DLA renewal form- need a little bit of help with questions

[professorpoopsnagle]

It's a renewal for the 2nd claim so you'd think I know what I was doing but I don't!

For question 15/16- what tests/reports have they had. DS hasn't had any since the 1st claim but do I put the original tests in here? I have them on a spreadsheet so wouldn't be a pain.

Question 19- statement from someone who knows the child, would a grandparent be ok here?

Medication- is this only prescribed meds? DS has been taking vit supplements to help his limited diet and omega oils (which are flipping expensive as they have to be palatable) but they are not prescribed.

Its a while since ds's last renewal and I know some kf the questions haver changed, but I have used relatives for the "someone else" part.
However ds's community nurse told me that if a relative is named they are more likely to write out to some of the professionals named elsewhere which they don't if you get a professional to complete it so the process takes longer. Not sure how true that is though.

D's next renewal will be PiP...not looking forward to that!

Ds's earlier claims were before his ADHD dx so he wasn't taking any prescribed medication at that time. However, I always referred to supplements and dietary changes and said that they'd been recommended by X professional (where relevant) or that they are widely regarded as useful for children with ASDs. I tend to give as much information as I think is relevant - if it's not they will ignore it but it's better (IMO) to include it in case it's important.

If you don't have a professional for Q19 then I'd say it's ok to include a relative, but it would be better to have someone who isn't, eg a family friend, who can vouch for circumstances more objectively. I have a friend with ME/CFS who used to get reports written by the chap in the corner shop, to verify that she usually walked with a stick when she came in and sometimes asked for a seat if she got too tired. It's an outside opinion they're looking for.

Does your son go to any sports or social activities, eg football, scouts, any clubs? My son's karate sense wrote a report one time and that was accepted. It's really to show that someone else has noticed the same differences between your child's development and others of the same age.

I didn't have any recent reports for the renewal, so just put in a copy of the report from the original diagnosis.

I don't think I put anyone's name down for the "Someone who knows the child" section.

For medication I put whatever they were taking. I included lactulose, which wasn't prescribed, but just put elsewhere on the form that this had been suggested by the Paed.

Thank you that is all really helpful advice, I'm going to rethink the supported statement.