TURNED DOWN FOR DLA!!!

Replies

By fenlander

Re: TURNED DOWN FOR DLA!!!
Thu 6 Nov 2008 00:08

At the risk of repeating myself - www.disabilityalliance.org
""Disability Rights Handbook 33rd edition
April 2008 - April 2009
Disability Rights Handbook
Price
"" £17.00 per copy
"" £14.00 for people on benefit
"" combined orders- see order form or flyer
"" bulk orders - see order form
"" order online from amazon

ISBN: 978-1-903335-44-4
Also available on cd rom

Also available at libraries or from CAB - has all the rules/criteria for qualifying for different rates of DLA and all other benefits, and all associated financial reliefs such as Council Tax etc. There is a supplement available for £2 explaining the replacement for IB - ESA.
When I claimed for my 2 sons and husband I read it before filling in the forms so that I could make sure I fully met the relevant criteria.
As a guide, my eldest son has high functioning Autism/ Aspergers and he gets middle rate care and low mobility. The key point is that you don't have to be doing things for them but having to be there to remind and prompt is sufficient.
The people who make the decisions are pen pushers who just check boxes, so you really help the matter if you put the info they are looking for in the right sections.
National Autistic Society website has advice on filling in the forms - really useful:-
www.nas.org.uk

By diddy diane

Re: TURNED DOWN FOR DLA!!!
Thu 6 Nov 2008 00:15

Ask for the decision to be looked at again and ask your GP Specialist , teachers anybody who is involved with your sons care to write a letter saying how his illness affects him and what help he needs from another person and send it off to DLA if that fails go for an appeal and ask for advice from welfare rights they will support you with your claim you should not have to go it alone.

Hope this helps GOOD LUCK

diane xx

By coby6602

Re: TURNED DOWN FOR DLA!!!
Thu 6 Nov 2008 00:25

My form was filled in by my local advice centre and almost every box was filled in. We filled it in using the worst days i've had regarding Mark. I think i was turned down because they contacted school and as he is relatively newly diagnosed all the support he needs isn't in place yet. I'm going to ring them tomorrow to see what they put on the form. I'm fuming as school made so many promises that they haven't fulfilled. He has just walked out of school twice in the last couple of weeks and no-one knew he had gone . I didn't know on one occassion until one of my neighbours said they almost ran over him, he was sat outside on the kerb in the rain with his legs in the road. He has to be taken and picked up from school because he has no road sense and they say his needs are no different to any other child his age.

By Tricia

Re: TURNED DOWN FOR DLA!!!
Thu 6 Nov 2008 00:37

rahter than going throught he messy stages of appeal write to them and ask if they would explain how they came to the conclusion which they did. Try and give some examples of what you said in the applicaiton which shows he needs more care than another person his age.

Send this letter by recorded delivery as they have a habit of not replying when sent through the post without recorded delivery.

You will get a letter back on the lines of we understand your situation how ever we believe that your son has no more needs than a person his age. This is where you get them as you will need to sit and see what you can write responding to each paragraph they have wrote.

Again send this letter by recorded delivery as a record of the letter being received.

This is usually a lot quicker route than going for an appeal

good luck hope you get it sorted out very soon

By EL

Re: TURNED DOWN FOR DLA!!!
Thu 6 Nov 2008 08:17

details, details, and more details that what you have got to give them, like with my Adam, i still have to wash his hair as he is phobic about water on his face, he can get ready himself but i have to supervise his every move and constantly 'prompt' him to help him remember what he has to do, Adam was refused first time round so i just bombarded them with daily diaries, of how when we are out i have to constantly watch him or he will go into peoples garden and sift through there gravel looking for fossils, or uses the kerb as a train track and walks on the edge of it, somethings we are used to doing for or with them are natural to us cause it's what we do, but to the DLA it's these things that make Mark stand out and need more care and supervision than the 'normal' kid, if i see your on line later i will have a chat with you, take care Elaine xx

