can jobseekers be cut with a dyspraxic 13 year old who can't be left?

[jamestkirk]

hi

i'm posting this for a friend. she's been on jobseekers for about 18 months after being made redundant. she doesnt drive and has two children at different schools which makes school run time hectic and limits the hours that can be worked.
after applying for local jobs that offer suitable hours but not even getting an interview she's now worried that jobseekers allowance could be cut if she doesnt find work soon. the trouble is her eldest who is 13 has some form of undiagnosed dyspraxia. this means he can't be left for long. he wouldnt beable to get ready, lock up and get himself to school on a morning and certainly couldnt be left all day in the school holidays.
the problem is that, altho dyspraxia was discussed when at primary school its never been formally diagnosed. and now at 13 he's seen as being able to fend for himself.
can the jobseekers people insist that she apply for all vacancies that come up and attend interviews even if for full time jobs. otherwise can they demand proof of his condition - if so does anyone know how to go about getting it? otherwise she's now worried that jsa could be cut.
i may well have missed something out but any advice would be helpful - thanks.

yes they can re insisting on her going to interviews
unless she has DLA attributed to him she is unlikely to be successful with that one IMO

She needs to apply for Disabillity living allowance.
HE doesn't necessarily need a formal diagnosis for this, just supporting statements from others like school/doctor.

if he recives higher or middle rate care component she can then qualify for carers allowance and she will no longer be required to claim jobsekers allowance and can transfer to income support.

this means she will not be pushed into work and can instead look to find soemthing more suitable at her leisure.

If the 13 yo has never been formally diagnosed as dyspraxic she needs to get an assessment done asap.

Different rules will apply to her circumstances re Jobseeker's etc and if she could possibly get DLA for him and Carers Allowance. There are also different employment rights if you have a child with a recognised disability.

thanks v much re the dla - have let her know.

well, if she is jobseeking, she's entitled to the jobseekers allowance. if she's not jobseeking, then she doesn't qualify and needs to work out what other benefits she might be entitled to. (as she feels unable to work, and i assume is content to remain in receipt of benefits)

maybe she could look at before and after school care so that she could work? (many people do this, with children with diagnosed disabilities) it depends whether she actually wants to work tbh. she doesn't sound keen.

dyspraxia is of course one of those things that does affect children differently, but at 13, if he is not receiving much in the way of additional support (and has managed so far without) i really don't think 'i have to take him/ bring him home from school' is going to fly.

her local job centre will have a 'back to work' advisor, who specialises in helping women return to work after child rearing etc. they are usually very helpful at discussing childcare options etc, i was pleasantly surprised (i have a 7yo with cerebral palsy and a 9yo with medicated adhd - thankfully the 11yo is nt )

i'm not impressed with the govt (this one or the last) provision (in terms of financial etc) to get parents of children with disabilities into the workplace (damn near impossible unless you qualify for direct payments), but tbh it does not sound as though her son needs specialist care - just someone to remind him what to do and when to do it. wearing, in itself, but not unlike most 13yos. if he does need more specialist care, then she needs to discuss his needs with his ot etc, and sort out a dx, apply for dla and then carers allowance. i don't think it is usual for dla to be given for dyspraxia tbh, but the ot/ physio would know.

giant x-post... mn went down and i re-typed lol, needn't have bothered.

and just to add - her youngest has recently turned 7 and so swapped from income support to jsa rather than long term jsa.
her ds had occupational therapist and senco at primary school (she still has a senco form somewhere with dyspraxic on it) but has had no outside help at secondary school.

does he need outside help at secondary though?
if he does, then why hasn't she been sorting that out? i know therapy traditionally tails off - it's a travesty. but in a former guise as a secondary lsa helping kids with all sorts of issues from asd to dyspraxia, to cp, and all sorts of other stuff, i know it's the ones that shout the loudest that get the most support (again, another travesty).
when was he discharged from ot? can she call them or get him re-referred if he still needs support?

getting dla or carers is going to be an impossibility if everyone (gp, school) says 'he manages just fine without any help'.

