Published on 12, July, 2020
Has anyone had any luck gaining a Disabled Facilities Grant as an autistic person?
I have registered with my local health group for the grant and have spoken with a person for an initial outline of what I need the grant for.
I intend to request a grant to soundproof my bedroom due to my noise sensitivity. The bedroom backs onto a park, and I have had many issues with noise disturbances over the years, from foxes barking to antisocial noise, which have greatly impacted my quality of sleep.
I was told that I would be referred to an OT for assessment and that the council would need substantial evidence of why soundproofing is needed.
I hope that others can share their news and successes/failures and also if they were able to gain evidence.
Kind regards,
Jason
Hello Jason, have you tried earplugs as an interrim measure? It is likely to be a long, slow and troublesome process to get your request considered so this may offer some respite.
To get the grant the evidence you will need will come from your therapist and/or GP - they need to confirm that your sensitivity to the noise is serious enough to merit the change. This will requite a formal autism diagnosis if you don't already have one.
You may also need to have a sound measuring device to see if the noise levels are high enough to justify as noise pollution. I think 85 decibels is the threshold over which it is considered noisy enough to be serious if it is for a sustained period.
If this can be established (seems a little unlikely from your description of the occassional sounds) then I would speak to the council and ask how they can gather proof. It may involve installing a recording device in the room for a few days to measure abient noise.
Possible soltions would be a mix of triple glazing (quite expensive), secondary double glazing (cheaper) or acoustic insulation on the walls (quite expensive as it involves a lot of work to move cornicing, skirting, heating, electrical points etc plus redecorating).
I was hoping to get sound proofing for the opposite issue. I'd like to protect my neighbours from the noise my son makes