Direct Payments - Please tell me your experiences.

[sweetteamum]

It's been suggested to me to contact the Council (not sure who), to ask them to come and assess DD and I, in the hope we'll get some money to help with DD's various issues and me to get some time to myself.

Does Direct Payment sound right to you?

Anyway, i'd love to hear the good/bad stories :)

We get 3 hours a week.. not a lot but better than nothing! I use them to pay for special needs holiday clubs, and also have a lovely carer who is now at University but she comes int he holidays and takes him out (I do 6 hours worth once a fortnight). He goes to the cinema, or out on whatever lovely things she thinks up.

DS2 is 15 now but has had DPs since he was 7, and it just gives him the chance do do some of the things he couldn't without support:)

You need to be assessed by a social worker who then produces a report. We initially got 2 hours a week and later it was increased to 4. We use it to pay a babysitter when we got out and also in the holidays for a carer to take my daughter out. I find it really useful and would say to go for it. It did take a while to set up.

we get 2 hours a week, 3 in holidays and use someone who works for a private care agency. She takes DS out Sat morning so we get to do things with the other boys.

I know a family who get 10 hours a week for a child with ASD (they had several young children they couldn't take out together due to bolting) and a single mum of 2 who has just had an assessment and I really hope she will get lots of hours as she is housebound in the holidays

We also got referred to a specialist sitting service and a siblings group which gives the other boys days out

Once you are on SS books you tend to get offered more eg at school age there are holiday clubs with support etc

Contact a Family have useful leaflets on website. For direct payments its good to have a clear plan of what you want and why in advance and how you will find someone (initially we used staff from nursery)

I am waiting for SS's decision on if DS will get Direct Payments or not, me and SW are asking for 4 hours a week in the hope DS can access some sort of social group with a helper, something like scouts.

The only activity he does at the moment are 1:1 swimming lessons once a week in term time, apart from school he has no interaction with his peers.

SW suggested I ask at school if any of the TAs would be interested but I think I would rather keep it separate as he doesn't like school and will see it as an extension if it is a grown up from there taking him to the activity. Did anyone use people not from school? Don't know where to look for a PA.