finally sent away dla form

[mrsrosa]

well after spending nearly 3 weeks going over the form again and again im pleased to say its in the post,what a god awful task that was! can honestly say one of worst things ive had to do.

 

anyone know roughly how long takes to get an answer back?

 

 

[Jennasmum]

I'm currently in the process of filling in my form.

[justine1]

The time varies greatly.It all depends on the information they have been given and if they contact the school,etc how long they take to respond.My sons took 5 weeks.

But I did get two letters in between to let me know they are contacting the school and paed.

[KarenT]

I've heard of people getting an award letter within ten days, but that's rare

 

More likely around 2-3 months. You can phone them up and ask for a progress report, they're usually friendly and helpful.

 

Good luck, hope you get a positive outcome.

 

Karen

x

[Lynden]

It varies but they say to allow 11 weeks. We were lucky this time, I sent our renewals back, they wrote to say they received them on 4th June (I send them next day on 24th May lol) and we got our award letter on 18th June which was much quicker than expected. It was a renewal though and we had good supporting documents.

 

Lynne x

[bjkmummy]

is it a new claim or a renewal? i sent mine back last tuesday, had one letter just to say that they have recieved it

[mrsrosa]

is it a new claim or a renewal? i sent mine back last tuesday, had one letter just to say that they have recieved it

its a new claim,had a feeling it might take a while!

[mrsrosa]

thanks for replies,all of this is totally new to me and a bit daughting at times!xxx

[Morgado]

Well done! The form is a total nightmare to get through, especially as many of the questions just aren't relevant to ASD and quite often the information that IS relevant doesn't seem to fit into any of the stuff they ask about.

 

I think they have a target of assessing within 12 weeks. However, that can be delayed if they decide to gather more information from doctors, psychologists etc.

 

Also, without wanting to alarm you, they may turn it down no matter how much supporting evidence you give them of the difficulties you/your child has because of your condition. This happened with me, so I needed to go through a lengthy appeal process because very often, unless you use specific words or phrases they will not take into account how difficult some things are - unfortunately DLA claims are very often assessed by people with no knowledge of the condition being claimed for (for example, they originally rejected my application saying that I was claiming under anxiety. They had to be reminded via a very lengthy letter and an additional supporting letter from my psychologist and my carer as to what an ASD is, before finally awarding DLA. And even then, the level they afforded was still very low considering my care needs and I am currently going through ANOTHER appeal to again tell them that they still haven't taken on board all of the information that they were given right from the start. This problem is particularly prevalent as the forms are very strongly biased towards physical impairments).

 

HOWEVER, as I said, I don't want to alarm you and it may well be that everything goes right first time around for you :-)

[JsMum]

thanks for replies,all of this is totally new to me and a bit daughting at times!xxx

you have got further throw the process than many parents, because the sheer look of these forms stay firmly in a draw with the I will fill that in tomorrow, sadly tomorrow never comes so well done for even getting this far, then you actually posted it, not to alarms you, but did you photocopy the form, and was any documents you sent where they copies too.

 

Also I post mine by recorded delivery so I can track the letter as it has far too much information in for it to get lost, if you havent this time, dont worry but next time ensure you look into recording the post.

 

As for how long it takes, it really is different for everyone, like said it can be quick, litrally weeks for some and other months and even years, but what you can be assured is, that as soon as they recieve it, it is dated and from that date any money your child is awarded is back dated to that date, so for some cases, say it took a year and the child gets high rate care, that is backdated a year. so if it does take a while but it is awarded in end, from the date they first originally recieved it.

 

You may need to go to tribunal for a first claim, but if that is the case still go to it, dont be put off, a panel have more experience in ASD/ADHD challanging behavioural needs.

 

NAS have a welfare rights advice line so if you do run into any difficulties give them a call.

 

I think the forms are an extention of our childs biography, its litrately Js whole life story in those forms, that leave you drained and exhausted both emotionally and physically, but it is for thier needs.

 

It isnt any easy process at all, I totally understand the dredge of them, but well done for getting this far, hopefully it will go smoothly, and you will get a reply soon, but if it is stressful and there is problems there is support, from National Autistic Society and Contact A family, as well as this forum.

 

You have got this far, dont worry.

 

JsMumx

 

[Shaunsmum]

It took 4 months when we first claimed for the care component then 3 months when we claimed for the mobility component (shaun wasn't old enough for that when we applied at first). We then had to reclaim this year and it took the 11 weeks it says on the letter. I phoned my local social work office and asked for a benefits advice officer who came to the house and filled the forms in for us. We've just been awarded Shauns DLA for the next 6 years instead of 2 which was what it was the first time we applied. The benefits officer also kept a photocopy of the form and helps to appeal any decision your not happy with. We had the same officer come out to fill in the renewal form too, she brought the copy of the first form so she could see what changes if any there were and also just to remind us what we said last time around.

