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Hi Caroline , thats brilliant..................but fingers crossed you will not have to go as far as this hun. Glad I mentioned this though. . Keep me posted. Di xxx

Hi Caroline, cheers for your reply hun. 'Aww' damn damn damn shame she didn't check this with you before sending it really, especially adding N/A, regarding the danger & roads !! And OMG seems like everything written is opposite to what should have been added , just like my Daniel's report from the school - hopefully though they will go through your other evidence which is I think more essential ! In my opinion and in my case it was the school report that let mine down yet with plenty of specialist evidence. Fingers crossed though hun it will be a better outlook on yours, so don't worry yet, and I must admit I had poorly filled in the claim form, and that did not help it either. Daniel has not taken part in PE/GAMES for a very long time now and the head of year had added he takes part, and yet Daniel was staying with him outside his office as arranged by him when these lessons were taking place, as before that Daniel used to skip these and hide in the school toilets. Not only that the head of year was his Acting mentor .....................so annoying. Now you know the school have sent this off - why don't you give the DWP a ring, okay they may not tell you, but they may ask some questions over the phone where then you have the chance to have your say. Good luck, I'm sure you will have better luck than I did hun. You have a very rewarding role regarding a few nights work in that home - good for you and hope all goes well. Its good your hubby will do this for you. With mine he have admitted he could not cope with staying at home, as many times I have suggested this idea to him. I used to work for the NHS at a local hospital for the Mentally and Physical handicapped, but then obviously I have had 2 kids, Jamie will be 19 this year , and Daniel will be 13 in January, and he will not stay with anyone else for me to return to work, and of course Jamie is studying hard now that he have just started university. My hubby is a Steelworker, and okay its solid hard work, but he reckons he would be more stressed out by staying home lol . Let me know when you hear of the DLA I am for you okay, and there is a light at the end of the tunnel whatever the verdict, so chin up, and look forward to hearing from you. Luv Di xx

Well done Pauline -great news ..............its me again Speak to you soon, take care hun. Luv Di xx

Hi All. Just got in touch with MENCAP, and have a visit next week, this is regarding my son Daniel, with education issues and regarding help and advice about complaints to the DLA tribunals etc. This is the first time I have dealt with MENCAP, but was advised by YourAble about these, and was informed they help with different issues. Please could anyone tell me if they have used MENCAP for anything and what you think ? Thank you so much. Di xx

Thank you PumpkinPie I assumed that too. Anyway, still no feedback from them about the IEP's, looks like another trip down the school..............and see if SENCO is available Such a big school, lots of buildings lots of teachers they are so hard to find, but need to keep on I think. Daniel is very stressed, and said he does not know where to go yet when feeling stressed at school, this was added down on the ED 'P's consultation record for this to be done, and again all teachers to be informed of Daniel's difficulties and help with following instructions and so on, but like I said before...........up to now its all words with no action . Need to chase them all up again. Cheers so much. Di xx

Hi Caroline, cheers for your reply. Unfortunately I cannot claim carer's due to the LRC, if he was awarded middle or high then there would be no problems. . My hubby works, and of course I can't because of Daniel, even though he is in school in the daytime obviously, I am spending a great deal of time at the school due to Daniel's anxieties, trying to sort things out all the time. He had an habit of skipping the odd lesson and hiding away, there was a time we had to report him missing from school to the police, as I walk Daniel to and from school although he is 12 nearly 13, as he has not road sense etc, and make sure he is in that building before I go. Daniel will not stay with anyone else either, and to be honest due to his anxieties once again grandparents etc cannot cope with him, although mine are disabled, but the inlaws will not offer either. I do also have an older son Jamie he will be 19 this year, he attends university and travels daily, Daniel adores him, but I cannot expect Jamie to really help out so much now due to all the studying etc. Never mind, I will fight this and hopefully then claim for carers allowance, I will let you know okay. And don't worry I'm sure your claim will be fine, seems like here in Wales its more difficult I don't know, may just be me lol. Let me know of your progress all the way, thank you hun. Luv Di xxxx

