DLA reconsideration turned down, now we appeal.

[misdee]

not looking forward to this!

what a bummer misdee, you don't need this. :(

i know, its the last tthing i need.

Does anyone know anything about the appeal process?

Used to be my job.

What do you want to know?

I stress "used to" though. And I also stress that, whatever sallystrawberry may think, I am not W&R

basicaly what happens?
what/who shoul,d i take with me?

is it wise to take dd2 with me so they can 'see' for themselves? or a video recording of her behaviour)

ok.

Around 40 minutes of them asking you questions about her behaviour, mobility and so forth. A lot will to about what she does during the day. Eg, round here, a classic question would be whether you take her shopping-from your answer they would judge whether she could walk, what her concentration was like, etc etc. They will ask you questions like this for about 40 minutes to an hour, then you will be asked to wait outside for 10 minutes or so, while they decide. Very rarely they cannot decide that day, but normally you will get an answer same day.

Misdee, I'm sorry, it is gruelling and horrible IMO. Having said that, with the right panel it can be not too bad, and it depends on the case.

Your best bet is to a. know the criteria for DLA well, and think how your dd's condition relates to it b. don't lie, or if you do be very very convincing. The chair is a lawyer, there will also be a doctor and a disability "expert" there, and any scent of a lie and you will lose the complete award, believe me. Its shit but its how it works.

whether to take youe dd with you is tricky. probably not, because if she can sit through a dla hearing (which many adults find hard) they will probably draw some very optomistic conclusions about her needs. depends, though, whats her condition?

They don't have facilities to watch a video as far as I know, but you can submit photos, diaries, letters from others (and take anyone else you want with you) letters from the school, anything really.

Just remember that the rules for DLA are strict and deeply unfair and they have to apply them rigidly, else the DWP can appeal. Oh, you have a right of appeal against the appeal in some limited circumstances also.

Maybe post more about your dd? What condition does she have?

at the moment she doesnt have a dx for her main differculties. She was getting high rate care for eczema, allergies, vomiting and balence problems from around 18months old.

Now she has all of the above plus sensory issues, food issues, sleeping problems, lack of danger awareness, behaviour problems and generally has signs of an ASD of sorts. but i dont know. i have been told its down to our 'unique' family situation (dh waiting for heart transplant) my over-anxiousness and basically feel like i';ve been told i'm imagining it all. but other people have notied things and asked.

i dont take dd2 into a shop with me for a full shop alone. its impossible. she needs one2one when out and about. i will dash into the corner shop for milk tho. does that count?

ok, this is going to be long + unedited-

1. lack of dx won't matter, especially as I'm guessing she's under about 10? Ands its ASD spectrum?

1. Her family circs and what she's coping with are relevant. If she needs extra help to cope with her family circs becasue of her disability, that counts.

1. The stuff she got from 18 months-high rate care means basically continuous, day and night, so to get it on those conditions, at that age, suggests its quite severe. Do you know if it was an indeifinate or fixed term award?

1. The question is really about a full shop, I don't think the corner shop would be the same at all! They'd still take anything and everything you said into account.

1. Was your previous award High Care, Low Mob? I think thats the most appropriate award, from what you've said.

1. Did you do a reconsideration first? Have you sent off the form? You have only 2 weeks, as I recall! (this is why you should always just go to appeal, you get a reconsideration anyway .)

1. Do you have any consultants who will write letters? Or even friends/relatives who will testify? They basically need to be confirming that she needs help night and day and that this help is significantly more than a child of her age could be expected to need, and that she needs one to one help when out and that that help is more than a child of her age could be expected to need.

1. What about school? Is she statemented? Does she have any support?

1. Just so you know, everything you say is taken into account, as is the way you say it. There aren't really checklist questions per se (except one on cooking for adults). One thing-stress that you have other kids and how different your dd is from them in terms of care needs.

Listen, I'm pretty sure on all this, and I have represented at tribunals-lots of benefits "experts" just know the law , not how the tribunals work-but I could be wrong on details, its a year since I did this.

Can you get representation? A CAB / law centre could probably help get letters from people, although probably can't go to tribunal with you.

filly can i do a quick hijack and ask if it's possible to get dla if you have cancer and are undergoing chemo?

she is 3.5years old.

when she 1st got turned down (i asked for change of circ forms when pre-school also picked up a problem, they also sent out renewal forms a week later), i asked for reconsideration. it was during easter so couldnt get hold of anyone. I am waiting for reports from paed and SALT, and her OT has also said she will help with back-up letters. since dh has been in hospital her behaviours have gotton worse.

oh god, yes, alexmum, its fairly common. You must fulfil the usual criteria-need lots of help from others (the amount will determine the level of the award but, bascially, around 1 hr a day or help to cook a proper meal=low rate care, help hourly during the day/ several times or for much of the night = middle care and several times a day + night = high rate. You need to have needed the help for 3 months b4 and expect to need it for 6 months after.

