Has anyone filled a DLA form in for a baby?

[Beanypip]

DD turned 1 last week and we have just received the DLA form for her (severe delayed development no diagnosis, tests still on going) but looking through it it seems to be aimed at older children and so obviously she can't do any of what it's asking. Is there a way around filling this in for a baby or do I just put N/A for most of it?

Adding this confusion to an already confused brain doesn't help!

Had anyone had any experience or advise?

Thanks in advance x

Hi Beany I filled in the form for DD when as was 5 months old. I spoke to someone at contactafamily, they were very helpful. www.cafamily.org.uk/media/379427/dla_factsheet.pdf
Hopefully the above link has worked to their guide for filling in the form.

Think about your DD on her worst day. Think about why your DD needs extra help or supervision and state it very plainly. It can be hard going emotionally, so brace yourself.

Make sure you send copies of any official letters or statements and make a full copy of the form for your records in case anything gets lost or they phone with questions.
I hope this helps. Good luck with the form. X

What toots said and cerebra guide here just in case there's any additional info. Dd3 was 1 when we first applied and received dla, I wouldn't answer N/A but think about what it is they are asking about and how that would fit with your dd. Do you have older dcs or know someone else with a child the same age who you could compare her too, it's about how much extra care you need to provide compared to her nt peers so it's useful to keep a diary to get your thoughts together. And get the wine chilling for when you're done, it's not the nicest thing to do

Hi Beanypip, the DLA 'test' for children under 18 is 'needs significantly more care, attention or supervision than a typical child of their age.'

Obviously, that 'test' is quite hard to pass because all babies need lots of care, attention and supervision. What that means, is that you'll have to be very specific and incredibly detailed about what your DD needs over and above other 1 year olds.

Examples I can think of:

Head Control - do you still need to support her head (esp when tired, for instance). This is something that a typical 1 year old can do by themselves.

Bath time - extra care needed due to delays, etc.

Night waking - how often does she wake?

Can you tell us a bit more about your DD? We might be able to think of things that you take for granted because you do them every day. 'Normal' takes on a new meaning for you when you do things day in, day out.

Beany, do you have any sort of early years support worker, or portage worker? They may be able to help give you an idea of how each question could be applied to a baby, because the form is a little difficult to translate in that way.

I applied for DLA when ds was 1, and we were originally turned down, because I think it can be quite hard to get for babies, for the reason that Lougle said. However we asked for reconsideration, and ds's paed wrote a report and he was awarded high rate care within a week.

I think at this age, imo, the reports you have are very important.

We applied when dd was 2 and filled in the form accurately, acknowledging where kids her age would be expected to need support - and trying to explain any difference. We then went into more detail inthe other comments area about what it was about dd that meant she needed more support. I also spend a lot of time with dd doing speech and physio type exercises / play and I put that in. I phoned the dla helpline for advice and the man I spoke to was great. We got middle rate based on the app and medical and salt reports - which was what our portage worker said she thought we'd be entitled to when she suggested we apply. Good luck.

Hi Beany
Some good advice given here already. Just wanted to say that we had to fill in the DLA application for our DD when she was 2 months old - in readiness to start claiming from 3 months. She was our 1st child, so I found it really difficult, especially as at that age a baby can't do anything for themself. DD did have a DX though, although a rare one.
Things to think about are stuff like:
Is your DD slow to feed/needs feeding at more regular intervals.
Does your DD have head control. Is she sitting unsupported?
What extra therapy input is she having from professionals and exercises/play you are having to do with her.
WHat assessments/appointments are you having to take her to (that you wouldn't otherwise be doing.)
Any hearing/visual problems

Any reports you have from health professionals already should help.

Do a bit at a time, it is not easy!

Thank you so much for your replies they have helped me feel a bit less confused. She is our first but I do have a friend with a little boy who was quick with his developments so maybe not a good comparison!

(ill just call her em so I don't confuse myself)
Em appears to be on par with her age group with her fine motor skills she can pick things up with pincher, feed herself her bottle (but not spoon) can pick her cup up and drink out of it then put it back down again, she can find and put her dummy in (and put it in our mouth over and over and over again) she has good head control she can say some words mainly dada. If you ask her to clap/wave/touch her nose she can do that normally with a cheeky smile.

