Hi

I have recently been refused dla for my child

she is 12 years old sees a consultant for eneurisis clinic

wets in the day and night,

shes on medication,

also shes under a consultant being assessed for adhd and autism,

she has 1 to 1 at school and

i sent in a mandatory reconsideration on the 4th aug looked at it allready again,

i sent in diaries,

consultant letters,

paedtrician letters,

repeat prescription,

side effects of her medication,

a full patient summary

yet still they said they have not changed their decision,

im furious and dont know what to do to appeal.

I also have autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia, deprssion with social anxieties,

me attending court i would not be able to cope with people face to face

please can anyone help

thankyou

To appeal the decision, you need to send form SSCS1, available here, to the Tribunals Service. You also need to enclose a copy of the "Notice of Mandatory Reconsideration" or whatever other letter the DWP sent you when they told you that the reconsideration request has not been successful. There is a guidance booklet at the HMCTS (Tribunals Service) website, link here.

If you really can't attend the Tribunal it's possible to request a "paper hearing", where the appeal panel will look at the evidence you've sent (and that sent by the DWP) and make a decision without you having to be physically present. However, I'd recommend that you do attend if at all possible, as the success rate is higher when the claimant is there to talk to the panel and answer any questions they may have. You can take a friend or relative for moral support, and you can also have a professional representative with you - talk to the Citizens Advice Bureau about where you might get in touch with such a person. It's definitely worth talking to people with experience in these situations since appeals on behalf of children can be a little more involved than those concerning an adult. This is because all children need a certain amount of assistance. Therefore it's not enough just to show that your child needs help with some things: you have to show that the help she needs is more than would generally be expected for children in that age group.

Note also that the Tribunal, although it is part of the Courts and Tribunals Service, is not like a court. It will be a lot less formal. There are no robes or wigs, for example, and the room where the hearing takes place will not be a courtroom like the ones you see in the news or on TV shows. The appeal panel will consist of a judge, a doctor and possibly a third person who will be someone with professional experience of working with people who have disabilities.

My daughter is 11 years old and has multiple health issues,

a severe autoimmune disease

as well as severe gastro problems,

she has to have a very restricted diet and there can be no cross contamination of any sort of food, shampoo, toiletries, etc etc as it is detrimental to her the same with towels, bedding etc etc the list goes on.

She cannot go swimming and is never invited to parties or outings.

She is also Vitamin D deficient,

has bowed legs,

contact dermatitis,

social anxiety,

delayed speech,

has a PEG tube in her tummy,

we have to use catheters and pull ups every day.

She was in receipt of DLA for almost 9 years and now has been refused as the DWP say she has the same needs as a child of her age,

we did a mandatory consideration and the same because she is like any other child of her age.

So the DWP are penalising a little girl,

any help advice would be great

The advice in the post above yours is excellent.

Are there any charities specifically in relation to your child's illness? If so, they may be able to help with an appeal.

Try not to take it personally, DWP is apparently on a mission to reduce the benefits bill by any means possible and many, many people have to appeal to get benefits awarded for illness or disability these days, however the appeal success rate is quite high (over 60%) so don't despair.

You may get more responses if you start a new thread of your own.

At 11, there would be certain things that she would be expected to be able do herself in terms of self care, unless she has other disabilities which means she requires help.