My experience of secondary schools is that support often drops off even if it's very much needed. I would certainly look into getting him re-referred for a diagnosis.

She can apply for DLA without a diagnosis, in principle, but you would need lots of other supporting evidence and it doesn't look like there would be recent evidence.

However, it says on this Gingerbread document that "Claimants with a child under 13 can restrict their availability for employment to hours that reflect the child?s normal school hours (during term-time)". It also mentions that many lone parent advisors haven't been consistently sticking to the govt guidelines so it would be worth calling them to clarify if the JCP insist on seeking FT work outside the local area. She should insist on seeing a Lone Parent Advisor at the JCP early on in her claim but sadly it seems that they're not even always appropriately trained.

That Gingerbread report is about lone parents on JSA, so it would apply to her even if she can't get DLA, at least until her youngest turns 13.

Hi, I am the friend. Thankyou for responses. I didn't actually want to rejoin this site after leaving two years ago but some of the best advice is here which is why I asked a friend to post.

I was disappointed (yet not surprised) to see that it does appear to some i'm not keen on working. Let me clarify that I have always worked since leaving school, despite having been a single parent for the last 12 years.

When I was made redundant 18 months ago I had to claim income support. I have been looking for another job since. The few jobs I have found and applied for...well i'm lucky to get a rejection letter and haven't gotten to interview stage for any of them.

Last week after being moved from IS to Jobseekers and the subsequent chat with jobcentre advisors, it became apparent that if I dont find something soon I could be called in. I'm worried I could be forced to apply for jobs which would mean leaving my 13 year old ds at home for hours. He simply couldn't cope with this.

It's difficult to explain. When he was at primary his SENCO told me he was dyspraxic and he did get a lot of help. They also told me the most they could do was pass his records on to secondary school. It is incredibly frustrating because I dont know where to get more help. Quite frankly, he can be a danger to himself. His head is "in the clouds" much of the time. He has no short term memory, no social skills and no common sense at all...so far we've lived with it but suddenly I find myself in a position where I may be forced to leave him in a situation where he could harm himself and it scares me, that was why I asked for help.

SFP- I have a 13 yr old Dyspraxic DS..

I am confused re. your DS, didn't the SENCO and Ed Psych refer him to an OT?

Has he been on 'School action plus' at Secondary school - If so have you met with the SENCO there?

'Quite frankly, he can be a danger to himself. His head is "in the clouds" much of the time. He has no short term memory, no social skills and no common sense at all...so far we've lived with it but suddenly I find myself in a position where I may be forced to leave him in a situation where he could harm himself and it scares me, that was why I asked for help.'

My daughter is markedly dyspraxic and she displays none of these traits. I'm a regular on dyspraxia forums but the only afflicted I've heard of who are a danger to themselves are those who are also autistic or have ADHD and/or conduct disorder.

You should definitely make an appointment with a GP asap and ask for paed referral, because just an oral summary like this will not fly with the JobCentre.

Plus, this child needs help.

Hiya,

He did have an OT at primary but the last I heard from her was when he was about to leave for secondary and I mentioned the problem with social skills and my other worries. She said she would have a word with a colleage who dealt with that kind of thing but never got back to me.

Expat, I did just assume this was all to do with dyspraxia...having experience do you think it could be something else? I admit i'm pretty clueless, over the years i've discussed it with people and been told he'd "grow out of it" or "oh he's fine"...seems everywhere i've turned they've been pretty dismissive. I KNOW there is something wrong...I just have no idea of where to get help.

if you have always worked up until 18 mos ago, presumably he was able to cope with whatever measures you had in place for him at 11?
i'm slightly confused by why you've not approached the (secondary) school for help with your son's difficulties? is he managing fine at school without additional support, or does he need additional help? from your description, of him, it sounds a little odd that the only time you think about the extra help he needs is when you might get your benefits questioned? he's been there for presumably 2 years.

i know that sounds really rude - and i am sorry, but the priority is the child. if your son needs the support you say he needs, you should be in the headteacher's office or booking an appointment with the senco, not ignoring it. it just looks dodgy because you apparently weren't worried until there was a threat to your money.

if you're used to working as a single parent with an sn child, then i'm sure you can work out a way to work again.

