Downs Syndrome and DLA

[Eliza70]

Hi, I posted a while ago when I first had my little boy who had DS, thanks for all the replies then - it really helped. All is going well at the minute.

My question is; I think we will be able to claim the childcare tax credit element of the working families tax credits but I am not sure if we will have to try to claim/claim DLA in order to claim the childcare tax - does anyone know. Also would be be eligible for DLA? And should we claim it too?

Claiming DLA seems a nightmare and am not sure it would be worth the hassel.

Hi Eliza, I don't know the ins and outs of tax credits, but I do know that claiming DLA is absolutely worth it. Yes, it's a PITA to fill out those blasted forms, but you are talking about a considerable amount of money over the years in DLA, a Blue Badge from age 3 and Carer's Allowance if you don't earn over £100 per week.
The money is so useful - you can buy educational toys and SN toys (which usually cost much more than ordinary ones) knowing that the DLA comes into your account for just that sort of thing, there's a whole load of stuff really that you might buy only because your ds has SN - thinking about the stuff we've bought recently for dd2 there's accessories for her hearing aid, an Ipod touch, a special alarm clock that shows her that bunny is awake/asleep rather than just the time, speech therapy tools, and we're currently looking into buying her a SN folding trike (so we can take it on trips out) - that's £2K.

The Blue Badge means that we can park close to the shops and she doesn't tire her little legs out/get run over before she's even got to the town centre, and that we can park for free. The Carer's Allowance makes being a SAHM slightly less financially painful.

The Cerebra Guide to DLA is extremely useful when it comes to filling in the form.

Hello - glad things are going well, how old is your little boy now?

We claimed DLA for our son who also has Ds when he was 9months old. Like you, wasn't sure whether it was worth it or even if he was really eligible.

We got awarded the middle rate DLA which amounts to £188 a month and that has made a MASSIVE difference.

The form is long and depressing to complete but once its done, its done. Geekgirl is right, the cerebra guide is great - I used it. If you go for it, let us know if we can assist!

DLA award will depend on the impact the ds - and any other disability - has on your DS's life as ds has such a broad spectrum of disability. Certainly worth going for.

I think you can get the childcare element of working tax credit regardless of whether your child is disabled or not though not sure if the rate varies depending on disability. It certainly varies on income.

We get a severe disability allowance via Tax Credits. Again, not sure if this is available if your child is not severely disabled but think it may be but at a lower rate.

The Tax Credit website should have all this information, surely?