Please or to access all these features

SN children

Here are some suggested organisations that offer expert advice on special needs.

DLA wait times 76

1000 replies

HeartyGuide · 08/08/2025 16:28

New Thread as previously one nearly full.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
11
Mywold · 18/08/2025 00:22

PositivityRipples · 18/08/2025 00:00

Hi, What diagnosis does your child have? Is it ADHD only or ASD aswell.. Also do school have to restraint your child also, does your child need restraint at home? Do any other reports evidence extreme behaviour issues...
This report is great and worded great as they've used the terms " unable to" the rather than "chose to" I mean the reports great as evidence as shows school follow from afar and don't leave child unsupervised once left school and site unsupervised... Any evidence of damage to school property ect..
Also if you are going for HRM under smi you also need to give examples of all behaviour that meets the criteria at home aswell obviously reiterated the need for supervision at home that the child can't be left alone, if you need to intervene at home or restrain give examples..
This is a teenager right? So secondary school reports.. Has the child ever been suspended if so send the suspension letters to that give reasons for the suspensions

Hi thank you for your reply, he does not have his ASD diagnosis yet he is currently on the pathway and will be seen before January 2026. OT report states can not be left on his own both in school and out off school. ADHD report backs up this regarding behaviour issues. also other reports state he acts impulsively and is a danger to him self and others when out. I have signed a form in school stating they can retrain him if needed.

He is 9 so going into year 5 in primary school. Currently can only cope in school 2 hours a day. He can only do afternoons as school is not safe for him to be able to play out until new fences have been fitted - I was told this would be 2 weeks from 9th June still no new fences 😤

Mumoftwo2011 · 18/08/2025 08:30

SD 18/03/2025
I spoke to DLA 31st July and they said my claim was being passed over to a DM....heard nothing since! How long can claims be with a DM for?

Curlycookie5 · 18/08/2025 08:51

Mumoftwo2011 · 18/08/2025 08:30

SD 18/03/2025
I spoke to DLA 31st July and they said my claim was being passed over to a DM....heard nothing since! How long can claims be with a DM for?

I would give them a call this morning, it’s possible a decision may have already been made, good luck

Bossingit67 · 18/08/2025 09:03

Curlycookie5 · 18/08/2025 08:51

I would give them a call this morning, it’s possible a decision may have already been made, good luck

Agreed. It’s worth calling. The letter they send can take a while to come (or occasionally get lost in the post!) so it’s worth checking

flawlessflipper · 18/08/2025 09:11

HRM DLA is also associated the lots of other knock on costs related to the award. For example, car tax exemption (whether on the motability scheme or not), automatically being eligible for a blue badge, in most areas automatically being eligible for a concessionary disabled bus pass, eligible for a London taxicard if in London, some with HRM will become eligible to have a disabled parking bay installed outside their house for free (some councils charge, some don’t). So there are wider knock on costs for the state, not that this is a reason to act unlawfully.

@Mywold if DS is not in school full time, is alternative provision in place to ensure DS is still receiving a suitable full-time education (or if full-time provision in any form, not just academic learning, formal learning or directed learning, is not suitable, as much as is suitable)? It should be in whatever form is suitable. The LA is ultimately responsible for this under section 19 of the Education Act 1996. If it isn’t in place and DS won’t be able to attend school full time when school restarts, email the LA requesting provision. IPSEA has a model letter you can use if you want. If the LA refuses, ignores you, delays, or offers something unsuitable, there are further steps that can be taken to enforce provision. Not only is this about education, but it can provide further evidence for DLA.

Mywold · 18/08/2025 09:37

flawlessflipper · 18/08/2025 09:11

HRM DLA is also associated the lots of other knock on costs related to the award. For example, car tax exemption (whether on the motability scheme or not), automatically being eligible for a blue badge, in most areas automatically being eligible for a concessionary disabled bus pass, eligible for a London taxicard if in London, some with HRM will become eligible to have a disabled parking bay installed outside their house for free (some councils charge, some don’t). So there are wider knock on costs for the state, not that this is a reason to act unlawfully.

@Mywold if DS is not in school full time, is alternative provision in place to ensure DS is still receiving a suitable full-time education (or if full-time provision in any form, not just academic learning, formal learning or directed learning, is not suitable, as much as is suitable)? It should be in whatever form is suitable. The LA is ultimately responsible for this under section 19 of the Education Act 1996. If it isn’t in place and DS won’t be able to attend school full time when school restarts, email the LA requesting provision. IPSEA has a model letter you can use if you want. If the LA refuses, ignores you, delays, or offers something unsuitable, there are further steps that can be taken to enforce provision. Not only is this about education, but it can provide further evidence for DLA.