It's just her gross motor skills that seem to be the problem. She can't sit unaided or roll over, crawl, pull herself up or stand even with support. She is happy to just lie on her back either on the sofa or the floor and play with her toys while listening to me jabber on about nothing all day. If she wants something to will give a half hearted reach for it then just pick something else to play with. She hasn't really got a fave toy we can use as she will play with anything and If there's nothing left she plays with her feet or pulls her hair.
She's fine in the bath as we use one of those little bath deck chair things so she's reclined. But she's getting a bit long so I'm going to have to get a bigger seat for her and put her in the big bath

No one really has any idea what could be wrong with her. She sees a portage worker, physio, dietitian and SALT (for feeding problems that have now been resolved but she is under weight for her age and on high energy milk) we are also seeing a consultant who specialises with development delays (8th may) and are waiting an appt for MRI scan.

When she was born (at 40+11) we did have a difficult birth and her heart beat kept dipping when the induction drip was increased she was born by forceps and at about an hour old got rushed to sCBU as she had breathing problems turned out to be pneumonia was in for 19days (mainly because of her feeding problems)

I'm sorry it is so long and probably very confusing!

Hi Beany,

I realize it's years ago now, but might still be worth a try, the duty social worker at DS's hospital filled our whole form out. I realize how lucky we are for this. We got HRC at 3 months.

See if your hospital has a duty social worker and if it's something they may do.

Hi Beanypip, we applied for DD when she was 6 mths old (she was born by emergency c-section, spent her first few weeks in SCBU, has Down Syndrome, hypermobility, is deaf and for the first 2 years had heart problems). She is also our only child.

I found the first DLA forms very depressing, just because you are forced to focus on what your child can't do. The local council wouldn't help (only provide support for people who would qualify for legal aid ) and our Portage team aren't allowed to give advice on forms, so I got in touch with our health visitor & she was great. She was very direct about how my DD compared to 'NT' and told me what I needed to write. We got awarded mid-level care.

Not sure if this helps, but my dd sounds very similar, but is now finally sitting up at 13 months, though she is very wobbly! She also just started to crawl too, also at 13 months. Fingers crossed your dd does soon too.

We also have no diagnosis as yet, it is very hard. I hadn't thought of DLA as yet, because I am still hopeful dd will catch up x

The sn hv filled ours out at 6 mos, too. I just signed it and handed it over. I would love to see a copy now, as I have absolutely no idea what she wrote. All I know is I was expecting nothing (as, like you say, babies need ft care) and dd2 was awarded high rate.

I was in so much shock that I called her and told her there had been a mistake, as it seemed ludicrous for the govt to be giving me only to look after a baby.

There was no mistake - I think that sometimes health profs can see further down the line than we can.

Dd2 has cp (dx at 2) and first sat (wobbly) about that age. She crawled at 15 mos and walked with a frame until she was at school. She now skis black runs.

I started to fill the form in had everything all ready and put the wrong surname in the box so god help me for the rest of it! Portage came to play with her on Wednesday and she said she will fill the form in for me so we have 2 hours scheduled for next month to fill it all in they apparently know what to put and how to word it correctly. I feel guilty claiming it when we don't even know if there is anything wrong. During the portage visit she sat on a little stool with her feet on the floor the whole time with nothing supporting her and today she stood in clarks while the woman made sure her shoes fitted. First time she's ever stood properly

It just feels like she's never going to get there! She can't seem to keep her top half supported with her hands if she falls she doesn't put her hands out to stop her just falls until she's hit the floor with her head. If we put her in the crawling position she just falls onto her tummy and cries

Thank you all for replying x

Just like dd2. Like I said, she skis black runs now. She couldn't stand unaided without holding on until past 4yo.

I assume you have a gym ball and do lots of physio with it? She needs to build up her core strength. At 12 mos (on her birthday actually!) dd2 was given her first standing frame. we used to strap her in and try to occupy her - she couldn't really grip anything, and so couldn't do much, so we had to do a lot of hand over hand stuff.

Have you tried using the stairs to build up her supporting weight on her arms? It isn't quite as hard work as the crawling position, but you do need to be careful for head plants.

I would kneel behind her with my knees each side so that her knees didn't splay out wards, and have one hand round the front supporting tummy/ chest and body weight, and effectively switch hands whilst I got her take weight through her arms.

Glad portage will help, though. All good.