Their is nothing wrong with my Ds its just challenging behaviour

[CrazyHamsterdisguisedasatree]

This is what the DWP have just told me !

I am beyond furious , he does not yet have his diagnosis for ADHD/AS/OCD which is what I was told was suspected by his specialist .

Instead he is just naughty , not that I would class a 4 year old coming at you with a carving knife 'challenging behaviour' or that he has never slept longer than two hours & is never tired .
He can't be left unsupervised as he will endanger himself & others & just doesn't grasp that sticking your hand on to something hot will hurt & then repeatedly does it again & again .
I have to have locks on every room in my house .
He runs in to traffic because he chooses to do so not that he doesn't understand the danger of it , well that's what they wreckon .
I don't know what to do , Are they right is this just challenging behaviour ?

I'm confused. What's this about? Why is DWP saying this? (I've obviously missed something here....)

I applied for Dla for my Ds 4.5 on the grounds that he has suspected ADHD/ASD/OCD & the DWP say he has none of those he just has trying behaviour

I know people who were awarded DLA before getting a diagnosis. Did you use the Cerebra guide (can't link on phone)?

It is not for the DWP to diagnose but they need evidence that your son has "a long term health condition, disability or developmental disorder which results in them needing substantially more attention, supervision than a typically developing child of the same age."

So you do have to provide evidence that there is a disability/disorder/health condition even if it is undiagnosed at present (though this makes it harder evidentially sometimes)

The Cerebra DLA guide is excellent and I would use this as a guide to how you can answer questions.

Go through it and see if you can add more info. And ask for a review. This is not an appeal. You can still appeal after the review.A review will be conducted by someone else.

But you do need some evidence.

Its not challenging behaviour .
He has no understanding of dangers .
He never stops he gets by on 2 hours sleep a night , has to be monitored constantly as the second I take my eye off him he does something dangerous but he doesn't know its dangerous iyswim

Ok, now I see what you're saying. Sorry, didn't connect it with DLA application.

DS1 was 4yo when we applied for DLA for him, and he did not yet have a diagnosis (although he did eventually for ADHD/ASD/etc etc).

I followed the Cerebra guide, as well as putting examples of specific behaviours and how they affected him (and everyone around him). I also pointed out the difference many times between his behaviour and that of an NT child of the same age (using my grandson who is the same age as an example).

And I put loads of documentation in from school, paed, OT, SALT, etc.

Ring childrens legal centre. I dont think there is legal aid for first tier tribunal anymore (not sure if this applies to children) but they can advise you. Often its worth putting in an appeal as they often back down. You would need medical evidence though. Could your HV or nursery help by writing a statement?

You can get a review first and if you can get your evidence together and follow the guide, it might be worth trying this route first to save the stress of an appeal.

I think many cases are knocked back to start with.

don't get hung up on the dwp wording. Challenging behaviour can be used for anyone who exhibits behaviour that present a challenge, deliberate or not, many people with sever learning difficulties who have no concept of danger will be described as having challenging behaviour.

Telephone (follow up with a letter) asking them to reconsider & tell them you will be submitting more evidence that your child needs significantly more care than a child of a similar age without his difficulties (diagnosis or not).
Submit a diary over a few days comparing your sons behaviour with that of a NT child, really spell it out!.

Good luck

Thankyou , what kind of evidence can I provide ?

just your account, really spelling it out of his behaviour & how much extra care he needs, if you have a professional that can also write a statement that will help

Don't be furious. It's probably an error. Do an appeal (the refusal letter tells you how) and they'll probably a 'reconsideration' meanwhile.

The 'decision' is a snap judgement made by a clerical worker after half-reading your forms. The DWP ladies (there are very few men) get slightly above minimum wage, and have to process at least 4-6 claims/hour. No extra time for illegible handwriting etc. They don't have any medical, psychology or childcare training, they just cross-check your form against the 'criteria' in an internal document called the 'decision-makers' guide'

Given the pages and pages you have to fill in, she probably only read about 10% of the form, and none of your supporting documents. The above advice re evidence is good; you can send it all in together or file your appeal now and say 'behaviour diary to follow in 7 days'

Cheers macca , it all starts to make sense now! Some of my friends have DCs with the same dx as my DCs. We'd fill in the DLA forms together, then wonder why the shitting blazes we all got awarded completely different things....

crazy another vote here for a review, you've got a dead strong case but they're looking for specific key words or phrases. When term starts again, get a member of school staff who knows him to confirm the sort of behaviour you're talking about. The sleep issue is one that should get you a good chance - it's well beyond the sort of thing that most parents of a 4 yo have to contend with...

My dd still has no diagnosis but receives DLA. I typed out 8 or so pages of actual examples relevant to each section of the form, and then within those examples, I compared her to her younger brother and peers at school. It was the most soul destroying thing I have done, and took me 3 months (had to ring for the forms again). I also sent copies of every single referral/report/appt letter/school IEP's etc that I had. The award was made within a few days of them receiving my form! Good luck.

My dd still has no diagnosis but receives DLA. I typed out 8 or so pages of actual examples relevant to each section of the form, and then within those examples, I compared her to her younger brother and peers at school. It was the most soul destroying thing I have done, and took me 3 months (had to ring for the forms again). I also sent copies of every single referral/report/appt letter/school IEP's etc that I had. The award was made within a few days of them receiving my form! Good luck.

Thanks Duke .

I have asked for a review but I just don't know where to start tbh , I have four weeks to hand all my evidence in I just need to figure out what to send

They are getting loads of people to re appeal unless really bad. Send diary and you should get it.

Challenging Behaviour is a recognised condition, look at The Chalenging Behaviour Foundation which is excellent. Also ask them to "look again", not an appeal yet although this could all be evidence if it comes to that.

Macca your are completely wrong about how dla claims are processed by the dm and I say that from personal experience.

Pearly, my experience is second hand, so you may well be right. After seeing your post, though, I've double checked. Yes, officially the DLA decision makers are all EO grade with several weeks of specific training. annex d Still clerical workers, and paid from £10/h (ish). Ever increasing claim speed/ throughput expected. And DWP was trialling generic decision makers across all benefits, most of those were AO grade, ie training towards NVQ level 1 or 2.

The decision makers guide definitely still exists here as does its medical conditions guide supplement.

I stand by my post suggesting that the staff processing the forms are usually doing their best, but can make errors through not enough time and not enough knowledge. I didn't think that was controversial