Hi thank you for your reply, I have put in for a EHCP in July they have 6 weeks to tell me if they will assess him or not I am only 3 weeks into that 6 week wait.
My LA are very good never had a problem with the SEND team as my eldest son has ASD and was granted a EHCP he is 16 so been dealing with them for a long time.
My eldest did not need HRM so this is not something I have ever looked into.

I am trying to get his EHCP in place for him, as next September I will need to pick his secondary school and he will 100% not cope in a mainstream school.

regarding education my son is only in school 1pm - 3pm and this is only in a sensory room it is not in the classroom school put the reduced timetable in with the LA he does not have any other access to learning.

flawlessflipper · 18/08/2025 09:53

@Mywold Section 19 provision is separate from the EHCP process. The LA should still be providing alternative provision even if you have requested an EHCNA. You can request s19 provision from the LA.

Just so you are aware, there are some exceptions to the timescale for responding to the EHCNA where it is impractical for the LA to adhere to the timescales. One of the exceptions is where the LA requests advice from the headteacher or principal of a school during the period beginning one week before a school closes for a period of 4+ weeks and ending one week before the school re-opens from a closure of 4+ weeks. This can affect requests made during/shortly before the summer holidays. Although it isn’t a green light for the LA to do as they wish. It is only if it is impractical to comply, and they must still comply as soon as possible. If you want to read more, it is in Regulation 5(4) of The Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014.

itsonlyjoan · 18/08/2025 09:56

Mumoftwo2011 · 18/08/2025 08:30

SD 18/03/2025
I spoke to DLA 31st July and they said my claim was being passed over to a DM....heard nothing since! How long can claims be with a DM for?

Im.not far behind you 21/3 still.waiting also

Mywold · 18/08/2025 09:57

flawlessflipper · 18/08/2025 09:53

@Mywold Section 19 provision is separate from the EHCP process. The LA should still be providing alternative provision even if you have requested an EHCNA. You can request s19 provision from the LA.

Just so you are aware, there are some exceptions to the timescale for responding to the EHCNA where it is impractical for the LA to adhere to the timescales. One of the exceptions is where the LA requests advice from the headteacher or principal of a school during the period beginning one week before a school closes for a period of 4+ weeks and ending one week before the school re-opens from a closure of 4+ weeks. This can affect requests made during/shortly before the summer holidays. Although it isn’t a green light for the LA to do as they wish. It is only if it is impractical to comply, and they must still comply as soon as possible. If you want to read more, it is in Regulation 5(4) of The Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014.

Amazing thank you for that information I will 100% be looking into this today.

Sas2188 · 18/08/2025 10:02

Hello, sorry to bother you all it's UC related. My son gets the disabled child element but 2 of my daughter's have been awarded DLA will I get the disabled child element for both daughters as well as on the government website it says you will get the disabled child element no matter how many children you have but I've seen posts of people saying the 2 child cap still applies so I'm confused. Thank you in advance

Curlycookie5 · 18/08/2025 10:16

Sas2188 · 18/08/2025 10:02

Hello, sorry to bother you all it's UC related. My son gets the disabled child element but 2 of my daughter's have been awarded DLA will I get the disabled child element for both daughters as well as on the government website it says you will get the disabled child element no matter how many children you have but I've seen posts of people saying the 2 child cap still applies so I'm confused. Thank you in advance

Edited

That’s correct you can claim disability elements for all 3 child but the child cap still applies to 2 children, you don’t have to be getting the child element for that child to add the disability element

ProudZebra · 18/08/2025 10:49

PositivityRipples · 17/08/2025 01:29

It Depends who the Email was from was it direct from the clerk? Also depends if the letter is a direct response to you from DLA or a third party response ie a response to the tribunal and they are sending you a copy if that makes sense.

If you think it may be a direct response from dla and an overturn of their decision you can't call DLA about it but what you can do is call DLA on Monday on the usual number and just say to the call handler can you just check my child's dla claim and tell me what the child's current rates are..

If its been overturned the new rates will be on your child's dla claim..

You're not supposed to do that but I guess it's a cheat way of finding out the current dla rates which you're within your rights to ask you just aren't allowed to contact dla direct about your tribunal and you wouldn't be doing that.