 

Anne-Marie xxx

[Shaunsmum]

As for how long it takes, it really is different for everyone, like said it can be quick, litrally weeks for some and other months and even years, but what you can be assured is, that as soon as they recieve it, it is dated and from that date any money your child is awarded is back dated to that date, so for some cases, say it took a year and the child gets high rate care, that is backdated a year. so if it does take a while but it is awarded in end, from the date they first originally recieved it.

 

 

I was told when we first applied for the care component that because Shaun was too young to claim it (they have to be 5yrs) that they would write to me closer to the time. 2 weeks after his birthday I realised they hadn't contacted me so I gave them a call. I was told it would be backdated to the date I phoned, I explained about them not contacting me and was told it would still only be back dated to that day. When the benefits officer came out I explained to her what had happened and she put a covering letter in stating that the money should be back dated to Shaun's birthday because they failed to contact me and I had to contact them instead. We got the money back dated to his birthday, I don't think I would have gotten that if I had done the forms myself.

 

AM xxx

[mrsrosa]

you have got further throw the process than many parents, because the sheer look of these forms stay firmly in a draw with the I will fill that in tomorrow, sadly tomorrow never comes so well done for even getting this far, then you actually posted it, not to alarms you, but did you photocopy the form, and was any documents you sent where they copies too.

 

Also I post mine by recorded delivery so I can track the letter as it has far too much information in for it to get lost, if you havent this time, dont worry but next time ensure you look into recording the post.

 

As for how long it takes, it really is different for everyone, like said it can be quick, litrally weeks for some and other months and even years, but what you can be assured is, that as soon as they recieve it, it is dated and from that date any money your child is awarded is back dated to that date, so for some cases, say it took a year and the child gets high rate care, that is backdated a year. so if it does take a while but it is awarded in end, from the date they first originally recieved it.

 

You may need to go to tribunal for a first claim, but if that is the case still go to it, dont be put off, a panel have more experience in ASD/ADHD challanging behavioural needs.

 

NAS have a welfare rights advice line so if you do run into any difficulties give them a call.

 

I think the forms are an extention of our childs biography, its litrately Js whole life story in those forms, that leave you drained and exhausted both emotionally and physically, but it is for thier needs.

 

It isnt any easy process at all, I totally understand the dredge of them, but well done for getting this far, hopefully it will go smoothly, and you will get a reply soon, but if it is stressful and there is problems there is support, from National Autistic Society and Contact A family, as well as this forum.

 

You have got this far, dont worry.

 

JsMumx

yep i photocopied everything,the whole form,letter from pead,report from senco and speech lady,and sent it recorded,guess its just wait and see now

[JsMum]

yep i photocopied everything,the whole form,letter from pead,report from senco and speech lady,and sent it recorded,guess its just wait and see now

 

 

Really relieved to know that you did photocopy everything, and that you send it recorded delivery, so pleased, see you did it right, not like me in my early days, I learnt the hard way you see, so just wanting others to be careful thats all.

 

BIG good luck.

 

JsMumx

 

[mbrown]

We have just sent in our son's dla application as he turns 16 very soon and has to claim it in his own right from then on. We are obviously concerned that he might not get it renewed without a struggle, especially with the new governments attitude towards benefilts & allowances.

 

fingers crossed - for all of us.

[Morgado]

We have just sent in our son's dla application as he turns 16 very soon and has to claim it in his own right from then on. We are obviously concerned that he might not get it renewed without a struggle, especially with the new governments attitude towards benefilts & allowances.

 

fingers crossed - for all of us.

 

Yes this is definitely something that I am extremely concerned about. I would like to think that there will be a degree of common sense and that people with lifelong, incurable conditions will be excluded from these "reviews". I'm also concerned that we will fall down a slippery slope and eventually have to complete an annual review. It's already hard enough as it is to get DLA in the first place because of people's ignorance - I really worry that the same ignorance will lead to huge amounts of anxiety and loss of services because people are not appropriately assessed and these concerns really do need to be highlighted before we end up with a majority of legitimate claims being impacted because a few very clever people have managed to play the system.

 

It's one of the things that I am going to write to my MP about to see if I can get a clear answer - but then, he also refused to give any sort of support to the last NAS employment campaign, telling me that the tories are dedicated to cutting the numbers of disabled people receiving benefits rather than provide additional support (yes, I have this in writing), so I'm not hopeful.