Gobsmacked at DLA- in a good way!

[mel1981]

I was so shocked when I looked in my account this morning to see a DLA payment.... They only received my forms 9 days ago!
I was expecting to wait ages or even prepared for it to be declined as a friends sons was and his needs seem to be worse than my Ds4's and ds is only 13months so the whole 'will they think he needs more care than other babies, etc?' kept whizzing through my head.

Very pleasantly suprised....but also a bit nervous -that it seems too easy (im not used to things being hassel free lol).

Glad to hear it. Had got the impression on here that it was hard to get so it is great to know it works for some people.(smile)

hey that is fantasic!
big for you!

your friend may well get it, ds3 was declined at fgoirst applixation and awarded Higher rate on asking to be reconsidered; now at middle rate.

They just seem to refuse soem as a matter of random odds tbh.

9 days is fast though- the information to back must ahve been easy to access as that is often what holds it up.

sent my renewal forms in about three weeks ago and still waiting to hear back! it runs out in October so hopefull i will hear by then

OMG you are lucky, I sent my forms off in April!

still waiting for my forms to even arrive- i requested them 2 weeks ago...

I printed mine online but it was about 40 odd pages!! Took me ages to fill it out too as havent got a diagnosis yet for DS I just wrote anything and everything I thought relevant and sent copies of all reports& letters ive been given by anyone involved.

My friend did get theirs (it was a little while ago) after they appealled. Thats why I wasnt expecting mine anytime soon & was expecting to end up having to appeal too- ive heard too many bad stories about claiming DLA. Especially when its a baby involved DS4 as is 13months.

To all those waiting hope -its not too long before you hear something

Well I've just chased DLA today and despite a very detailed form (following all the guidance from Cerebra), suppporting reports from OT, school, ASD team... they have awarded NOTHING!

I have to wait for the letter apparently and then they go through the reasons with me.

It's never bloody easy is it? Although, apparently it is for some!

Oh, Debs

It's so bloody frustrating for you. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the way DLA make awards.

Even more furstrating - the grounds:
academic ability,
awareness of common dangers, including road safety awareness,
he does not need more supervision than any other child of his age.

This is despite the fact that they note he has TA/teacher support in class, he has SEN, is undergoing OT and has multi-sesnory problems.

I sent in all the reports but they went straight to school with a questionnaire and it looks like they just based their decision on that.

I have asked for a review. They haven't had dx report yet and I've asked for explicit supporting letters from GP, OT and psychiatrist.

That's crap
What they don't seem to realise is that a school does not have a fully rounded view of the child. My dd appears to cope well at school, but it all falls apart when she comes home.

Academic ability has nothing to do with it either - my dd is near the top of her class in most subjects. It's the common sense/life skills that she struggles with.

You must be so annoyed, Debs.It can feel like everything has to be a battle.

If it's any help, I think my dd's OT report was what 'swung' it for us -her sensory issues were outlined and the OT described why and how they cause her difficulties which NT children don't have.

Thanks. They have the OT's report but it occured to me that they probably don't understand it so I've asked her to write a brief letter confirming he does need more help than his peers.

It will annoy me if they have hung it on anything like road safety awareness comments from school because, really, how often do schools take children out to cross the blardy road!

Arrgghh! The nightmare that is DLA. I have a very severely disabled son yet had to appeal twice to be awarded DLA, and then they refused my renewal before eventually granting him the highest rate for both components.

Well done to the OP though for escaping the nightmare appeals process

It does seem to be a bit of a lottery though as to who gets accepted and who doesn't. I work with people with disabilities and help people fill out those forms and there seems to be absolutley no correlation between those who are awarded DLA quickly and those who have to appeal and severity of disability or even the amount of evidence!

sorry its not going well for you debs. Hopefully they will get it sorted quickly. But thats what I was worried about...its the 1st time I have claimed and have heard so many similar stories to yours. Will be dreading any future ones that I need to do!
I also used the Cerebra guidelines- found them very useful.

Yes, I used them too. It annoyed me that they contacted school. Only school. Of all the other professionals involved. Then they say he's got the same road sense of children of his age - what do they base that on? A questionnaire sent to school probably. How often do school take him out to cross the road?!!

That is fast. Mine too AGES!

Hi debs Sorry you have another battle on. Might be worth pointing out to them that school has a child for only 15% of a year typically (less if they aren't managing full time), so if a school report is all that they have based it on, then it is fundamentally a flawed assessment of needs if they haven't taken account of experts reports relating to the the other 85% of your DD's life.

And well done Mel1981 on getting yours, at least that is one battle someone has avoided for now.

Thanks MelJLincs, that is a good point!

Mel1981 - I'm really glad you got it so quickly!

Sorry Debs, DS's life!