Claiming DLA for 13 month old - any advice?

[Babaganoo]

We've been advised to apply for DLA for our 13 month old DS by both nursery and someone from the local visual impairment team. I am looking at the forms and they seem quite difficult to answer. It's a bit overwhelming.

Can anyone advise on:

• How to word things correctly for a child so young?
• What the wait time are for these things to go through the system?
• Any other tips while going through this process?

Just for reference, DS has optic nerve hypoplasia. We have had loads of tests and he currently has to wear glasses for short sightedness but we're still not clear on what it means for him long term. We're awaiting an MRI for him in the next few months.

Cerebra have a very good guide on their website. If you phone to ask for the forms to be posted rather than print them off yourself any award is backdated to the date you phoned. Diagnosis is not considered, it is completely based on care needs, so you need to consider how your child’s condition means they need more care than a typical child - quite difficult for a baby.

I was told not to apply before 2, for the reason stated above. Unless a baby has significant and complex needs, it's v difficult to make a case that they need higher levels of care as all children of that age need constant supervision and care at all times.

@Patchworksack great thank you! I'll have a look at Cerebra

@Bananasplitlady yeah I thought the same, so I was surprised that we've been pushed twice to apply. Particularly by the lady from our vision impairment team as she works with lots of young children in similar situations, so I presume she knows what she's talking about much more than I do! I figure it can't do any harm trying regardless.