Daughter claims DLA but mobility has worsened

Hello Paul, and I am so sorry to hear about the worsening of your daughter's condition.

The only person I know who has claimed a change in circumstances was asked to complete the whole form again. Hopefully you have kept a copy of what you originally submitted, so you will only have to change the relevant parts.

Once you declare a change in circumstances, albeit for a worseneing of a condition, it is possible to lose a previous award, however I have never heard of this happening. (Does not mean that you might not be the unfortunate first.)

Only you, your daughter and possibly other members of the family can decide if it is worth the hassle and possible risk. However, do use our PIP guides

www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants

Study the mobility questions carefully and objectively to see if you think your daughter's new condition makes it more likely that she will win the additional points she needs in that section to get the higher rate mobility award.

Hope this helps a little,
Catherine

Hi Paul

In your post, you say that your daughter has recently been diagnosed with a very rare bone disease and it sounds very difficult indeed. What I would be careful of doing is alerting the DWP too quickly, because it is not the condition itself which is important, it is the impact that a condition has on the person's daily life and mobility as set down against the specific PIP criteria. The symptoms from the condition need to have been in place for at least three months before (which they probably have) and nine months afterwards (which they undoubtedly will). Only you and your daughter know how bad she is at this minute - so if you are looking for an increase make sure that you have read the guide to show that at this minute she should be scored higher - or would it be better to wait until your review. It won't harm your daughter's case to leave it until the review.

BIS

Hi Paul,
Sorry to hear that your daughter's condition is becoming worse. You have not included your daughter's age. Assuming she is a child, when she becomes 16, she will be asked to claim Personal Independence Payment ( PIP.) Normally DWP send out the PIP form a little in advance. If you can wait, it maybe easier simply to do this and just apply for PIP. In the meantime you can obtain medical reports, ( or organise appointments so that these can be prepared) so you can have everything ready when you have to apply for PIP in a few months time.
If your daughter is already over 16, then applying for a 'change of circumstances' to achieve the higher mobility award will automatically start a PIP claim. The guides on this site will help, but you may wish to contact eg CAB or similar to assist you to complete the form.
If your daughter is struggling to move round your home it may be possible to get an OT Assessment, which would assess your daughter's needs and as a result you may be eligible to have grab rails etc installed if you do not have these. (These are often provided for no cost to you.) The Occupational Therapist can also recommend other gadgets that may assist your daughter. OT Assessment is normally arranged via a call to your local Social Services - but obviously there may only be a limited service at present.
Hope this helps.
LL26