Phil talks about his family's experience of claiming Disability Living Allowance to cover the cost of extra care for their son Seth, who is now 10. The benefit is not affected by your income or savings.
"We were told about Disability Living Allowance by the hospital shortly after Seth was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes four years ago. We weren’t given a lot of information but it did prompt us to look into it.
Our healthcare professional pointed us towards how to apply and also why we should – your child is entitled to this and there will be additional costs for you.
We felt slightly uncomfortable about applying for DLA – we felt we could ‘cope’ without it, and that there were more deserving of this help.
Filling in the form took an age and you can’t talk to anyone at the Department for Work and Pensions. It’s very confusing and very long! What made it easier to apply was being able to do it online. So you can save and go back to it. It was very stop and start.
We were fortunately awarded the benefit with no push back or questions. We get mid-rate Disability Living Allowance for Seth. He's 10 now, and four years on from diagnosis doing really well.
The benefit has helped us not to worry about the extra things we need to cover to make Seth’s diagnosis and related complications as easy as possible.
It’s silly things that add up like skin creams to help with lumps and bumps, plasters and tape to hold on the insulin pump and continuous glucose monitor. And jelly babies for hypos.
For parents and carers thinking of applying I’d say definitely do. It gives peace of mind that you can get the extra things you’ll need. You’re entitled to this and it will make all of our lives easier."
Find out more about claiming DLA for your child and how to apply.
Read Phil's story about Seth's diagnosis.