Hi Elun and thank you. I did request this, by asking at the meeting and reminded SENCO by email, and letters, but I know due to the post lately this has not helped. Yet I have recieved emails back about other issues but not this, as I also mentioned that there is no problem if they would like me to call by for a copy. Another reason why I request these, is because Daniel's CAMHS follow up appointment will be due shortly and these help for their records. At least now I know these are not automatically given, so will request again tomorrow. Thank you again, I am very grateful indeed. Cheers Di x

Hi Caroline, and thanks for getting back to me hun. They do not take your hubbys wages into consideration, in other words it does not matter what he earns, the carers is for you, so go for it darl. Unfortunately as you already know my son 12, with Aspergers, high anxiety levels and learning difficulties was awarded LRM and LRC, but am pushing this to the commissioners to appeal for the care side of it, he does not sleep well, the earliest 2 am and mostly 4 am, and I am up until that time with him to reassure and trying to settle him. So something has gone amiss as the specialist evidence was there in front of them. Never mind, at least being awarded is something for now. , will let you know how we get on too. I'm sure what the school will send on your claim will be a great help hun. Let me know, and go for the carers, like I said no matter what your hubby earns, this is for you. . Look forward to your result and hopefully a good one. . Di xx <'>

Hi. Is it right that we should have our own copies of our children's IEP's ? If this is the case, I never ever had a copy when my son was in the infants & juniors but now in the secondary school I have to also keep on to get a copy, or is it that I have to request it if we want one ? I am sure someone did tell me before.............everytime these change or they are updated they send a copy within a work or 2 of doing these. Our last meeting with the ED P, SENCO, and the LEA was the 2nd week of September, as Daniel is also on School action plus, but I have even emailed, sent in letters directly to the school's Senco to request this but nothing yet. Yet I did receive a consultation record from the ED P as always from him. Any ideas, thank you. (Daniel is now in yr 8) Cheers. Di xx

Hi Caroline. Sounds good Great the school are helping out this way, unlike my son's secondary school, the questions asked...........well........almost all the answers were opposite to what they should have been. So that's good news hun. And of course the more support and evidence the better. I will be shocked if this was not awarded, but I'm sure it will be. They will backdate from the date of application, we applied 22 Dec 06 and this was backdated from then when this was awarded in September 2007, and don't forget to inform Child tax credits, you will get an automatic extra disability element for your child and if awarded the higher rate care there is another extra premium paid on top of the disability element too and...............yes they backdate to when you applied for DLA, thats what I was told and now waiting for this to be sorted out. If your awarded middle or high rate care you can apply for Carer's allowance, think there is a wage limit on this though, you can earn so much in your own job (its stated on these boards somewhere). Think this is backdated to 3 months, maybe more, someone will know about this on these forums. With Carer's I know it doesn't matter if your other half works or not, as this is a payment for you as the carer. My fingers are crossed for you, Good luck. Please let us know how you get on, all the best hun. Di xx

Good luck Michelle, praying for you too hun . My son who is in his 2nd yr (yr 8) of a mainstream sec school are always trying to say they will and are meeting his needs.........and looks like we have to take this route for requesting this too. (the first stage - assessment for statement) ! All the very best......keep us posted. Di xx

Thank you Pumpkinpie Will look into this.........and now. So would I pay the subscription charge of �16 online ? And do they contact or visit you to advise you ? I will get cracking into browsing this through now, thank you so much, I will let you know how we get on. Thanks again. Cheers Di xx

Great news Chris Glad your settling down, that's fantastic news ! Take care, keep us posted. <'> Di. xxx

