Advice for DLA Claim Form

[gambia2012]

My daughter (aged 6) has extremely bad asthma, she was diagnosed at 10 months old which we were told by the hospital is one of the youngest to be diagnosed, she is in and out of hospital constantly, she also suffers from bad eczima and has a couple of other issues (incontanance during the night, will not clean herself after doing a poo although is fine if its a pee, she has night terrors)

i claimed DLA last year after being told i could be eligible and was awarded low rate care.

Now in the past year my daughter has suffered from two episodes, where she has been standing and then she has collapsed and seemed to loose concousnous, goes limb for a few seconds but then comes round again and is a bit distorted. i have spoken to the doctor about this and they said there is nothing that they can say it is as she didnt seem to jerk, take a fit etc and without seeing it they are unable to say what it could be.

Now im confused as after speaking to other parents regarding DLA, Health issues and our children, im not sure if im getting the correct award as on the form i explained in detail my daughters issues (except the recent collapsing episodes as i havent informed DLA of these) but i gave in detail the amount of times she has to take medication during the day/during the night, the time i spend up and down during the night dealing with her medication,wheeziness,night terrors, incontanence, how much time shes off school due to illness, hospital stays etc.

I have also went online to check the different rates and entitlement to different rates and from what i can see low rate care is only awarded if your child needs care during the day, middle rate care is awarded if your child needs care during the day and night and high rate is for children who require extensive care. Now i think my daughter should be on the middle rate care but im unsure how i get this reviewed after we have been claiming low rate for a year.

Ive been told that my daughters claim was put on low rate coz i probebly didnt use the correct wording which i think (if true) is an utter disgrace as her DLA claim was fully completed (to the best of my ability), in my own wording, backed up by letters from the hospital, school, doctor and family members.

Has anyone else experienced this issue? any help or advice would be greatly appreciated as i have no idea on any of this.

[Hidden]

Hi

Sorry I can't be of much use, but I just 'googled' this for you;

welfarerights.net/benefits-...

also I imagine it would help if you could get your GP or consultant to record something about your daughters seizures on her medical notes so that you can use the change in her condition as a reason for the new application. I would get advice from CAB, welfare rights, Asthma UK, anyone in a position to help you, as things are getting tougher all the time. Think things through carefully and only proceed if you feel reasonably sure that you have a good case - really, don't go it alone, get yourself some sort of welfare rights 'support worker' - you don't want to put yourself in danger of losing what you already have simply because you haven't known the right words to use on the form. If you go for the middle rate care, then you can apply for carers allowance too I think, so check that aspect too.

Incidentally, my now adult son used to have seizures exactly as you describe. At first they were classed simply as 'childhood seizures' and then as he got older 'petit mal epilepsy'. Thankfully they petered out all together as he reached adulthood - I think the last one was when he was around 16, and all has been 'normal' since.

Good luck and best wishes to you and your family, Parvati

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

PS. If you look halfway down the FAQ's on the page I have linked you to above, you will notice there is a mum with 6 yr old asthmatic son getting middle rate care, and she is being advised that she can apply for carers allowance. P.

[davmil]

gambia2012

As to Getting DLA, get help from other people in filling in the form, DO not do it yourself as you seem tooo honest, ( Mean that you MUST always take the worst day) and put that down nearly every question the same answer, even if it does not apply to your child put an answer in the box for extra info, but really do get some help to fill this in from CAB or some other source

D

[cofdrop-UK]

I agree you don't appear to be on a high enough rate as your little daughter needs lots of care during the night. I totally agree with your friends comments above, you really do need to have an expert in welfare and benefits to help you filling in these forms. You might want to try Welfare Rights, CAB or DIAL. As this is to do with disability they will usually come to your home. Whilst they do not lie, they will concentrate on your daughter's worst days when she requires the most care. I have fairly recently reapplied for my care component to be increased and it's not an easy decision because (and here is a little word of caution which must be considered) the DWP will actually review the rate you are on and can withdraw it. I don't think for one minute this would happen in your case, but it is something you should be aware of. The welfare expert will be able to advise you and help you fill in the forms and I would get them in before DLA changes to PPI next year. They do it amazingly quickly and it will take so much pressure off you. Also the DWP know that if one of the above organisations are involved and you are knocked back they will appeal.

Good luck gambia. Love to you and your little daughter. X