Disability living allowance and Aspergers. Should i apply?

Thank you all very much for your advice, i completed the mammoth form and sent it off last week, now i shall just wait and see.

Thank you all again for your comments.

Puffin

puffin said:

Hello all,

I have just received the permission letter to home school my son who has Aspergers and suffers with anxiety, he and i are very excited, ( and a bit nervous if truth were told) I want to get it right!

Money is tight and causing some stress in the family (i do not, and now i am home schooling our son, cannot work).  I wondered about applying for DLA.  My son is quite high functioning but mainly struggles socially, eye contact talking to people unfamiliar to him, emotions the odd tantrum if routines are changed.  He struggled at school with stress so i decided to remove him before things got difficult.   He did not have a statement but struggled with organisation and following instructions due to poor short term memory. 

Should i apply?  I read there is an assessement by a doctor before they decide if DLA is granted, is that very intense?  What does it involve?  i do not want to put our son through any added pressure?  would it be with our own GP?

Thanks for any help and advice in advance.

PUFFIN

Hi Puffin,

Disability Living Allowance is not at the moment changing for children under the age of 16. It may though do so in the future.

You should make a claim and you would not usually be seen by a doctor, I think you're getting confused with the other benefit, Employment and Support Allowance.

In some cases, a care professional may contact you about your claim, to help the Decision Maker, but they can make it over the phone etc.

As IntenseWorld has said, gather as much info as you can (e.g. NHS doctors letters, school reports etc).

I would seriously recommend you look into getting a Statement of Special Educational Needs too. They do not have to do it for children who are home schooled however this does not stop from you getting it necessarily.

A charity called IPSEA (http://www.ipsea.org.uk) may be able to help along with any local parent/ carer partnerships in your local area.  Also look at contacting the NAS Education Rights Service on 0808 800 4102 and calls are free from landlines and most mobiles.

NAS could also give you more info about DLA and going through the process, call the NAS Main Helpline on 0808 800 4104 and they'll book you a 20 min appointment for a call back in a 2-3 days to get back to you. You can later book more appts if you need them.

Also Citizens Advice and DIAL charities can also help fill in the form etc.

Echo the other info IntenseWorld has mentioned.

Take Care,

urspecial

Yes you should apply.  It's not true that there is always a doctor's assessment but you should always be prepared that they may ask for this.  You would need to send in any professionals reports on him that you have, such as diagnostic reports, S&L reports, OT reports, any contact with CAMHS letters etc. and the more you send the less likely they are to request a doctor's assessment or interview.  They are likely to want to write to named professionals if your evidence isn't compelling enough for them or is not up-to-date.

As his parent and carer, you are the expert on him and you should give as much detail on his issues as you can.  Contact your local Parent Partnership organisation for help, as ours assisted in applying and completing parts of the form for my daughter.

Regarding what it needs to be spent on, it is meant to compensate for the additional costs of having a disability and could be spent on your child for anything that improves their quality of life that might be toys that help with development, activity clubs, replacing things they have broken during meltdowns etc. I don't think there are any actual rules such as a list of things you are allowed to spend it on, just that it must be spent for the benefit of the child. 

https://www.gov.uk/disability-living-allowance-children

If your own income is below £100 p.w. you can also apply for Carer's Allowance if your child is awarded DLA.

As you are going to home-educate (I have just finished HEing my 8yo for a period of 2.9 years) you could spend it on books and resources for him.

DLA is money to pay for care, I receive the lower rate, but it helps pay for a bit of practical support from the local council. A new benefit called PIP is coming out to replace DLA,, you will find you cover many bases for your son, which other aspies like me,, who do not have. You could get DLA to help with a support worker to assist him in social areas, even getting a support worker for a social aspect.

I think everyone with autism or Aspergers should be at least on the lower rate of DLA, to allow them social options in the community. For me it was just getting help to fill in a form and a docs letter,  no doc assessment needed as my autism a diagnosed condition recorded by a mira of professionals.

Yes APPLY !