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DLA turned down - how to response?
- totsima
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8 years 1 week ago #157206 by totsima
DLA turned down - how to response? was created by totsima
I’d be grateful if you can spare a couple of minutes and help me with the response.
This is from DLA, explaining why it wasn’t awarded:
We made our decision using the information about your illnesses and disabilities from:
• your claim form
• medical evidence from you
XXX is able to walk over 200 metres so is not considered to be virtually unable to walk. Refusal to walk is because he does not want to walk rather than he cannot walk. There is no medical evidence to support his need for supervision whilst outside is significantly in excess of a child of similar age for most of the time. There is no medical evidence to support XXX’s need for attention/supervision during the night is significantly in excess of a child of a similar age for most of the time. Can deal with self-care tasks with encouragement. CAMHs letter dated 21/9/15 confirms diagnosis of ADHD was given in 2009 and medication started, parent withdrew medication at end of 2013 as she felt he no longer needed it. Diagnosis of high functioning – Asperger’s Syndrome. Further letter from CAMHs dated March 2016 states XXX no longer in school or receiving LEA tutoring. Referral to occupational therapy to be sought through GP. It is appreciated that XXX needs help with some sensory/motor difficulties, however, this is not a need for attention significantly in excess of a child of similar age for most of the time.
My 13 yrs old son wasn’t awarded DLA and it was the first time I claimed it for him. He has ADHD and Asperger’s Syndrome.
I’ve received a written statement of reasons and will be asking for mandatory reconsideration.
My answers were 23 A4 pages in total – their response doesn’t cover most of them, including his day needs. They also didn’t use any of the school records I’ve sent with the form (he is Home Educated since last November).
I wrote that he refuses to walk close to his old schools premises or places he’s not sure he’s allowed to enter – due to his anxiety. Sometimes I have to ask staff to confirm he’s ok to be there. He sleeps through the night but never goes to bed without prompting and it’s a long process to get him to bed (I can’t go to bed before him as he’d stay awake) or wake him up.
I have to prompt him to do virtually everything during daytime as he always questions everything. He can’t be told in advance as he’ll forget about what he was supposed to do – he very easily gets distracted and has to be reminded to stay on a task as well. When he has a written list of things to do, he has to be reminded to check the list.
“Can deal with self-care tasks with encouragement” – this is the most draining process and my main reason for making this application. He needs explanation to absolutely everything he does. He doesn’t shower, brush his teeth, dress or change clothes without telling him to do that in steps. He doesn’t stay on his own, as he doesn’t respond well to unpredictable situations. He panics when he’s rushed or asked to do something quickly without explanation. He struggles with communication and shares our personal info with everyone without thinking. He’s impulsive and doesn’t properly estimate the risk when crossing a busy road – when we’re in central London I have to constantly make him wait on a crossing.
He was excluded from school as he brought a penknife on a school trip saying he didn’t feel safe going to London. He had an argument with someone on a way back to school and probably threatened the other boy with it – that was very unpredictable and dangerous (this probably wasn’t taking into account at all, as DLA assessor didn’t look into his school records). XXX can’t be left with younger children as he might harm them (also due to his lack of body awareness). He needs supervision while he’s with younger children and struggles to understand that they’re younger and don’t understand many things. In another school he had to move to, he’d get bullied – he had bruises and didn’t understand it was bullying. He has no social understanding. When he gets angry or excited he can’t control his behaviour at all. He gets aggressive when he’s not given attention.
If it comes to medication:
XXX is my only child and I sacrifice myself to help him. I never wanted medication for him as he was still academically above the average and I could cope with him at home (with a lot of effort and only when there are no other people around). He’d constantly get punished at his first primary school so we started medication. He couldn’t have stimulants (like Ritalin) due to his ECG test results. He was on this medication for about 3 years and it never really worked in my opinion. While he was medicated, he’d still get punished every day so we changed schools in year 5 and I suddenly stopped receiving phone calls with complains about his behaviour. They recognised his potential and accommodated his needs. He had a great teacher who motivated him. I decided for him to stop taking pills after SATS exams but I was ready to try another medication if his ECG test will be ok and his behaviour will get worse. He started going to secondary school and his behaviour got worse – big school, new teachers, and communication problems - AS diagnosis.
