dla refused

[mummytopebs]

My claim for dla has just been refused, have asked them to look at it again and they told me to write a letter in to say why i think dd is entitled. Any suggestions? We have never claimed anything before but am lissing a lot of work with dd being in and out of hospital and hospital appts, i am only on a casual contract so have to take time off work for these appts so are running short to pay mortgage every month

that is missing a lot of work not lissing x

Did you have any help with the forms, at all?

As far as I know, you have to demonstrate that your DD has substantially more care needs than a typical child of her age. You also have to be really very explicit about everything involved in the extra care you give her. Don't assume they would understand what you mean - spell it out.

The forms are a minefield and do take lots of work. You need to imagine your worst poss. day and describe that. I think using lots of medical jargon helps too.

including reports from professionals helps too. Do you have any diagnosis for her?

Don't be disheartened. They turn down most claims first time. You've asked for reconsideration but should try to include any additional information you can think of that might be relevant - they like to have something new to look at. If you didn't use it when filling in the form, look at Cerebra's guide to DLA claims for step by step instructions on what to include (online at Cerebra). Get additional reports from anyone who's involved professionally with your child as backup evidence. Good luck.

DS21 gets middle car & high rate mobility, our 1st application was turned down & I asked them to reconsider.
I included a brief diary of a typical week & throughout I refered to a typical child of d2'saged & highlighted direct comparisons.
TBH I don't think you have to justify why it is more costly to have a child with sn (although I know it is) but how they need significantly more care.

So yes tell them about the appnts but also about how you ahve to spend time carrying out any recommendations or therapies as a result.

be really clear about the stuff you do during the night

how old is yr dd? I think it can be more difficult filling in forms when they are v young but ditto advice to spell it all out. Grotty, depressing and quite demeaning (like you are being so negative about yr child) but neccessary evil. Photocopy the form so it won't be such an ordeal next time

dd is 3.10. I think the main problem is cos she doesnt really have a dx she does have asthma, chronic constipation, scarring on her brain but the main bulk of appts are not dx yet which are possible epilepsy and possible asd. They said it didnt sound like dd needed any extra assistance every day than another child of her age-how can you explain that she does but then again any 3.10 year old does need help with a lot of things, i think its difficult when they are young anyway.

ok. Do any of these apply - you need to monitor her during the night re epilepsy. What are the frequency and severity of these episodes - and also asthma attacks? Re chronic constipation - my dd had so many differnet meds / laxatives for this she'd most likely need to go at some point during the night. She'd squeak and breathhold and couldn't actually push it out herself. I needed to hold her legs up for her so she could poo her adult size poo. Her breathing would go bit erratic during this. I put this info on the form cos I was putting everything on there but this turned out to be what they based the award decision on- what was highlighted in the letter anyway ( er not the chronic medical stuff. Was bit confused)

As long as yr putting down stuff that really does happen (however small you might think it is), repeated in all the relevant sections, bludgeoned out in prosaic detail, you should get what you deserve

i got dla for my nt ds who was 10 at the time just on his asthma , though since thats improved we not got noo

HI, I get DLA for my DD(8.9). She does not have a dx but has learning difficulties and no sense of danger, poor sense of direction etc so has to be watched like a hawk when we are out anywhere. When I originally applied I was told that you aren't guaranteed DLA just because you have a dx, what you have to prove is that your child needs more care than that of another child of the same age. I honestly thought I wouldn't get anything when I first applied, so don't worry that your dd has no dx, she doesn't need one to get DLA. Good Luck with the re-application.

Yes, mummytopebs, she is young anyway, but what you have to show is that your DD requires care that is above and beyond the care of a NT/well child of her age.

So for example, all children of her age have tantrums. BUT, your DD (IIRC) has rigid routines. So:

-What do you HAVE to do?
-What happens if you don't?
-How long does the meltdown last?
-What form does it take?
-What do you have to do to calm her down?
-How long for?
-How often does it happen?
-How does it differ from a typical child of her age?

Giving an example that you have used on MN, you could say:

"DD has very fixed routines, and finds it very hard to alter them. If we have to break the routine for any reason, she becomes extremely distressed, and cries, shouts and screams. For example, she has been attending afternoon sessions at nursery, and has milk. When she changed to all day sessions, the milk was given in the morning instead. DD was so distressed by this that she had a prolonged emotional outburst, and was still very distressed when I arrived to collect her. She was unable to understand that there was only one portion of milk, and that she had had it in the morning. I had to do x, y & z to calm her which took x minutes, before we could go home. A typical 3.9 year old would be able to accept that there was no milk left and would drink the alternative provided. A typical 3.9 year old would be able to adapt to changes of routine without getting very distressed."

You really have to spell out, from what I have read, the impact of her issues, and what it means in terms of time, supervision and care.

Having said all that, we have only just sent our forms off, so my advice is not tested - we may have a similar post to make in a few weeks!

We get DLA for our ds now 9 who has ASD.We were turned down first time.You often are .You have to lay it on really thick,how it is at its worst,how the littlest thing could set something off.You have to emphasise how much more care your child needs than any other child that age.The form's hard work,I know cos we have to reapply now he's nearly 10,but we get 250 every four weeks,that's middle rate.I don't claim carers cos that affects tax credits,cos it comes for you.DLA goes to the child and you get a disability component in your tax credit too.

I had some help with my forms from a money advisor from the local disability unit. Without her help pointing out the nitty gritty stuff of daily sn life ds could have been turned down too! She kept pointing out the differences between an average nt 8 year old and ds.
Is there a similar unit in your area with someone to help? Wording is so important.

We got awarded middle rate but thought this was ok till paed conslt pointed out we should have higher rate. Nobody tells you what appropriate awards are. You have short time to appeal, we were out of appeal time but paed consult wrote on our behalf.

You can also get council tax reduction too for some disabilities, think its if child has to have specific room for them, can't share bedroom.