🤞🏼

Edited

I have just received my response in the post, basically says the haven’t overturned their decision and it will now go to court 😔

Curlycookie5 · 18/08/2025 10:51

itsonlyjoan · 18/08/2025 09:56

Im.not far behind you 21/3 still.waiting also

Good luck, surely this has to be your week for a decision, did you call last week to see if the evidence had been scanned on?

itsonlyjoan · 18/08/2025 11:09

Curlycookie5 · 18/08/2025 10:51

Good luck, surely this has to be your week for a decision, did you call last week to see if the evidence had been scanned on?

Yes Friday she said they have the stuff I sent I.did mentioned they have my original tenancy agreement wounder if they will.send back.lol.

Sas2188 · 18/08/2025 11:32

Curlycookie5 · 18/08/2025 10:16

That’s correct you can claim disability elements for all 3 child but the child cap still applies to 2 children, you don’t have to be getting the child element for that child to add the disability element

Thank you for your reply and clarifying that for me. I was going down a rabbit hole reading different things 😊

Curlycookie5 · 18/08/2025 11:35

itsonlyjoan · 18/08/2025 11:09

Yes Friday she said they have the stuff I sent I.did mentioned they have my original tenancy agreement wounder if they will.send back.lol.

There is no reason why they can’t send it to a DM straight away now they’ve got everything and given the time you’ve been waiting for it to all be sorted out.

Mumoftwo2011 · 18/08/2025 11:39

Curlycookie5 · 18/08/2025 08:51

I would give them a call this morning, it’s possible a decision may have already been made, good luck

Yeah I'll give them a call, just have a feeling it's going to be a decline. All they asked for back in May was proof of ID for myself. It's such a long time 😭

Mumoftwo2011 · 18/08/2025 11:42

itsonlyjoan · 18/08/2025 09:56

Im.not far behind you 21/3 still.waiting also

Have you heard much from them? I had a request for ID back in May and that's it! So I called on 31/07 to be told my claim was now going over to a DM. Have a feeling it will be a decline.....I'll call them on my lunch break. Hope you hear soon too!

Curlycookie5 · 18/08/2025 11:45

Mumoftwo2011 · 18/08/2025 11:39

Yeah I'll give them a call, just have a feeling it's going to be a decline. All they asked for back in May was proof of ID for myself. It's such a long time 😭

When they have asked for you to send in extra evidence it does usually make the wait times abit longer but if it was going to dm 31st July they should have a decision by now, good luck when you call

Mumoftwo2011 · 18/08/2025 11:46

Curlycookie5 · 18/08/2025 11:45

When they have asked for you to send in extra evidence it does usually make the wait times abit longer but if it was going to dm 31st July they should have a decision by now, good luck when you call

Our post is rubbish here too so I'll give them another call. Thank you x

itsonlyjoan · 18/08/2025 11:46

Curlycookie5 · 18/08/2025 11:35

There is no reason why they can’t send it to a DM straight away now they’ve got everything and given the time you’ve been waiting for it to all be sorted out.

Yep but i can see something else happening there moaning as my surname.is wrong but I have a passport and marriage certificate shows both names ... cant physical give them anymore they have council tax letter bills my sons passport also

itsonlyjoan · 18/08/2025 11:47

Mumoftwo2011 · 18/08/2025 11:39

Yeah I'll give them a call, just have a feeling it's going to be a decline. All they asked for back in May was proof of ID for myself. It's such a long time 😭

Im.thinking mines declined also

itsonlyjoan · 18/08/2025 11:48

Mumoftwo2011 · 18/08/2025 11:42

Have you heard much from them? I had a request for ID back in May and that's it! So I called on 31/07 to be told my claim was now going over to a DM. Have a feeling it will be a decline.....I'll call them on my lunch break. Hope you hear soon too!

Keep me posted

itsonlyjoan · 18/08/2025 11:48

Mumoftwo2011 · 18/08/2025 11:42

Have you heard much from them? I had a request for ID back in May and that's it! So I called on 31/07 to be told my claim was now going over to a DM. Have a feeling it will be a decline.....I'll call them on my lunch break. Hope you hear soon too!

Its annoying as there on mays mayb june awards now and we're just waiting

ProudZebra · 18/08/2025 12:12

Does anyone have any idea how long appeals are taking? I’m absolutely gutted it has come to this 😔

Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.

This thread is not accepting new messages.