I'm on the first question of the DLA form, and I've written 2.5 pages so far

[Lougle]

with sensory issues and behaviour still to go

Do you think they'll read it all?

I dunno, but I think their hearts will sink when they see my renewal
I've got a rough draft I'm writing up properly.Up to the end of question 9 and I've written 14 pages

I can't imagine how they think the information can be squeezed into those little boxes fgs.

It's exhausting tough, isn't it. I've had to give it a rest for tonight.

Oh, that is strangely comforting, siblingrivalry

The trouble is, question 6, do they have difficulty with walking?

-She has physical issues
-She has no sense of danger
-She tires easily and will just lie down when she's tired.
-She's got complex LDs
-She has a severe S&L delay so can't understand safety instructions
-She's got sensory processing problems
-She has behavioural problems

Now, I can't leave any of that out, can I?

I am being kind, though, I am supplying quotes for each point I am putting forward, to make it easier for them, they won't need to actually read the reports

I am going to highlight key phrases and important points, in case they are totally overwhelmed by the wad of paper I send in.

I agree with you -you have to include everything. If you miss things out, then the decision makers won't be getting all the facts.

At the minute I feel like I will never reach the end of the damn thing!

Yay ladies - i knew i'd come on here and get some inspiration to get this done.

finally getting round to this form. been too busy dealing with disabilities, health and general incompetence of one or two of the professionals involved to do this.

i called parent partnership and they offered to help with this form (and challenging the bits of the draft statement we oppose).

Anyone had parent partnership help them and found them useful? I know that people on this board don't always rate them highly

I'm not sure that parent partnership would be experienced with DLA forms, to be honest, although stand to be corrected.

I do know that your Statutory Assessment documents will be useful evidence for your DLA claim

Have you seen the cerebra guide to DLA? It is very useful. Google should throw it up straight away.

Thanks lougle

will google cereba!

Just tying up loose ends on ds's review claim this week (ds on summer playscheme) - it's taken three months .

Highly recommend the Cerebra guide, it's excellent.

Don't feel pressured into making your answers fit into those tiny boxes. Type it all out in Word then you can give as much information as you need.

Include as many reports and opinions as you can get hold of, and supprting information of your own.

Mine has now run to 26 pages of A4 for the main document with about an inch thick of additional info .

The assessors don't read the whole lot, they just scan for key words. They only begin to read properly at reconsideration stage.

Good luck everyone!

TBH they don't read it other than to look for key points.

What they do is tot up the minutes/hours you calculate then add those up. So if you have to help with the communication all the time write 'all day every day' or '24 hours', don't try and work out the exact minutes especially as you don't know the cut off between bands.

If you say you get up at night they only count that if you are up for more than 20 minutes. So if you write down that you get up 15 times a night for 10 minutes each time they will count that as not getting up. If you get up once for half an hour that will count as getting up.

Or so a social worker told me.

Yes I had heard that.

Saintly, you said about the mobility part, but can I ask for clarification?

The question says "How far can the child walk before they have to stop because of severe discomfort?"

Now, DD can walk variable distances, but she can't walk at all without being restrained, for her safety, and largely uses the Maclaren Major when out of the house.

So, do I write some distance down, or do I put "0" because she can't walk unrestrained?

I fitted everything in the boxes and did not include any reports in the renewal. However, only got middle rate and low mobility. It isnow time to reapply again and am wondering how much detail I should go into.

I put down 0 iirc

And then explained that he was unable to walk at all without someone holding onto him at all times.

keepyourmouth - my last renewal I put everything in boxes and didn't include any reports (although they contacted the school) - we were awarded higher rate care and higher rate mobility indefinitely.

Ds1 does clearly fit the criteria for both though.

0 it is. It makes perfect logical sense to me. She can't walk at all without the support of an adult.

Saintly, your tip about key words and etc. makes perfect sense to me too. I was wondering how much detail I should go into this time, reports to include etc. The renewal is really getting me down.

Just to make it clear that school is asking for 30 hours on ds's SEN Statement instead of 25 because he does need to be looked after all the time. His expressive language is appx half is chronological age and receptive language is also delayed. Communications - can't express himself well, can't ask questions so if he gets lost he can't ask someone for help. When he went wandering for over an hour (police were involved), could not say where he went, if anyone spoke to him, etc.

Thought I'd add the above because of the the reent articles about welfare dependency.