By coby6602

Re: TURNED DOWN FOR DLA!!!
Thu 6 Nov 2008 09:54

Thanks for your replies everyone. If I thought i was peed off yesterday, you should see me now!! I've just got off the phone with a lovely lady from dla office. She has gone through the decision with me and we've been turned solely because of the report from school!!!!! They said Mark responds well in school and shows no behavioural problems. He participates in pe and games and joins in school activities. I am so bloody angry as nowhere in the report have the senco put that Mark has only been known to them since sept as he didn't receive diagnosis until july and therefor didn't qualify for support. She didn't check to see how many pe lessons Mark has missed or how poor his attendance was before diagnosis. She also hasn't told them that Mark gets his support when he should be doing pe because Mark hates it so much and she let him choose which lessons he misses. She also didn't tell them that the level of support that was promised hasn't been put into place. What do i do now??? It seems to me that because of that stupid woman we have no chance of getting the decision looked at again because no matter what i say a significant part of the decision is based on what school says and they will still turn it down because of that. 5 years of assessments and soul destroying reports and its all been for nothing. I know that we got the diagnosis and that was a bonus but what was the point if we not going to get the support anyway. I have to go now cus this is just killing me at the moment. Thanks again for taking the time to read my rant. x

By kerry.

Re: TURNED DOWN FOR DLA!!!
Thu 6 Nov 2008 12:30

Hi Coby
you must get a copy of the letter tyhe school sent- go thru it paragraph by paragraph, commenting on all the things they have said- like you have said above about not wanting to do this or that etc.

my elder boy was put down once to middle rate and i wrote a looong letter and got social worker to write one too and health visitor and community paed etc plus I sent loads of info from the fragile x society too.

They put it straight back up to high rate within 2 weeks.

By beve

Re: TURNED DOWN FOR DLA!!!
Thu 6 Nov 2008 14:59

Hi Coby,
All i am goin to say is apply, apply , and keep on applying......appeal against everyone u get bk....and as for the school, do wot i did ..went straight in there called a meeting and kicked off and wudn/t leave until i got answers.
My life is far from rosy but its better just keep on at em good luck

By Bubbles

Re: TURNED DOWN FOR DLA!!!
Thu 6 Nov 2008 15:27

Hi Coby,

You must keep applying, I know its hard but they want you to give up because it means another saving in their purses. You must get doctors reports and any other professional body who has contact with your son.

It is ludicrous they have gone on a report from the school. How the hell do they know everything he can and cannot do and how his behav iour affects your home life and his outside abilities away from school.

This is a total copout and must be rectified immediately. The school should be ashamed of theirselves.

Good luck and keep re applying.

By coby6602

Re: TURNED DOWN FOR DLA!!!
Thu 6 Nov 2008 18:49

Thanks again everyone
I feel a lot better now. Spoke to senco at Marks school who told me she had filled in the forms 'as honestly as possible'. She said she had asked some of Marks teachers about his behaviour and interaction and they said it was not a problem at all. BIG MISTAKE!! on her part as i then asked her if she could send me a written copy of the support plan they had in school for Mark. At first she said she could tell me verbally but wasn't at liberty to send a written copy. I told her that i had spoken to an advice centre who said that by law she was required to provide me with a copy (don't know if thats true but it worked anyway ) She told me that Mark has one to one support in the autism unit weekly. He has classroom support to help with social interaction and he has a named mentor in student support that will contact me if Mark walks out of school again and also ring me and allow me to take Mark home if he feels the need to go!! There are also warnings on all teachers computers about how to deal with Mark when there is any problems (ie not forcing eye contact and no physical contact). So i asked her to explain why if all the teachers had said that Mark has no problems in school was there a support plan in place for him. If he had no problems then surely he shouldn't need all this extra support. She didn't know what to say but assured me that if it would help at all then she would phone dla up and explain that there have been new 'developments' since the form was filled in. I almost laughed in her face as she was backtracking so fast i could hardly keep up with her.
Even the lady at dla office said the best thing school could have done was say that as Mark was newly diagnosed they didn't feel they could comment on the support needed at that time. She also advised me to keep a weeks diary of everything i do for Mark and the effect his condition has on us as a family. Apart from the supporting letters i mentioned before, i'm also asking friends and Marks brother and sister to let them know what life with Mark is really like for us.
LET BATTLE COMMENCE!!