DLA lower rate vs medium rate care

[gingergingerginger]

Hello. I'm really hoping there is somebody here who knows the answer to my question.

I understand (I think) that to get LRC a child needs extra support for up to an hour a day, and to get MRC the child needs extra support several times throughout the day OR night. My question is:

Are they talking about time that you, as a family, spend giving that child extra support? Or are they including the time that other people spend giving that child support, ie. a TA at school giving 1:1?

For context, my son is in year 6. He has undiagnosed learning difficulties and social difficulties. I recently applied for DLA for him for the first time (even though he has had these difficulties basically all his life). Anyway, he has a 1:1 TA throughout the morning every day. Obviously, we also help and support him with his needs when he is at home, but because a lot of the questions on the DLA form that ask about communication, emotional and social needs don't actually ask you to count up minutes spent, I don't really know how they know which band he sits in. I hope that that makes sense.

I do not anticipate that he qualifies for any of the Mobility component. We answered no to all those questions.

I sent his EHCP, two EdPsych reports, an OH report, and a SALT assessment, but I beginning to think that I should have put more effort into the form itself. The SENCO also filled in the relevant section on the application.

MRC is for “frequent help or constant supervision during the day, supervision at night or someone to help while they’re on dialysis” it is about the help and/or supervision required by DC not about how much you personally provide.

Are you sure DS doesn’t qualify for mobility? LRM isn’t about the ability to walk but about help and supervision outdoors.

The Cerebra guide is helpful when completing the form. If you didn’t use it have a look.

Thank you. I am trying to figure out what his chances are of getting MRC. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if they declined it altogether. It all seems a bit unpredictable.

I'm fairly sure he doesn't qualify for mobility. He's safe with roads and cars etc.. He just needs a lot more social and emotional support than your average 11 year old, including his 1:1 at school.

Unfortunately it’s impossible to say what, if anything, DS will be awarded, but if he is turned down you can ask for a mandatory reconsideration.

LRM isn’t just about road safety it can include communication, social and emotional difficulties. For example, does DS require reassurance or prompting? Is DS too trusting of strangers, or the opposite can DS be aggressive with strangers? Is he vulnerable to being exploited? Could he ask for and follow directions? Would he get anxious if something happened? Can he display compulsive or inappropriate behaviour?

You've given me some things to think about definitely. Trouble is, is there a mechanism for adding anything like this to the application now that it's gone in?

You can send extra information.

Thanks for your advice. I've spent all day writing a five page letter to go off to them detailing more about my child's needs. Hopefully they will add it to the application. I will call in a couple of weeks or so to make sure they have got everything. I feel like I have done everything I can now, so what will be, will be.