Disability Living Allowance

What you've describewd will only get you low rate. You either have be unable to walk, be deafblind, be blind (although, only 1 in 3 people registered blind will qualify for the higher rate) or have severe mental impairment to get higher rate mobility.

You won't get the higher rate because you need it.

Have any adults managed to get the mid rate care? I've noticed that many at branch have it; but I can't get it. I am also physically disabled too and whoever reads my forms, clearly doesn't understand either visual impairment I have. They keep claiming neither cause me to have communication problems - I have corrected vision of roughly a half in one eye and a quarter in the other and I am registered as partially sighted.

It is very unlikely that anyone here can tell you whether you will be able to get DLA, or at what rate.

The only thing you can do is apply for it and hope for the best.

im very young and when i turn 16 i want to be on the higher rate mobility. this is because it is very difficult to get around because no one in my family can drive and i cant cope with being outside by myself for a long time. please will you tell me if i can qualify for the higher rate? by the way im new to the site so im not sure how this works.

i'll tell you all some facts about myself-

- im autistic

- i have a speech impediment

- i have to go to occupation therapy

- im on a lot of heavy medication for my age

- i get very uncomfortable being outside. i cant be outside by myself because i sometimes have panic attacks.

- im not allowed to go outside by myself as i need guidance and supervision

- i get very tired when im walking... i believe this is due to the medication

- i want to be able to drive at 16 as it would help my family out a lot

- i cant go out sometimes, which is a huge inconvenience. this is because i'll have no one to drive or i have no one to be with me to keep me supervised and help me

please let me know asap if i can qualify for this or not. please be helpful and not mean. thankyou

We went to Tribunal and finally got listened to, we got back pay of 14months which was quite a sum.  It is a hell of a nightmare to go through and they make you feel so bad.  Stick at it.

we were awarded DLA for our 5 year old son with aspergers this year, we got high rate care and low rate mobility. A couple of the reasons we got high rate care was due to his aggression with others and the fact he wets the bed several times a night. mobilty was given as he startles easily and runs without regard to safety.

You are entitled to be given reasons as to why you were refused, also did you fill out the forms yourself? I tried myself at first then got my sons school SENCO to look it over and she basically made me rewrite the whole thing..there was so much I hadnt put down as I suppose you just get used to things and forget theyre not typical behaviour. We also used a free guide from cereba which really helped. You can I also believe book an appointment with citizens advice and they will help you.

Honestly keep trying, it has made a huge difference to our family.

Hi , I too was refused first time round for DLA but u must remember that its not about diagnosis its about the amount of care that your child need that is more than a child of their age who has no difficulties . I think that we are all guilty of taking for granted the amount of care that we give our children . I wrote a 4 page letter and asked them to look at my claim again . I ended up describing in detail everything that happened throughout a typical day ..When i phoned DLA I spoke to a man who told me that they went on the reports from school who said that he did not require any extra care .He was at nursery at the time .I kindly explained to him holding my temper that my son went to nursery for two hours a day where he was allowed within reason to do his own thing , and that he could hold himself together for that time .His reply was "I'm sorry madam but its not our fault you do not have enough structure at home for him to hold it together " well you can imagine lol

I am pleased to say that his paeditrition sent a report to them and we were awarded DLA at the highest rate  very stressful times lol xxx

I have found that the Welfare Benefits people in your local SOcial Services dept are brilliant.

We claimed for both our boys who have severe respiratory problems..both have the same diagnosis and medication but they awarded full DLA for one boy and refused the other completely. I have requested a reconsideration twice and been refused twice now so now we are awaiting the Tribunal Date. I couldn't have carried on if it wasn't for the Welfare Officer backing me up. She will attend the Tribunal with me.

They make some odd decisions but keep appealing ..there is also nothing to stop you from re applying even if your appeals are refused..you can make a fresh attempt apparently.

Definately get advice because as said previously it's all in the wording. You have to prove you child needs extra care above that of another child their age. DOn't worry if you scrawl extra explanations over the form or include more sheets if the 'boxes' don;t allow you to get across the complexities of your situation.

Good luck and don't give up.

Oatie

To kittykat,

Thats great Im glad they listened to you.

Sam

x

I get DLA for my son who is 3, we get middle rate as he also has significant development delay.

Appeal the decision!!!

I also used a local carers centre to help with the forms (although I work in a government department and feel comfortale doing it myself I was advised to use them by professionals working with my son).

I was initially refused (without them contacting any of the professionals involved!) and I rang them to advise that I would be appealing - when they asked why I told them. I then prepared my paperwork and rang them 4 days letter to request a fax number or e-mail address for me to send it to and they said based on the phone call alone they had revised the decision and awarded middle rate.

From what I have heard from others this seems to be a very common thing that happens.

Hi,

My son is has a dx of dyspraxia, hypotonia and AS however the AS is a recent diagnosis. He had dla from around age 4 as his hypotonia and dyspraxia is quite bad. We used to not have any problems getting Dla untill he turned 16 and had to go on to adult DLA it was then refused out right then all the apeals started eventualy we went to tribunal and thankfully won some of it back.

I just wanted to warn people who may be coming up to this difficult age within the DLA process. I had always handled the paperwork myself but I cant recomened enough the need to get professionals to do this for you. I used the citizens advice bureau in the end and they were fantastic, Wish I had gone to them in the begining they would of completed the whole form for me. I will never attempt renewals on my own again.

Another point to make if your child is getting to this age, you need to get an appointment to act document from the department of work and pensions, this alows you to manage your childs benifits and other finances. This was actualy fairly easy to get in my case. A lovely lady came to the house and had a quick chat about Michael and filled the form out there and then.

Dont know if this will be any help to anyone or if this is even the right place to post this. Good luck to anyone attempting to resolve DLA issues.

Sam

Definately get in touch with the helpline.

When you apply for DLA the decision makers are looking for specific phrases and behaviours in order to grant an award.

The helpline knows inside out what is required.

The helpline helped me out twice and the second time I was at the tribunal stage and with the help from the helpline I won my appeal.

Hi

Sorry to hear you've been refused DLA.  You can appeal against this decision - the NAS helpline might be able to support you to appeal autismhelpline@nas.org.uk

Good luck

Zoe

We get DLA for both our boys (7 and 9 years old).  The elder gets middle level care and low band mobility, he has ASD and a host of associated other conditions (dyspraxia, ADHD, episodic dyscontrol syndrome, memory problems).  The younger gets middle level care, he has AS, pathological demand avoidance and sensory integration problems.

We also get Carer's allowance for one of them (you can only claim one).  You need to have middle level care to be eligable.

Hope that helps.

Hi,

We receive DLA for our son Alex who is almost five. We receive the low rate. Alex has very limited communication and needs constant supervision.

Luke