If you have a child with additional needs, chances are you are you’re in the process of applying for DLA if you’re in the UK. DLA (or Disability Living Allowance) aims to help your child with additional costs, such as 121 support or therapies. There are three different rates: low, middle and high and the rates vary between £24.45 and £156.90 a week, depending on your child’s needs. We recently received DLA after applying back in June, so I wanted to create a blog post based on mine and other parents tips if you’re applying for DLA for your child with additional needs.
@mumernity Just wanted to share this for anyone else in the same boat! #speechdelay #speechtherapy #speechdelayedtoddler #ukmum #mumsoftiktok #mumsoftiktokuk #toddlermum #additionalneedsparent ♬ original sound – Mumernity-Honest motherhood
Top tips for applying for DLA from parents.
1.Base it on your most challenging days.
This was the most common piece of advice I received when I asked the question on instagram. Having a child with additional needs is so variable-there are good days as well as bad. But it’s important to spell out the realities of those difficult days as that’s what they need the support for.
2. Ask yourself tough questions
“Think about so what? with each question you’re asked, e.g. if they get seperated shopping, they couldn’t ask for help or share their name which isn’t typical for most children” explained someone on instagram. You really need to spell these things out and consider every time how this situation may be difficult. It’s sometimes really upsetting to constantly ask yourself why your child is different to others, but this is why you are trying to get DLA in the first place-to allow them to have the support they’re entitiled to thrive like any other child.
3. It’s not means tested
It doesn’t matter how much earn, DLA is not mean tested and the rate only varies on need, not income. There’s no income minimum or cut off.
4. You don’t need to have a diagnosis.
I put off applying for DLA for ages as I assumed I needed a diagnosis-but I was wrong! We still don’t have a concrete diagnosis but you don’t need one to claim DLA. You just need to be able to show why your child needs more help and support than most other kids their age.
5. Gather evidence.
The more evidence you can get the better-really put the detail into every single day that shows why your child is different and needs more help than others. Try to give specific examples to evidence that your child needs extra help and what needs to be put in place-so rather than ‘needs help communicating,’ you might explain ‘struggles to communication, which leads to frustation and frequent meltdowns. They use an AAC device which we have purchased, requires visuals such as now and next board.’
6. Call in the experts
One person advised that they asked their health visitor to help write the form. In my case, I used my nursery key worker and speech therapists. They both contributed supporting statements as to why Jude needed more help than other children his age. Getting some kind of expert-whether your health visitor, GP or speech therapist-to support your claims is a really good idea.
7. Why calling is often best
Although you can print the form, you can call DLA on 0800 121 4600 to request the form on the call then return it within the timeframe they give you. They will then backdate your claim from the date you called if successful. This is great because the form is long and takes a while to complete-so it takes the pressure off doing it immediately (you usually get a deadline of around a month to complete the form).
Of course, you can also fill the form in online but you lose this backdated option. In our case, it took a month or so to fill out and send off and three further months until we heard back. We received 4 months of DLA backdated when we had heard from them.
8. What is the difference between low, middle and high DLA?
Whilst I’m not an expert, the parents I spoke to explained needing overnight help often meant the difference between low and medium DLA, whilst high DLA is usually awarded if there are mobility issues.
9. DO it in sections
Because the form is so long, don’t expect to fill it in all at once. “Do it in sections-the form is extremely long and can be overwhelming so do a few sections every evening over the course of a week can make it much less daunting,” says Claire Krost, mum to two autistic children.
10. Look after your mental health
Writing down all your child’s problems can be really upsetting. Even if it’s your reality, seeing it on paper in black and white is another story. “Take time after filling out the form to write down or talk to someone about all the wonderful and amazing things you CAN do,” advises Claire.
11. Keep a diary whilst waiting for the form to arrive
If you’re waiting for your form to arrive, it could be helpful to get prepared. “Keep a diary for a week or two so you can look back at it and send this in as your evidence,” says healthcare professional Sarah from Sincerely Essie.
12. Scan it in
“Scan it in after you’ve written it as you won’t get a copy back and you may need to reapply if you are on high support for changeable control of chronic conditions, like diabetes,” says Nicola Bateman, who runs A Box Full of Joy and whose autistic son has epilepsy. Scaning it means you have all the information for the future should you need it (or even worse, if it gets lost in the post!)
13. Send it recorded delivery
With your form taking so long to complete, it’s worth not relying on regular post. To ensure it arrives, use something like recorded delivery so you have proof it’s sent.
14. Speak to a friend whose child is the same age
Sometimes we don’t realise just how many adaptions we are making for our child-especially if we’re a first-time parent. Danusia Malina-Derben, mum and founder of School for Mothers, shared a great tip with me: “It’s hard for many parents to unpick the extent of our scaffolding practices, i.e what we do on the daily to accomodate our child’s specific needs. Find a friend who can talk this through with you, especially one who knows the age/typical development of your child. Choose a supportive friend who can help you identify just how much you scaffold up and around your child-for example safety on roads, what it takes to get your child to sleep and eating habits.”
15. Don’t worry if you go over the form space
“The form has small boxes which may not necessarily provide enough room for what’s needed in the description in your child’s most challenging day. Instead, write “please see attached notes” and complete a seperate document annotated to the corresponding section,” adds Danusia.