It sounds like he may have other disorders, yes, but I'm not a doctor and he needs one, tbh.

Many dyspraxics do have some problems socially, but that he is that old and a danger to himself, no common sense and his memory issues wouldd set off alarm bells IMO.

At any rate, he needs a diagnosis and SENCO support.

Please make an appointment for him :).

Dyspraxia isn't usually something diagnosed by a school. It is a medical diagnosis done by a hospital specialist usually. How did he get OT at school without a formal diagnosis?

expat- I disagree,my DS has a terrible short term memory, will frequently stand up and walk over to look out of the window in the middle of lessons because he is so 'dreamy',and sometimes forgets to look both ways when crossing the road..to name just a few of his Dyspraxic characteristics.

But yes, an oral diagnosis won't wash with the Job Centre,a 'statement' via Paed cons. might..
but the Senco and Ed Psych should've made the referral years ago..

Yes, but Jelly, is he such a danger to himself at 13 that he can't be left alone?

At any rate, you need a paed diagnosis.

It was suspected in DD1 for some time - she had a lot of delays with gross and fine motor skills that were indicative of that (her father, paternal uncle and grandfather are also diagnosed), but diagnosed formally by a paed.

She ran a number of tests, too.

Mine also has dyslexia and dysgraphia.

She was retained at stage/held back and didn't begin P1 until she was 6.

You definitely need to see a paed.

madwoman, yes it does sound rude and it is rude. I'm not here to get into a fight, far from...this is why I left this site years ago. At 11 coming 12 my son was able to go to his grandparents in the school holidays. I also worked from 9.30 until 3.30 so he NEVER had to be at home on his own. As I said, I was basically told all help stopped when he went to secondary school. Now whether this information was accurate or not, I did not/could not at the time anticipate myself being in a position where I would be forced to leave him at home on his own. Having always worked I had no idea of how jobseekers was paid and the conditions attached should I ever have had to claim it...how could I have foreseen that? I'm aware it looks "dodgy" but please dont judge me on one thread, I was a member of this site for many years and people knew I was far from workshy.

Thanks expat, like I say it is really difficult to explain the way ds is. He has to have very detailed instructions or he's lost. If for example I asked him to take his plate into the kitchen he'd ask "where in the kitchen" "on the side" "where on the side?" "by the toaster" "where is the toaster?" this can go on and on and he gets so confused...it sounds silly put into words I know.

No i wouldn't leave DS2.. He fell down the stairs again 5 minutes ago,for example.. (mind you Hypermobility, Osgood Schlatters,and Dyspraxia are not a good physical mix)

SFP- Seems as soon as you mention Benefits on MN trouble strikes..You don't need to justify it..

Back to the question, as it seems your DS really hasn't had the right professional help so far.

This is roughly how it usually runs at Primary school age-Teacher informs SENCO of problems,SENCO brings in an Educational Psychologist,Ed Psych eventually refers to Occupational Therapist, who runs further tests and reports to Paed consultant-who 'Statements'.
Copies of letters are sent to you, your GP and the school.

How far did this process go with your DS?

Dyspraxia is often refered straight from gp to the hospital. Makes the process much quicker.

if she applies for DLA for ds and middle or high rate care is awarded the parent as having to care more and needed more for emergencies / appointments etc will not have to work as paid carers allowance. Although undiagnosed you can still apply for DLA it should go by level of need compared to child of that age. ds has 'dyspraxic' sypmtoms but dx of autism with spd, hypotonia and anxiety.

But getting dx will help ds get therapy/input/support needed. Go to GP ask for referral to Paediatrician and OT asap.

Ooops sorry Queen you posted this I missed it