name and Date of Birth at the top. Make sure that at the back of the form, where it says "Additional evidence included with this form", you write "Answers to questions x through y, z pages."

Oh, that would help Thank you.

It takes ages to get an appointment here, you have to wait outside the door at 8:30 and it's first come...

I can fill it in

I think I've done it, I've done a diary (thankyou for the MS link) aswell so shall attach that. Am I reading it correctly when it says that if you are in constant pain when you walk then it doesn't matter how far you can walk? My feet and legs burn 99% of the time.

I've finished it and photocopied the GP's letter as I can't find the one from the hospital, it says the same thing though. How long does it take for them to process it and do they send people for a medical?

Thankyou