Yeah! We finished the form for Disability Living Allowance (DLA). All 40 plus pages of it! Growler has been a star (as ever) - guiding me through all the questions, listening to me burble about relevant and not so relevant stuff and translating it into proper answers.
We ended up with around 20 attached typed sheets of A4 with additional info for questions and 7 supporting statement/letters from family and friends. All attached with ribbon (aaah pretty).
It’s a bit of a monster thick form now but it’s done!
Having to think about all I cannot do was, in fact, much easier than I thought it would be. I have obviously accepted a lot more things than I previously thought. It helps (for purposes of form filling) that I have been consistently crappy for many months making me feel confident about how many days a week I need help with basic tasks like bathing, dressing and moving around.
Next step - we wait! We wait while the DLA Decision Maker assesses my form.
Congratulations! You think maybe they are trying to discourage anyone from filing by the length of the application? Sheesh. Yay you getting it all done!
Well done for getting the form filled in. Fingers crossed you will get a good result. But it’s not the end of the world if you don’t - go to tribunal, forget the exact figures, but a lot of decisions get overturned at tribunal, and the benefit is backdated too. More hassle of course.
Here’s hoping you’re one of the lucky ones.
Best wishes from Liverpool, where after a horrid grey day suddenly the sun has broken free of the clouds
Hymes - yes I reckon! There’s no way I could have filled it out on my own. It makes me so frustrated that such things are stacked against the people who are most vulnerable and need to help the most! They make it more difficult “to discourage fradualent claims” but they really hit they people who need the help. There has to be a better way.
Maggie - thanks for the encouragement. The idea of the very likely doctors assessment and the very real possibility of having to go to tribunual makes me a little nauseous. But I know the statistics are better at tribunual. Crazy crazy system.
Congrats on getting the form done and thanks for sharing your experience and advice. I’m in the middle of doing mine with much help from family. Your worksand benefits.co.uk link was invaluable. Hope you get a positive result from DLA soon.
Hi Matthew. Thanks for leaving your comment. Wishing you all the best with your application. Hope you get a positive result too.
I heard from my doctor just before xmas saying she had received a form to fill in from DLA and wanting to chat some more with me to be sure she had all the information. Which was very good of her!