Hi all When my son was awarded LRM & LRC, after the tribunal hearing on the 24th Sept 07, I was obviously happy he was awarded the Mobility, but not the Low rate care side of things, considering its not just the portion of the day he receives attention and supervision this happens nights too - 7 nights a week, where he will eventually fall asleep between the hours of 2 am to 4 am ! Anyway I requested for the Statement of reasons (SOR) which have recently been received through the post, so if anyone else is in the same situation and thinking of appealing theirs after a tribunal here goes: I DISAGREE WITH THE DECISION, CAN I APPEAL TO A COMMISSIONER ? You can appeal to a commissioner if: You are a person involved in the appeal; and: you think the tribunal made a mistake in the way they applied the law to the case. You cannot appeal to a commissioner if your appeal was against a decision about: A vaccine damage payment; A road traffic accident. HOW DO I APPEAL TO A COMMISSIONER ? To appeal to the Social Security and Child Support Commissioner, you must do the following: Write to us saying that you want to appeal to a commissioner. Explain why you think that the tribunal made a mistake in the way they applied the law. Attach the statement of the tribunals decision to your letter. This is the attached document. Attach the tribunal's decision. Send all of these documents to the Tribunals Service. the address is shown on the attached letter. WE MUST RECEIVE YOUR APPLICATION WITHIN ONE CALENDAR MONTH OF THE DATE OF THIS LETTER. WHAT DO I DO IF I HAVE MISSED THE ONE MONTH TIME LIMIT ? You must explain why your application is late. The chairman may refuse to give you permission to appeal to the Social Security and Child support Commissioner if: you do not give reasons; or your reasons do not fully explain why you did not appeal within the time limit. WHAT HAPPENS TO MY APPLICATION WHEN THE TRIBUNALS RECEIVE IT ? We will send your application to the chairman. the chairman will either agree or refuse to give you permission to appeal to the Social Security and Child Support Commissioner. We will write to you with more detailed information on what to do next when I send you the chairman's decision. ................................................................................ ................................................................................ .......................... This is the information I was waiting for, I have read right through the statement of reasons and to me there are a few things picked up, one of them was they could not understand the Child Paediatricians handwriting (then they should have made sure they either requested for a more understandable copy or disregard it), this could have been vital evidence ! And there's more !! Anyway will see my rep/adviser about this and see what they have to say, and take it from there. Hope this will be of some help to anyone if they are going through the same sort of issues. Cheers Di. x

Hi Lil me Yes its hard work isn't it ? no sleep , but we cannot do anymore than what we are doing now. Yes I must say something has gone amiss regarding the tribunal's reasons, will point the part out too about the inhalers/aspergers, okay he does also have asthma but as you know yourself they take these inhalers for that, so maybe just a small clerical error there. But besides that there are lots of things I noticed that they have not taken into account, including professional evidence sent to them. I still do not agree with their decision though, perhaps I should have offered them to stay at my house for a few nights , they wouldn't last long. Thank you, I will let you know how it all goes. Di xx

Hi Didn't manage to catch much of it, as I was trying to settle down Daniel............still trying to , but I must say I am hopeless with maths, and with my Daniel although he has difficulties at school with the main of the subjects, he is better with mental maths than the practical side of the work. I must always use a calculator and it still takes me forever to work out what to do on that lol. I suppose I will never make it to the Carol Vorderman stage Never mind. Di x

Hi Kiz Lol, cheers. I don't think the tribunal had a clue about Aspergers and the issues that can come along with it and yes its so damn annoying ! Will contact my adviser tomorrow and will ask her to look through the reasons they sent, unfortunately they also added they could not read or understand the writing sent from Daniel's specialist, so really they should have not used it (disregard this in other words), so obviously they could not make out what was said, as this was evidence about my sons constant day and night problems where I am constantly helping him throughout, and yes of course I am not getting any sleep either and wish I was, but there we go they do not have a clue whats what ! I have been told this is like what they call 'error of the law'. Will let you know how we go with this, and cheers. Di xx

Great, better get in that Shower now first then lol, and try to settle Daniel down I'll be lucky . Cheers for letting us know. Di x

Hi All. Just wondering if anyone has appealed about their DLA award to the tribunals after the hearing ? Yesterday through the post I received the Statement of reasons (SOR) as I requested this from the chairman/woman from the tribunal hearing. Not happy with my son being awarded just the LRC considering he has both night and day issues which requires constant support and attention. Although happy he was awarded the LRM, if anything I thought the mobility would have been more of a problem more than the care. I have read through the reasons and they added they find it difficult to accept my son having 90% satisfactory attendance and attending school after just a few hours sleep ! . This is stupid, he has Aspergers, high anxiety levels and some learning difficulties, and as like many other kids this can be a common problem with this spectrum. And what am I supposed to do leave him off everyday ?? I cannot afford to get into trouble and receive fines for not sending my son in ! Daniel is almost 13 years old. They have added some things that do not make sense too like: Daniel takes inhalers for both Asthma and aspergers ???? Hmm never told them this..........odd . And the list goes on ! So anyone who have been through this, please could you let me know how you got on and the procedures, thank you so much, I do know I have a month from the date on the statement letter they sent me. Cheers Di.

