Child disability payment (Scotland)

[Mumstheword1000]

Hi,

I'm looking for advice on whether my son would be eligible for child disability payment. We live in Scotland.

Last year, my son was struggling to run or jump and had a lot of pain in his ankles. Not knowing what the problem was, we didn't know where to turn for advice or a solution. Eventually, it was confirmed that the issue was he had flat feet. While this isn't normally a big issue, it meant he was walking/running in a way that built up muscles where normal people wouldn't. It has taken 6 months worth of expensive insoles, weekly physio and sports massage to loosen all the muscles to a regular level which has given him full mobility and no pain. Relief.

The physio he attended said that while we had noticed a decline in his agility and mobility over the past few years, if left longer without treatment, he would have continued to experience pain when walking, not just running.

He has weekly sessions with a physio which I pay for privately. This is becoming both essential maintenance that he needs and also very expensive. I fear if we stop the sessions, his muscles will seize up again and he will struggle running and generally being active.

My son is 9 years old. I don't believe any child should have restricted mobility if this is avoidable. He is part of a local football team and he was close to leaving before his sessions started but thankfully he has managed to keep it up. I worry if he is unable to be active that he will miss out on being part of a team, his mental health with suffer and he will be on the road to being overweight and inactive into his teens and adult life.

we consider the weekly sessions and essential so we will continue to pay for these but I'm wondering if any help or assistance is available.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Has the physio not been offered on the Nhs ? To qualify for child disability payment you would need to show that he needs more help/ care with daily activities on a regular basis, can't walk a certain distance etc ( sorry i can't remember the exact criteria but plenty of info on Google ). it won't be paid just because you pay for physio, he has to meet the criteria.

Does he have any greater care and /or mobility needs than a child of his age?

Hi.

Thanks for your replies.

He's been to physio at the hospital and confirmed excess tense muscles and restricted mobility as a result. Exercise sheet provided but these didn't help as he struggled to these, even with our assistance. They didn't help much and he has benefitted from the physio working to loosen the muscles via massage and stretching combined.

He definitely has less mobility and restricted movement in his ankles and legs than other children. We have another son who has no issues and so we can see how limited the range of movement was prior to treatment.

Ultimately we are having to continue with the physio weekly to ensure the muscle tension does not return to the level it was as that is when he really can't run and has a lot of pain.

It's really hard seeing your child, aged 9, struggling to run or jump, all the things we for granted all children can do.

I’m sorry OP but I don’t think this would qualify for child disability payment. For reference even to get the lowest rate the child needs to have help with their bodily functions for a significant portion of the day, and bodily functions are things like; hearing, seeing, eating, drinking, sitting, getting dressed etc.

It is not enough to need physio to jump/run. I would go back to the NHS to see if you can access physio through them though, or if you have any insurance check to see if they cover it as I know our insurance covers our children if they need physio so yours may be the same?