ASD and DLA what level?

[nicand2]

My DS1 is 3 and was dxd a year ago. We currently get the middle rate of DLA which is a great help but since his recent review I am wondering if we are on the right level.

His nursery have said that he needs a lot of help and we should be looking at special needs schools,does anyone know what would be the deciding factors in the higher rate?

We also don't get any mobility allowance but he is a 'runner' so needs constant holding or he would just run off, he is very impulsive and has no sense of danger so I struggle to keep control without strapping him in the buggy.

Any advice would be appriciated, thanks

I have just applied for DLA for my DS who will be 4 next week. The social worker told we should get the middle rate almost for certain. She said that the fact that he sleeps at night and is not really a 'runner' though he does need to be watched would rule out the high rate. I think if you stress the absolute necessity of the buggy to ensure safety you could claim a higher rate?

My two both get higher rate care, mainly because of the amount of help they need at night. I didn't get mobility allowance (lower rate) for mine until they turned 5 but I think others have had it earlier than that.

My DS1 who is 5 and has ASD, gets both higher rate care and mobility.

He was originally awarded middle rate care and no mobility, on the advice of our paeditrician we asked them to look at the claim again and supplied more evidence and he then got awarded higher rate care.

Once he was 3 we applied for mobility and originally got turnt down, after taking advice from a local disabilty information and advice charity we provided more information and asked for them to look at the claim again, in relation to mental capacity (DS1 is also a runner/escaper with no sense of road safety or danger at all and we always have to have the mclaren major with us), we were then awarded higher rate mobility.

Both care and mobility have been awarded until 2015, which I think is quite unusual, but I am not complaining as I am dreading having to face those forms again.

Hope this helps.

My ds1 gets higher rate care and higher rate mobility. He got higher rate care aged 3 and mobility from ? 5 I think. He attends an SLD/PMLD school (most of the children there should qualify for higher rate in both tbh).

I've written about applying for higher rate mobility here

DS2 gets middle rate care and lower rate mobility - we don't have to get up to him in the night much any more (crosses all available fingers tightly) and he's not a runner as a general rule, though I would never trust him 100% not to bolt off if in an excited mood and he has no sense of road safety. I'm happy with this atm but concerned that if he gets more difficult as he gets older, it might be hard to reapply for a different rate.

Yurt, where can I find the rule for an IQ below 55 as I've searched and it may help me? Am working on ( first DLA form for ds (IQ measurably below 55 but attends MLD, no sense of danger, speed of Mercury but (8)jolly heavy to restrain). Please forgive buttting in nicand!!

It's on the NAS link although you have to scroll through it quite carefully.

Thanks Yurt!

The way I've understood it, whether you get the higher rate hinges on whether your DS needs care at night (the hours when the household is normally asleep, or between 11pm and 7am) and it needs to be more than once or for a longish time if it's just once durng the night. I have a friend who gat the higher rate for her DS who's 4 with ASD, mostly because he is up every morning at 5am without fail.

Ds1 gets middle rate care.

DS2 mid rate care & high rate mobility which is fair I believe. He does have mild CP & asd, so not sure what qualified him, I've never dared ask in case they change their mind.

DS1 is 4 and gets middle rate care, which I feel is right because while he has a few bad nights a month and gets up pretty early some days, he's not the child that's the cause of the bags under our eyes (and it's extra care round the clock that's the reasoning for higher rate). He's a runner and roller, too and I've been told that we'll be invited to reapply with a view to getting some mobility around his 5th birthday.

Thanks for all your posts.

It looks as though the mobility bit will probably kick in at age 5 if he still needs to be supervised a lot.

I think the middle rate care is probably right for now then, he does wake at 5 (or earlier) but we don't always have to go in to him so until that changes (fingers crossed it won't!)

higher rate mobility shouldn't just depend on whether your child is a "runner" (mine is not). It also covers behavioural problems, communication (understanding signs etc) and awareness of danger. I would advise check NAS website.