[senco-forum] Disability Living Allowance

Strangely enough I was telephoned last week by a charitable organisation

That was a very well reasoned reply - we tend to be a bit quick to judge 
others - particularly others who are less fortunate than ourselves.

I have a single, working parent of a dyslexic child who had been diagnosed 
as severe ADHD and has a full time, one-to-one helper at school (Year 3) 
She is a singularly worthy, working parent who is struggling to maintain a 
sense of normality in her household and I would certainly regard her as a 
worthy recipient. This parent receives no allowances. I would like to advise 
her to apply. Before doing so I would like to have a copy of the criteria 
for DLA. Can you tell me where I might get a copy?

Eddie C.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Bowles" <bowles.d at gmail.com>
To: <senco-forum at lists.becta.org.uk>
Sent: Monday, June 05, 2006 6:47 PM
Subject: Re: [senco-forum] Disability Living Allowance

>> Strangely enough I was telephoned last week by a charitable organisation
>> which represents parents of children with SEN and discovered that one of 
>> my
>> Year 8 pupil's mother is trying to get disability living allowance for 
>> her
>> daughter who has, what I think is fairly mild, cerebal palsy - she has
>> trouble walking and wears splints but I'm not aware that this causes any
>> problems in school and she participates fully.
>
> Remember the DLA assessment criteria have nothing at all to do with
> what a child is like at school. Its a Disability LIVING allowance they
> are applying and not a Disability SCHOOLING Allowance.
>
> The assessment criteria for this allowance are related to the support
> needed at home and NOT when a child is at school -- the latter is
> meant to be fully covered by our Statementing system and the COP.
> Furthermore at school children tend to get lots of additional support
> from peers and from adults they simply don't get at home.
>
> Please don't judge this parent without detailed knowledge of how DLA
> works. This would be like a parent criticising a teacher who gets lots
> of extra money simply for "crossing the threshold" but in essence
> doing what they've always done! ...or because "being a SENCO means a
> teacher gets extra points on the management pay spine for just a
> tinsey bit of trivial extra admin work"! (not)
>
>
> David Bowles
>
>
> 