Hi and thank you. I had just tried ring the child tax credits dept which I assume are open until 8 pm, got through to let them know that I had contacted them about 3 weeks ago to let them know my son was awarded DLA then, only to be told that they cannot get access into this today and to phone again in a few days time ! again !! So whether or not their systems are down I do not know........so will try again on Monday Has anyone else been trying these today..........with success or NOT ? Cheers Di xx

Brilliant news Deborahrae Bet your ever so proud, well done to your lovely son. <'> Di xx

Hi Kazzer And thank you . So its not just me then lol, at least I know this will be sorted out then. Unfortunately we do not have the rate where I can claim Carers' even though I cannot return to work as I my time is taken for my son, both day and night, but after him being awarded 3 weeks ago after a oral hearing I am now waiting for the reaons for their decision made on this, as he was awarded low rate mobility as well as low rate care, this was for the portion of the day, and the evidence was there from the specialists in front of the tribunals panel about his sleep problems and where I come into this to help support and reassure him, I'm lucky to be in bed by 4 am lol, but there we go something has gone amiss, as the main of the hearing we were talking about his night time issues, then we had a very sarcastic doctor at the panel, he was talking to us as if we belonged in the garbage bin ! So a complaint is going in about him too, he had no right to still mutter about my son as the hearing was over and we were leaving !! he did have an attitude problem . Never mind we will get there in the end. And thank you. Di x

Hi As many of you will know, my son was awarded DLA 3 weeks back, I contacted the Child Tax credit department immediately as I know they pay the disability element or whatever they call it and the extra if awarded the higher rate of dla. My son was awarded LRM & LRC, for now until I see if I can appeal this especially on the Care compo, so obviously he will just get the standard disability entitlement. Anyway, does anyone know how long it takes the Child tax credits to pay out the disability element ? They did tell me they will let me know by letter when this is done, but due to the recent strikes this may be mislaid in the post. I have also checked the bank account but nothing extra paid in yet. Think I will ring them tomorrow - or should i give them a bit more time, as the lady did say they backdate this to when we first applied for my son's DLA, and this is sorted out by another person who deals with the backdated. Please correct me otherwise, thank you. Cheers. Di. x

Hi Go for it its what you deserve and entitled to. My son was awarded LRM & LRC, am looking into the care side of things though as he has night issues too and does not sleep until at least 2 am if not 4 am and I am forever dealing and reassuring him, he is almost a teenager. This was awarded after a hearing on the 24 th Sept, then that same week I had contacted the Child tax credits dept who had told me my son will be awarded the disability element but not the extra premium, due to the low rates he is awarded, and this payment on the child tax credits should be backdated from the start of the DLA claim, this was DEC 2006, unfortunately though we were not awarded high enough for me to claim carer's, this is why i am waiting for the 'reasons for the tribunals decision' to come through and take it from there. 'as all the evidence was there in front of the panel about his night problems and anxiety' seems like something has gone amiss somewhere. (Even though I have informed the Child tax credits about this, we have not yet heard anything further - and still waiting, the postal strikes do not help, but have been checking the account just in case, just don't know how long this will take, may give them another ring tomorrow). But you go for what you should be having in your rights. All the best. Di x

Hi. I have contacted the Child tax credit because of my son just recently been awarded DLA, and you will still receive extra credits if your child has this DLA award, that is just for receiving DLA, but there is another extra element on top if your awarded the higher rate. This is what I was told, and they can now backdate this to the start of your application when you first claimed DLA, this is something else they told me, they are arranging to sort this out now. Go for it, its what your entitled to. All the best. Di xxx