Disability Living Allowance

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Can i just point out that DLA is an allowance..not a benefit. It is paid to compensate you for the extra cost of being disabled. You can claim/receive DLA whilst claiming Jobseekers or ESA or income support or any other benefits or none at all. You are still entitled to DLA even if you are working full time. It is not means tested. So if you feel you are able to do some work but that your disability puts you at a disadvantage then you can still claim. Hope that helps.
Jen

I got the form sent off. Just got to wait now. I suppose I will just go to a tribunal if they refuse the claim.

I applied 3 times before I got DLA. The first time i just applied due to depression and anxiety, as I wasn't yet diagnosed with AS, and was turned down. The second time I applied due to AS and filled the form in by myself, and got turned down again. The third time someone from the national Autistic Society helped me to fill the form in and I was successful.

If you're turned down it might be worth asking the NAS to help you with your appeal?

I'm not really sure how they would be able to help. Out of interest, what help did they provide you?

But hopefully I will be successful.

I'm fairly certain Disability living allowance can be claimed by anyone with a disability, employed or unemployed.

Unfortunately, I just had a phone call from Atos inviting me to a medical assessment in a fortnights time.

Not looking forward to it. It is at a centre in Barnsley. Hopefully it won't be too hard to find - it was years since I last went to Barnsley.

They must have got my telephone number from somewhere else in the DWP, as I deliberately omitted it from the DLA claim form.

I think one of the main benefits to claiming DLA is that it gives you a lot more credibility as to your reasons for being in receipt of other benefits. The money itself isn't the only advantage to claiming it, as you are also eligible for things such as 1/3 off rail travel, with a disabled person's railcard (although you have to pay for one), and you also get a winter fuel allowance, if the weather is particularly cold. They do take into consideration that A.S. is a life long condition too (or at least they should if they're doing their job properly). If you are having trouble getting any care from the NHS to help with your condition, make sure to mention that.

I highly recommend taking a relative or friend along to any medical assesment they do, to act as an advocate (I know I'm not too capable of representing myself to strangers because of my anxiety), and to be a witness. There have been cases where the people doing the assessments have misrepresented what they have have been told, and it is less likely that they will do this if you have a witness present.

In fact with the recent changes to the system since ESA was introduced, and the new government's attempts to reduce the number of people receiving benefits, I'd go so far as to demand copies of all written notes (you are legally entitled to them under the Data Protection Act, although they can charge you a set fee for making the copies).

I'm dreading this medical examination. Unfortunately, I don't think I will be able to find anyone to come with me.

I'm tempted to give up now, but I will try and persevere otherwise I will have no chance of getting any money.

This sounds really cheeky (and I'm aware it makes me sound selfish too and I hate that, but I'm still going to ask!), but how would you go about asking an AS partner to look into DLA without making it sound like you thought there is something "wrong" with them? I hope I'm not the only one who realises that, although I know there's no such thing as "normal", there's still a lot of negativity and stigma attached to the term "disability" and think that he would use that negativity to make himself feel worse.

My partner's recently been diagnosed with AS as part of his treatment for depression. They traced his depression to low-self esteem, which is linked to his AS and how he interacts with his friends, and his father's undiagnosed, yet (now that I know more about it) very obvious AS and how that affected him as a child.

We both work full time, but when he's ill with the depression, I end up having to take time off work to look after him (he gets so low that I'm worried he'll self-harm or worse). I'm not sure that the AS is very prominent in his time off (other than being part of the source of the depression / low-self-esteem), but I've ended up having to take a lot of un-paid leave to look after him.

His CBT therapist said that if I wasn't there to support him, he'd have a team of therapists helping him, and instead they want me to do the job of "a team" of qualified people for no pay and no support and no professional training - so if I'm having a bad day (eg. my Grandma passed away recently), I find it very hard to cope with looking after him too and know my patience can be worn very thin...

I'm not sure he'd be happy about applying for DLA (I think he'd see it as a bad thing, maybe a stigma), but on the other hand, every little helps. Something like DLA might mean that I'm less stressed if I do need to take unpaid leave (I ran out of holiday last year and needed to take over a week's unpaid leave to look after him) because it's not quite so hard hitting, and I can be less stressed, which means I'm more able to look after him.

Do not get me wrong - I'm not going anywhere, I don't want out of the relationship, I love my boyfriend for who he is, quirks and everything. I loved him before his diagnoses; putting a label on some of those quirks doesn't mean he has changed or that the way I feel about him should change. I don't care what labels are out there for him (or me - since looking up AS and roaming these forums for a while, I'd be very suprised if I'm not on the spectrum) be it AS, officially disabled for the purpose of DLA or whatever - he's still the same person and I still love him very much and just want to be able to help him accept the wonderful, loving person with friends who care about him that he is; ie. realise that he's the amazing person I see and not the useless, worthless, friendless person everyone told him he was as a child - ie. the person he sees.

PS. This is my first ever post on here after months of looking around... *waves to all the people out there that make such a difference without even knowing me!*
(Since starting to write this, I've spotted the post on Self-Esteem and Depression in "The Haven", so will be looking through that for more info!)

PPS. Edited for a spelling mistake - sorry!

amber_missy: I'm not really sure how you could mention DLA without it seeming odd. A few years ago, I'd have gone mad if anyone suggested that I claim such a benefit, but now I have more requirement for money, I'm not really that bothered.

My medical examination was OK. The doctor did do rather a lot of typing and looking at a computer screen, but he did listen to what I said.

I got a copy of the report in the post today. What he wrote in the summaries was OK but there were other sections which were more yes/no type questions which contained answers which weren't quite accurate.

I'd say the report could have been better, but it could also have been worse.

Got a decision today. Unfortunately, they haven't awarded me anything.

I will try and appeal.

In case anyone is interested, here is what they wrote on the decision letter. The bits in italics are the bits which I actually do have problems with and are therefore incorrect.

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Having considered all the information I have decided, although your needs vary, the help you need most of the time is as follows:

Help with getting around outdoors

Guidance and supervision

You don't need help:

*with asking or following directions
*because of anxiety or panic attacks

You don't need guiding or supervising when walking outside on unfamiliar routes.

This means you are not entitled to either rate of mobility.

Help with personal care

During the day

Day Attention

You don't need help to:

*manage your toilet needs
*wash and dry yourself
*communicate verbally

You don't need help with your personal care from someone for about an hour or several times right through the day.

Day Supervision

You are:

*not at risk of harming yourself
*not at risk during potentially dangerous activities
*not at risk of neglecting yourself

You don't need supervising right through the day to prevent substantial danger to you or others.

This means you are not entitled to any rate of care.
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yeh i get DLA. My parents sorted it out for me when i was 16 so i cant really be much of a practical help. I learnt some stuff that i wasnt aware of in this thread though. I have never recieved winter fuel allowance payments and i didnt know that i'd still get DLA even if( in some freak scenario) i end up working. Also i dont get the railcard.

Are there any criteria with the fuel allowance and railcard or can anyone get them regardless of what "rates" they're on? I live with my parents and i believe i get a lower rate due to this.

Unfortunately, they reconsidered the decision and refused it again. So it will go to a tribunal.

The letter says I will probably have to wait till March 2011 for that though.

Hopefully that will be successful.

i get DLA and ESA which totals to £400 a month