Disability Living Allowance – DLA

Posted: November 11, 2011 | Author: SWAN UK (Syndromes Without A Name) | Filed under: Financial Info | Tags: disability living allowance, disabled children, DLA, SWAN ] | Leave a comment »

DLA stands for Disability Living Allowance.  This is a non-means tested benefit.  This means it does not matter how much you earn, if your needs are high enough you can still get it.

 

As a parent you can apply for DLA on behalf of your child.  DLA can be claimed from when your child is 3 months old but you must be able to demonstrate that they need significantly more help than another child of this age.

 

To get a DLA form you can either:

-          Call and request a form is posted out to you – 0800 88 22 00 (make sure you tell them you want a form for someone under 16)

-          Or download it from http://www.dwp.gov.uk/advisers/claimforms/dla1a_child_print.pdf

 

DLA is split into 2 different parts when are then also split into different levels.

 

The Care Component

This is split into 3 levels – low, middle, high.

Low Rate Care is where some help is needed.

Middle Rate Care is usually awarded when some help is needed either during the day or during the night

High Rate Care is only awarded when you can show help is needed both during the day and

During the night

 

The Mobility Component

This is split into 2 levels – low and high

Low Rate Mobility is awarded for children who can walk but need guidance, help, support or supervision when out – you need to be able to show this is above and beyond what another child of the same age would need.  This can be claimed from 5 years old.

High Rate Mobility – this is for children who are ‘virtually unable to walk’.

Children who are blind or deaf can impairments can also claim. It is also possible to claim high rate for children with learning disabilities but this can be more difficult – you must effectively demonstrate why their behaviour requires this – i.e., they may refuse to walk / sit down in the road / have disruptive behaviour that frequently requires intervention / be very unpredictable etc. They must also be getting high rate care.

This can be claimed from 3 years old.

The current rates are:

Care component

-          High rate : £73.60 a week

-          Middle rate : £49.30

-          Low rate : £19.55

 

Mobility Component

-          High rate: £51.40

-          Lowest rate: £19.55

 

Filling out a DLA form is a horrible experience.  Contrary to how you probably always focus on the positives, you will need to focus on the worst case scenario. This can be extremely distressing and it is likely that you will need emotional support through the process. If it is possible in your local area get support from someone like a local carer’s group or citizen advice bureau to help you fill out the form. If this isn’t possible make sure you let other members of SWAN know you are filling out the form and talk to them for support -  many of them will have already been through this process and will understand how upsetting it can be.

 

It is very important that you state the facts clearly on the form – remember the person reading the form does not know your child and they won’t ‘fill in the gaps’ so make sure you spell it out for them.  Try and use words and phrases like ‘constant attention’ and ‘frequent supervision’ ‘ongoing adult support.’

 

You will need to show that your child needs more support than one of a similar age. This link will take you to a site that shows what can usually be expected of children at certain ages. You can then write on the form things like ‘although children of X age can usually  . . . . Gemma needs full adult support to . . ‘

Remember your little one is on their own unique path and will do things when they are ready in their own time so get too worried about what other children of similar ages can do – use the information for the form and then let it go.

 

“Something I did a lot in mine which might be useful for you to do on this form is write things like…A child at the age of 17 months should be (e.g.) walking independently but George is unable to (e.g.) walk anymore than 5 steps and he requires splints and adapted shoes to do so.   George requires daily physio at home to work on progression of these skills and he is set target every 2 weeks to help develop this. This impacts on my time to do other things such as homework with my daughter, general housework etc
In my case it had “unable to crawl, stand, weight shift never mind take steps” but you get the idea -think writing stuff is extremely hard when it’s your own child as you just get on with it and don’t realise -I find it much easier to think of it for other people”

In section 13 the form asks you about your child’s illness and disability – it shouldn’t matter that your child does not have a diagnosis for their condition.  They still have a range of needs so you should list all of these here – i.e., epilepsy, visual impairment, feeding problems, oxygen dependent. .

 

It is a good idea to send in copies of as many reports as you can to back up your claim.  Make sure you write your child’s name and ref number at the top of them all and list them at the end of the form.

 

In section 61 you can add in any other information you want. Use this section to confirm everything you have written elsewhere in the form and add anything extra you haven’t been able to put on.  You can type this up if it is easier and then add this in – just write in section 61 ‘please see enclosed sheet’.  Remember to put your child’s name and ref number on the typed sheet.  It is also in this section you can explain about your child having such a rare condition that there is not a name for it.

 

Section 60 asks for a statement from someone who knows your child. This is not essential but it is helpful.  To make it easier to get this filled you can carefully cut this page out and give it to the person you want to fill it out. This means you don’t have to give them the whole form. Once they have completed the page you can just add it back in.

 

Always be sure to keep a copy of the form before you send it off.  When it comes round to renewing your child’s DLA you can then use this as a basis and just make changes as needed.

 

Lots of parts of the form ask you to say often or how long something happens for.  This may be tricky to think of but make sure you always put down the worst case scenario. If you really find it hard because things are so different each time then you can put down ‘varies’ or something similar.   Don’t worry about staying in the boxes, if you have more that you need to write then use the margins etc.

 

Links to more information about DLA
Contact a Family – http://www.cafamily.org.uk/pdfs/DLA_factsheet.pdf

Cerebra – http://www.cerebra.org.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/Books/dla_guide.pdf

Direct Gov – http://bit.ly/pZMvKM

 

 

---