Received date for DLA tribunal - has anyone else been through this?

debbielee

Hiya this is my first post...my daughter who is 7 has cmt.. she suffers with pain during the nigjt waking up on 2 to 3 occasions which can take up to 45 minutes to settle her back to sleep she struggles at school in pe she struggles to dress and undress herself especially taking jumpers and tshirts off and putting on her socks she trips and falls constantly she has been put on gabapentin one in the morning and one at night and although it does seem to settle her to sleep she does still wake in the night in the morning i have to massage her legs snd do stretches before she gets out of bed i have to help her to get dressed every morning in 2016 she was refused dla they said that even if she didnt have cmt i would still have to do all these things for her for the age she is..I have since applied again and she was refused again so I have took it to a tribunal. I now have a date for the tribunal which is at the end of tthis month I'm absolutely terrified has anyone eles been through this...thank you xx

CockneyRebel

hi debbielee and welcome

Thanks for joining us
there is lots of good info on here about tribunals, please have a look round . Other members or advisors will be along who maybe able to assist

CR 

Lasian_Alumni

Hi @debbielee, welcome to the community!

As CockneyRebel suggested, you might like to have a look at our information about appealing a DWP benefits decision and tribunals. You may find the following videos of interest:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67tDSlsityY

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIHjSpNNbQo

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WEvbFVlQOc

 

I hope this helps! Please do let us know if you have any questions.

debbielee

Thank you so much xx

BenefitsTrainingCo

Hello debbielee

You made a key point in your post.  That is you need to show the tribunal that your daughter needs much more looking after than a child of the same age who doesn’t have a disability.  Although it maybe obvious to you sometimes you have to point out the obvious to others. For example you posted that due to pain you help your daughter to dress, most 7 year olds would not need help dressing.  

I have put a link to some simple DLA rules:

https://www.gov.uk/disability-living-allowance-children/eligibility 

It is worth pointing out that 'attention/help' or 'supervision' means that they a child reasonably needs help throughout the day e.g. with dressing, help at school, eating, washing or they are in danger and so need someone to watch them to ensure they are safe. Then you need to think why does my child need more help or supervision than a child of a similar age. 

Does your daughter have pain and/or numbness in her hands?.  For example does she struggle to hold a pencil, or hold a knife and fork, struggle with buttons/zips? A tribunal may also press you on how far she can walk if pain and numbness is in lower limbs, it is important to think about how far your daughter can walk without pain and the manner in which she walks e.g. slowly, poor balance. 

There is a lot to think about when claiming benefits and so it maybe worth seeing if a local advice centre or CAB can help.  Even if they cannot go to the tribunal with you they may help you go through the appeal papers which helps you feel more confident going to the hearing.

Please post again if you need help.

Maria