Recently we started another medication to help his sleep, tics and hopefully concentration, as his attention span is a maximum of 15-20 minutes.
I can’t describe any terrifying situations, as I always prevent them. I don’t put him at risk to see if he’s ready to deal with an emergency. When I leave him at home and ask not to open the doors – he still does it without even checking who is coming (we live in a flat), as he forgets not to. So I don’t do that. He is panicky when he spills a drink on a floor – I can’t imagine him dealing with a flooded bathroom or a power cut, etc. When I asked how he’d approached someone at our doors if he was on his own, he’s saying he’d grab a knife to protect himself.
I know people get DLA without any formal diagnosis, so why I’m asked to provide more of the medical evidence? We see his CAMHs doctor twice a year for one-hour sessions each time – it’s impossible to talk about everything in that time. I have no help from him anyway, so I’m coping myself. I find FB support groups and ADD-vance much more useful than his psychiatrist.
How can I respond to this? I’ve written pages about encouragement and keeping him on tasks and it wasn’t even mentioned in their response. Why is that? What about his day needs? I don’t expect much as I know people have greater problems but because I cope it doesn’t mean it’s easy. My family is apart because of his disabilities – his father is exactly the same and I can’t cope with them two. When his dad is around I’m at lost and none of my methods work but when I give XXX attention I can see results and I’m working on him getting independent at some point, but he’s still very behind. What else can I do to prove my point?
Thank you very much for reading.
This is from DLA, explaining why it wasn’t awarded:
We made our decision using the information about your illnesses and disabilities from:
• your claim form
• medical evidence from you
XXX is able to walk over 200 metres so is not considered to be virtually unable to walk. Refusal to walk is because he does not want to walk rather than he cannot walk. There is no medical evidence to support his need for supervision whilst outside is significantly in excess of a child of similar age for most of the time. There is no medical evidence to support XXX’s need for attention/supervision during the night is significantly in excess of a child of a similar age for most of the time. Can deal with self-care tasks with encouragement. CAMHs letter dated 21/9/15 confirms diagnosis of ADHD was given in 2009 and medication started, parent withdrew medication at end of 2013 as she felt he no longer needed it. Diagnosis of high functioning – Asperger’s Syndrome. Further letter from CAMHs dated March 2016 states XXX no longer in school or receiving LEA tutoring. Referral to occupational therapy to be sought through GP. It is appreciated that XXX needs help with some sensory/motor difficulties, however, this is not a need for attention significantly in excess of a child of similar age for most of the time.
My 13 yrs old son wasn’t awarded DLA and it was the first time I claimed it for him. He has ADHD and Asperger’s Syndrome.
I’ve received a written statement of reasons and will be asking for mandatory reconsideration.
My answers were 23 A4 pages in total – their response doesn’t cover most of them, including his day needs. They also didn’t use any of the school records I’ve sent with the form (he is Home Educated since last November).
I wrote that he refuses to walk close to his old schools premises or places he’s not sure he’s allowed to enter – due to his anxiety. Sometimes I have to ask staff to confirm he’s ok to be there. He sleeps through the night but never goes to bed without prompting and it’s a long process to get him to bed (I can’t go to bed before him as he’d stay awake) or wake him up.
I have to prompt him to do virtually everything during daytime as he always questions everything. He can’t be told in advance as he’ll forget about what he was supposed to do – he very easily gets distracted and has to be reminded to stay on a task as well. When he has a written list of things to do, he has to be reminded to check the list.
