Jemma Conkling and Lisa Dash discuss the nitty-gritty of a financial lifeline that can improve the quality of life for families in England and Wales by helping them meet the extra costs of raising a child with a disability or health condition.
Disability Living Allowance (DLA) is available to families who are providing at least an hour of extra care and attention to a child aged between 3 months and 16 years, as a result of a health condition or a mental or physical disablement. The care and attention must be more than what would typically be required to care for a typical child of the same age without their health condition or disability. The child must have required the additional care for a minimum of 3 months prior to making a claim, and they must be expected to continue to require that care and attention for at least 6 months. The benefit consists of two components: Care and Mobility. The Care component is broken down into three different rates; Low (£29.20/week), Middle (£73.90/week) and High (£110.40/week), which reflect the level and frequency of care they require, alongside any care and attention required throughout the night. The Mobility component is split into just two rates: Low (£29.20/week) and High (£77.05/week). The baseline criterion for the lower rate centres around the child’s requirement for guidance and supervision when following familiar journeys, whereas for the higher rate it can be more difficult to understand your child’s eligibility. There are seven different criteria for the higher rate of mobility, covering impairments to a child’s ability to make progress on foot, even if they are physically able to put one foot in front of the other.
There are many myths surrounding DLA that deter or delay families from applying for DLA. Many families wait years before completing the form, until their child receives a formal diagnosis. However, DLA is awarded based on care needs, not the medical diagnosis. It is assessed on how the health condition or disability affects the child’s daily functioning, and to what level and frequency of care and attention is required as a result. Therefore, an official diagnosis is not needed.
DLA is heavily evidenced based, but it is evidence of care needs that is required. For many children across England and Wales, the wait for a diagnosis is often years, but many families have support and interventions during those waiting periods, from which they can gather supporting evidence. School or Nursery is always a strong source of evidence for a claim, as children typically spend so much time there, and the needs and difficulties are often observed by teaching staff. Support plans may already be in place, such as IEPs (Individual Education Plan), APDRs (Assess, Plan, Do, Review), and EHCPs (Education, Health and Care Plan). For children who present with a higher need, there may also be Behaviour Support Plans, Positive Handling Plans and Risk Assessments in place. These are all good forms of evidence that can support a DLA claim. If none of these are currently in place in School or Nursery, parents can also request a supporting letter from the Head Teacher, SENCo, or class Teacher. Many children may also be under their Health Visiting Team, Speech and Language Therapy or Occupational Therapy, which again are all strong sources of evidence, even without a diagnosis. Some other forms of evidence that families don’t always consider are school accident reports, hospital or A&E admissions and Police incident reports.
DLA is not a means tested benefit. A family’s household income and savings are not taken into account when assessing a child’s eligibility. A parent or guardian’s employment status is also not a considered factor. The benefit is awarded in the name of the child, and paid to the parent or guardian as their appointee. Having a claim of Disability Living Allowance does not negatively impact any other social security benefits that a family may already be in receipt of. In fact, it can actually increase a family’s entitlement to some other benefits, such as Carers Allowance and Universal Credit.
Author: Jemma Conkling
Jemma Conkling
Jemma Conkling and Lisa Dash are founders and Senior SEND Consultants at SENDmummies, the one-stop shop for support and advice for SEND parents.
Website: sendmummies.co.uk
Instagram: @SENDmummies
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