If you are not expected to live more than 6 months , there are special rules, -you get high care and maybe mobility, can't remember and don't have a qualifying period.

Cancer awards can be tricky as often treatment is vile with side effects so should qualify except it doesn't last long enough.

Hope its not for you there

IMO charities like macmillan are pretty good with dla forms and with spotting dla entitlemtn.

we had to jump through hoops to get dh award for end stage heart failure. i have let them know he now has an LVAD and i dunno what they are going to do when he comes home and they restart his award. add this to dd2 problems and i am wondering if i should claim for stress

aargh, misdee, you've had a crap time there then. Sending out forms over easter, how crap. If you do want to appeal you can write to them and say you want to appeal and why, and that will be enough (they have blank letters sent in and seem to use that as a request for an appeal). Just in case it helps.

as long as she is coping less well than a 3.5 would be expected to under the circumstances, and this is clearly linked to her disabilty, shoudl be fine. Best of all though would be if the two weren't linked at all in letters so there's no justification for arguing that its not to do with her disabilities.

A diary can be very helpful, if you could maybe over a few days record exactly how much help you are giving her.

You can also argue that she reasonably needs more help than she actually gets. The fact that you perhaps cannot always help her as much as you'd like to (you have several kids, don't you?) should be irrelevant.

Next step btw will be that a big thick bundle of papers ("submission papers") are prepared, with her dla form, your appeal papers, the justification for turning her down (probably a sentance) and any reports etc. And you'll get a form to sign and return to the appeals service.

"we had to jump through hoops to get dh award for end stage heart failure"

Really? Thats bloody awful. That really makes me

That kind of thing is why I'm not going back. The whole system is shit. I am so fed up to the back teeth of hearing about how people on benefits are meant to be cheating the system...my clients are desperate to work, as soon as their incurable COPD relents...The system needs a massive overhaul so people with disabilities can easily have access to benefits, especially since having a disabilty is expensive. anyway, another thread...

that is another thread. dh award was stopped last july due to him being in hospital for over 4 weeks. . he still needs stuff even in hospital.

oh i already called them, they are sending out appeal forms so should get them in the next day or so. i have till the 23rd to get everything back to them.

ah, you see misdee, he didn't need you to buy stuff in hospital, because the NHS would have been taking care of all his disability related needs.

FFS it must cost them more to police the system.

(shut UP fillyjonk NOW, this is NOT a contentious thread)

of course they do

they have paid out for special slippers for when he cant get his fluid filled feet into normal wones, they have paid out for special socks for the same reason above, they have had to pay out for all new clothes when he went from a 30inch waist (end end stage heart failure) to his current 36/38 inch waist now he is on the LVAD. the nhs also pays for my fuel each week

hmmm another thread may be needed

i detest the dwp, all a load of bloomin red tape.

misdee i'll join you on any dwp slagging threads in an instant, but you're not on income support by any chance? you might be able to get a community care grant for some of those costs if so. (its a greyish area, i'll explain more if it helps)

i am so to hear about your dp. that is completely shit. is there much hope of a transplant?

i get a measley £6.10 a week for IS. so will pick up forms for a community care grant for some more stuff for peter (he has changed shape again, and only his tracky bottoms currently fit this week)

He will hopefully get a transplant soon, tho we have been told he could be on the LVAD for over 18months till he gets one. he has been on it 10months now. I just want hime home, tho it'll be a massive upheavel. but when he gets his transplant his dla will stop entirely. which means we lose our car. so in amongst all of this, i am trying desperatly to make sure we have a suitable family car for afterwards (i have a tiny matiz, not suitable for a family of 5 really)

basically as i recall you can get money for stuff arising from a disability but not actual medical supplies. so clothes should be fine. but thought you could get money for travel too? might be wrong there.

yes i can get some money back to cover travel expenses. but not the full amount. if i was driving him to hospital each time then i can claim more back, but not for visiting.

maybe we need a "what benefits don't cover" thread.

I've never been on benefits since i had kids (ftc and cb aside), I think anyone bring up kids on benefits is doing an amazing job, even if there aren't disabilites involved.

its hard work. i cant wait till they are al at school and i an go back to work without any guilt. its going to be a shock for little dd3 (15months old) when dh comes home as he has been in harefield for 15months, so think she'll need help readjusting.

no not for me filly! thanks for asking! for a friend