“Can deal with self-care tasks with encouragement” – this is the most draining process and my main reason for making this application. He needs explanation to absolutely everything he does. He doesn’t shower, brush his teeth, dress or change clothes without telling him to do that in steps. He doesn’t stay on his own, as he doesn’t respond well to unpredictable situations. He panics when he’s rushed or asked to do something quickly without explanation. He struggles with communication and shares our personal info with everyone without thinking. He’s impulsive and doesn’t properly estimate the risk when crossing a busy road – when we’re in central London I have to constantly make him wait on a crossing.
He was excluded from school as he brought a penknife on a school trip saying he didn’t feel safe going to London. He had an argument with someone on a way back to school and probably threatened the other boy with it – that was very unpredictable and dangerous (this probably wasn’t taking into account at all, as DLA assessor didn’t look into his school records). XXX can’t be left with younger children as he might harm them (also due to his lack of body awareness). He needs supervision while he’s with younger children and struggles to understand that they’re younger and don’t understand many things. In another school he had to move to, he’d get bullied – he had bruises and didn’t understand it was bullying. He has no social understanding. When he gets angry or excited he can’t control his behaviour at all. He gets aggressive when he’s not given attention.
If it comes to medication:
XXX is my only child and I sacrifice myself to help him. I never wanted medication for him as he was still academically above the average and I could cope with him at home (with a lot of effort and only when there are no other people around). He’d constantly get punished at his first primary school so we started medication. He couldn’t have stimulants (like Ritalin) due to his ECG test results. He was on this medication for about 3 years and it never really worked in my opinion. While he was medicated, he’d still get punished every day so we changed schools in year 5 and I suddenly stopped receiving phone calls with complains about his behaviour. They recognised his potential and accommodated his needs. He had a great teacher who motivated him. I decided for him to stop taking pills after SATS exams but I was ready to try another medication if his ECG test will be ok and his behaviour will get worse. He started going to secondary school and his behaviour got worse – big school, new teachers, and communication problems - AS diagnosis.
Recently we started another medication to help his sleep, tics and hopefully concentration, as his attention span is a maximum of 15-20 minutes.
I can’t describe any terrifying situations, as I always prevent them. I don’t put him at risk to see if he’s ready to deal with an emergency. When I leave him at home and ask not to open the doors – he still does it without even checking who is coming (we live in a flat), as he forgets not to. So I don’t do that. He is panicky when he spills a drink on a floor – I can’t imagine him dealing with a flooded bathroom or a power cut, etc. When I asked how he’d approached someone at our doors if he was on his own, he’s saying he’d grab a knife to protect himself.
I know people get DLA without any formal diagnosis, so why I’m asked to provide more of the medical evidence? We see his CAMHs doctor twice a year for one-hour sessions each time – it’s impossible to talk about everything in that time. I have no help from him anyway, so I’m coping myself. I find FB support groups and ADD-vance much more useful than his psychiatrist.
How can I respond to this? I’ve written pages about encouragement and keeping him on tasks and it wasn’t even mentioned in their response. Why is that? What about his day needs? I don’t expect much as I know people have greater problems but because I cope it doesn’t mean it’s easy. My family is apart because of his disabilities – his father is exactly the same and I can’t cope with them two. When his dad is around I’m at lost and none of my methods work but when I give XXX attention I can see results and I’m working on him getting independent at some point, but he’s still very behind. What else can I do to prove my point?
Thank you very much for reading.
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- Gordon
- Offline
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8 years 1 week ago - 8 years 1 week ago #157297 by Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Replied by Gordon on topic DLA turned down - how to response?
totsima
I can see that you are a relatively new user, did you use our DLA Child Claim guides?
First of all. dealing just with the process of challenging the Decision.
