Refused DLA for my son - is it worth appealing?

[smartloobylou]

Hi to all

My 9 year old son was formally diagnosed with ASD in November 2010, and i just got around to filling out his DLA application the first week of feb. It took me 4 1/2 hours and was incredibly detailed with all his needs. They acknowledged receipt on Friday (letter arrived Sat) and today (tuesday) i got a refusal. Im gobsmacked. I thought he would definitely get lower levels of both parts, but maybe even middle level of the care part. Ive got a copy (thank God) of my application - did i do it wrong? should i appeal? does anyone know if its quite standard for them to refuse for ASD initially, what are the chances we could get it on appeal? I feel like i've failed him :-(

[tom'smom]

Hi to all

My 9 year old son was formally diagnosed with ASD in November 2010, and i just got around to filling out his DLA application the first week of feb. It took me 4 1/2 hours and was incredibly detailed with all his needs. They acknowledged receipt on Friday (letter arrived Sat) and today (tuesday) i got a refusal. Im gobsmacked. I thought he would definitely get lower levels of both parts, but maybe even middle level of the care part. Ive got a copy (thank God) of my application - did i do it wrong? should i appeal? does anyone know if its quite standard for them to refuse for ASD initially, what are the chances we could get it on appeal? I feel like i've failed him :-(

Hi, I got refused first time too, within a couple of days of them acknowledging receiving the form (though a good 3 weeks after I'd sent it). I too was gobsmacked cos I had provided 16 pages of additional information, reports, copy of diagnosis etc. Local NAS said to ring them and ask for more information as to why they refused, and then ask for a reconsideration. They also said everyone seems to be getting refused first time for autistic disorders unless lacking in speech and bodily function control.

 

I spoke to the DWP office on the phone and they were actually really helpful (tho it does depend who you get), they told me it was because of a report they had had from the school. I asked for a copy and then rebutted each point the school had made - basically they were denying he had a problem at all because the head doesn't want to be made to provide any resource for him (i.e. if she agreed he had needs, she'd have to provide solutions). She had even said on the form that he had no problems with road safety - she's never been out of the school with him so how would she know!!! When I wrote back to the DWP I asked them specifically to contact his consultant and addressed each of the points in the school's report individually in a separate letter. They contacted the consultant paed within 3 days and eventually wrote back saying I could have mobility allowance but not personal care. From talking to NAS this is an unusual combination and I could appeal, but to be honest I haven't yet cos I have too much on at the moment. I decided to wait until we have more reports from Ed Psych, OT etc to bolster my case for personal care: it seems you can reapply at any time tho you have to fill the whole form in again

 

Anyway this is a long-winded way of saying ring them and ask them to reconsider. Ask for all the reasons why they refused your claim, they should put this in writing, and then address each one. Either ask your consultants etc to supply letters you can send in, or ask DWP specifically to request reports from them. If you want a report from the school, tell them specifically who to address it to (maybe class teacher, SENCO?) and write to the school telling them you have done this. I think DWP give you a month to get as much info in as you can, from the day you request a reconsideration. Then they take up to 6 weeks to decide. It seems from talking to other people that you may then get some, but probably not all, you think you should get; at that point you have the option of taking it further to appeal, but then may lose what they have given you as well, or getting more. It seems a bit of a lottery to be honest.

 

HTH

Helen

[LisaKaz75]

I must admit that I know a lot of people seem to have been refused

 

My son is 3 and has just been awarded, I just painted the blackest picture. I did not lie, or expand and all could be backed up through the nursery/ paediatrician

 

I made sure that all the things that you would expect a child his age to do, that Leo can not do I repeated them over and over in all the sections that they were relevant to. So in Leos case I stressed. Lack of awareness that wet/dry, no danger awareness, running off when out and about, unsteady on his feet due to being on tiptoe all the time, putting foreign objects in his mouth. The thing that seemed to have got it for us was his lack of toileting skills, backed up by his continence nurse. I was told that if/when he is trained it is unlikely he will be eligible at this age, but would be looked at again against other criteria

 

Definitely appeal. Can you ask if there is something in particular he failed on?

 

LisaKaz

[Baboushka]

I found this very helpful when I applied for DLA for my son: http://www.cafamily.org.uk/pdfs/DLA_factsheet.pdf

 

When I did the personal statement at the end of the form I practically wrote an essay giving examples of my sons behaviour, eg a trip to the zoo when he had a massive meltdown, trips to the supermarket and his inability to cope in there with the lights etc, I said all his behaviour was not usual for a 13 year old and gave concrete examples of day to day situations.

[WillR73]

Been doing my own DLA forms for years, and my mom was involved in a charity that let me watch her fill them in for the last 25 years. Try to get something on every page. Remember they aren't asking you about an average day - the forms openly say 'worst day'. Add anything you can think of - under 'conditions' I put hayfever and short sighted just in case it helps

 

Appeal automatically - don't even stop to think. And if an appeal gets rejected, you can still ask for the decision to be reviewed. They have some senior staff who will re-assess the appeal. Only had to deal with them once, but I got a nice one and it all worked out good.

[smartloobylou]

i have just read thru my application - he definitely meets the mobility criteria (lower) as he must be supervised outside, could not safetly cross the road, does not understand stop/look/listen, cannot understand directions, gets upset and agitated in busy environments, chases his younger siblings into the road. There is no way i could let him go anywhere on his own, even where we have lived for 5 years. I would expect a 9 year old (and know many) who do this fine. In terms of personal care, i have calculated from my answers that he needs 171 minutes daily excluding toilet visits (i have to go each and every time with him he would not go alone he would soil himself.) but there is nowhere on the form that asks how much time you need to spend assisting with toilet visits. Last night i was up with him for 2 hours - he had a blocked nose and was extremely agitated and distressed. Because of this he had verbal and physical tics (repetition of words and movements) and it took me 2 hours to get him calmed down and back to sleep. I had to sleep with him. Isnt this more than a regular child would need at his age?? Im going to phone and ask for reconsideration. thanks and i'll let you know how it pans out.

[gazmcfaz]

fight back! Appeal over and over, keep giving information and ask your gp for help with it too, as they often ask them about it to make sure things arent being made up.