DLA - Is it worth asking for reconsideration?

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Hi

DS is 2, Has rare brain developmental disorder - presents right hemiplegia. He was awarded lower rate care in sept09.

Basicaly my concern at the moment is last year we filled the forms out on the knowledge that he has poor balance/co-ordination due to the weakness on his right side but as he was only 20 month at the time felt it hard to prove his falling was that much more than a none sn child of same age, any how since then things have not got much better, in fact worse.

He is falling all the time, last month had to have hospital treatment due to injuring himself, is always falling, walking into things ect. Today he fell in the garden and banged his head on the step. he is ok but its kind of hitting home that i cant even turn my back for a second or he will injure himself. When we saw his pead a few months ago she told us his poor balance is due to the amount of damage on his brain (not due to the weakness as we originaly thought) She said he will always have poor balance as his brain cant understand the space around, she explained how when he is older he will have probs with sport ect. When he has a bit of a cold sometimes he can barley walk without falling.

Sorry its a bit long but just wanted your advice, is it worth asking DLA for reconsideration or should we just wait till its due for renewal in 2011?

We are deu at the physio next week, think im going to ask for some info on getting him a helmet to protect his head when outdoors, im just so worried one day he will cause himself serious injury.

Thanks for reading.

Hi. Yes, deffo. I think its worth reapplying now. Your ds is now 2, so his peers will be steadier,(in the main), on their feet, while your ds is falling more. You will need to point out that his brain is more damaged than at first thought, and that is impacting on his abilities now.
You can ask DLA to look at the claim again now, without filling in the forms again. You can write to them, outlining what you have said here, and say you are of the opinion his Care Needs have increased.
Before you do this, try and get a report from your ds Paed re his difficulties NOW and longer term. Also, get one fro the Physio as well. The more info. you can send with your letter that backs up your claim, the better.
Your ds could well be eligible for Middle Rate/Higher Rate Care, and if so, make sure you look into claiming Carers Allowance.
Lastly, dont forget to claim Mobility component when your ds turns 3. Good Luck!

Definately worth asking. Your circumstances seem to have changed since your original application. If you could get something in writing from physio it would probably help support your case but even if you can't you have nothing to lose by asking for your new circumstances to be taken into consideration - good luck

Yes, it certainly is. I tried to apply once for my dd who has a medical condition which, well, comes close to killing her every year or so every year, but day to day apart from obvious things, she lives as a normal child. So her condition isn't a disability. Fair enough.

Your DS will need extra help in many areas of daily life.

Have a look at the Cerebra guide here

Record his difficulties day and night for everything using the 4-part point answer system they suggest and include copies of all medical reports. It really is all about how you word things and it is depressing but in a way is nice to see exactly what you do every day over and above what one might do for a typically-developing child. I found that aspect strangely positive when I wrote everything down that I do for DS...

I had a decision back after just ten days so I do believe that there are certain words and phrases they look for.

Thank you all very much for your advice.
I am defo going to ask them to reconsider. I have a recent report from physio, which mentions his difficulties with his arm/hand and the fact they have ordered a thumb splint, and how he wears peidro boots (none of this info was on 1st DLA application).
On it she also mentions how he is more prone to falling when he is a bit unwell. We are due to see her next week so ill mention the situation to her and ask if she can provide anything else in writing to support our case. I will also ask the pead to provide what she said to us in writting too.

I am also waiting for a recent SALT report which i could send of as well, its been 6 wks now so think its about time i started chasing it up

Part of me feels a little guilty for asking for more from DLA, we have never claimed anything in our lives before but I guess it is DS right and the extra money would be so welcome, maybe i could cushion the whole of the back garden .

Thanks again, i will keep you posted and let you know the outcome x