The first stage to challenging a Decision is for you to request a Mandatory Reconsideration, this needs to be done in writing to the DWP, within one month of the Decision, to the office that dealt with your son's claim, have a look at our DLA Appeal guide for details of the process and template letters that you can use to make the request with.
www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/dla
You should contact the DWP for a copy of the assessment report if you have not already done so, I would phone them but again follow up the request in writing. Once you have the assessment report you will have a better understanding of how the DWP Decision Maker has come to their conclusions and will then be able to argue against them.
Your primary task is to show that you meet the criteria, there are many reasons you may have failed, you need to address each of these but don't get bogged down in criticising the assessment report unless you can clearly show that it is incorrect, it is a lot easier to argue the facts of the situation;
With regard to the DM's Statement of Reasons.
You post suggests that your son has no physical problems with walking so it seems unlikely that they will be unable to show that he meets the requirements for being "virtually unable to walk" as this considers the distance he can walk, the manner, the time and the speed of his walking, the normal distance considered is 50m. I'm afraid there is Case Law that supports the conclusion that refusing to walk is not the same as being unable to walk.
You may be able to show that he has issues going out due to his anxiety and his lack of appreciation of the danger in crossing a road. You need to show that he is affected in this way for the majority of the time and that he is sufficiently restricted. You don't mention you son's age, but he will be compared to children of a similar age and what would be reasonably expected of them, so you will need to show that his needs are significantly in excess of this.
The DM is entitled to assume the use of medication unless you can show that there are good reasons for his not taking it, would there be a significant difference in his capabilities if her were taking prescribed medication than how he is without it?
Although it may be relevant to you or to you as a family, issues that do not directly related to you son's bodily functions such as eating, dressing, washing etc. are unlikely to be considered by a DM.
At the moment all I can suggest is that you go through his DLA form, our guides and the assessment report (assuming there is one) to see how you can explain his problems better.
If you have more questions then please reply to this post and we will do our best to help.
Gordon
I can see that you are a relatively new user, did you use our DLA Child Claim guides?
First of all. dealing just with the process of challenging the Decision.
The first stage to challenging a Decision is for you to request a Mandatory Reconsideration, this needs to be done in writing to the DWP, within one month of the Decision, to the office that dealt with your son's claim, have a look at our DLA Appeal guide for details of the process and template letters that you can use to make the request with.
www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/dla
You should contact the DWP for a copy of the assessment report if you have not already done so, I would phone them but again follow up the request in writing. Once you have the assessment report you will have a better understanding of how the DWP Decision Maker has come to their conclusions and will then be able to argue against them.
Your primary task is to show that you meet the criteria, there are many reasons you may have failed, you need to address each of these but don't get bogged down in criticising the assessment report unless you can clearly show that it is incorrect, it is a lot easier to argue the facts of the situation;
With regard to the DM's Statement of Reasons.
You post suggests that your son has no physical problems with walking so it seems unlikely that they will be unable to show that he meets the requirements for being "virtually unable to walk" as this considers the distance he can walk, the manner, the time and the speed of his walking, the normal distance considered is 50m. I'm afraid there is Case Law that supports the conclusion that refusing to walk is not the same as being unable to walk.
You may be able to show that he has issues going out due to his anxiety and his lack of appreciation of the danger in crossing a road. You need to show that he is affected in this way for the majority of the time and that he is sufficiently restricted. You don't mention you son's age, but he will be compared to children of a similar age and what would be reasonably expected of them, so you will need to show that his needs are significantly in excess of this.
The DM is entitled to assume the use of medication unless you can show that there are good reasons for his not taking it, would there be a significant difference in his capabilities if her were taking prescribed medication than how he is without it?
Although it may be relevant to you or to you as a family, issues that do not directly related to you son's bodily functions such as eating, dressing, washing etc. are unlikely to be considered by a DM.
At the moment all I can suggest is that you go through his DLA form, our guides and the assessment report (assuming there is one) to see how you can explain his problems better.
If you have more questions then please reply to this post and we will do our best to help.
Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Last edit: 8 years 1 week ago by Gordon.
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