Dla claim for autism Turned down

[Kazzamcw]

I have been advised by 3 health professionals to apply for Dla for my son who is 3years old and presenting signs of autism. He is on a waiting list to see someone at ASD. So far I've only dealt with my GP, Speech therapist and paediatrics. I sent the claim pack off which was very detailed and enclosed a lengthy and again very detailed report about him from his speech therapist.

Dla request has been turned down. They say they dont think he need any extra help that a typical 3 year old wouldn't ( most definitely not true) ive asked for the mandatory reconsideration now.

Has anyone else had this? Im wondering how long it takes & success rate

Have you seen the cerebra dla guide? I would google that if you haven’t and have a read of how they word the answers. So much depends on how you fill the form in- over and above the additional evidence you provide.

We were given high rate care for our son aged 2.5 who at that time had only had a referral to a paediatrician to be assessed for autism (hadn’t actually seen anyone at that point). Definitely have a look at the cerebra and national autistic society dla guides and decide whether it’s worth submitting an entirely new claim using those guides or asking for a reconsideration based on what you’ve already sent in (if you feel you’ve written enough after reading the guides).

It was a community worker that filled in the form for me. I just assumed he would have known how to put it. He did ask me questions about his needs and went from that. He thinks they turned it down just to chance. Im worried incase he hasnt done it correctly

I would bet that he hasn’t filled the form in properly. If you can, it is always better for you to fill the form in as no one knows your child as well as yourself and you can make your answers very detailed. It will also seem more genuine to someone else reading the form.

Your better going through form with the cerebra guide. I didn't get too lengthy in answers. I used comparisons that a normal 3 yr old can do this but dc can only do this

DLA claims are notorious for “needing to know” how to fill them in. I’ve not any experience re SN children, but I did plenty at work as well as my own parents. I woukd say if someone else filled them in, it won’t have been done properly. The level of knowledge required, the detail would mean that unless your community worker knows you incredibly well, or you had a 2 hr session with him/ her, it won’t have given the necessary info. I’m not sure what the rules are for making another claim, or whether you need to appeal the decision on the basis that the CW gave incomplete info - and with the appeal enclosing a new claim form.... Have a look at the cerebra dla guide as others have said. Also bear in mind, you need to answer questions about needs - not the just the support you currently give. For example, don’t fall into the “make do”, or “being brave” scenario.Say was is needed - not just what is currently provided.If you manage to do something with difficulty, then that is still a need. So, when I did my dads, he was having care during the day, but not at night. However, when I thought about it he did need care at night too - the fact he wasn’t getting it was irrelevant.So, to the q about does he need care at night, the answer was ‘yes” with explanation of the risks to his safety.