Night time care
Hello,
My 2 year old daughter has bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and wears hearing aids. We've been awarded middle rate but I really thought she would get higher because we are up with her every night, sometimes for up to 2 hours. We have to put her hearing aids in if she wakes up for any reason so that she can hear us settling her, but as soon as we do that she thinks it's playtime! I did write this in detail on the form but we still got middle rate. How do I go about explaining the night time care better and asking for a mandatory reconsideration?
Thanks in advance
Hi
It's great to hear that your daughter is now receiveing DLA, although I understand you're not sure she's been awarded the correct rate. This can often come up for families so it is really useful you've shared your experience here.
Getting the higher rate can sometimes be tricky for younger children. Many young children without disabilities or health conditions often have night time needs too. To receive the higher rate you need to show that your child needs signicantly more care and attention during the night because of their disability or health condition.
You've mentioned asking the DWP for a mandatory reconsideration so they can look at the decision again. You do need to be aware they will look at the whole DLA award again. As your daughter has an existing award there is a risk this could be reduced. The level of risk depends on the strength of the claim. Because of this we would suggest you seek further advice before you request the mandatory reconsideration. If you contact our Helpline, they can work with our benefits advisors to advise you.
Take care
Cat
Your Community moderation team
I know the feeling. My son who is 6 months was born with moderate hearing loss in both ears. An underlying hearing loss. He was also born with trisomy 21 Down syndrome. He had open heart surgery at 13 weeks old and as a result hasn't had a bottle feed since his surgery. He is Ng tube fed. He has recently been awarded high dla but only because of the Ng tube feeding, the dla did not think the complexities that come with Down syndrome and the extra needs which come with his hearing loss is adequate enough to put him on any band. Not even low. I have rang several times and they say all babies require a lot of attention. If and when he is no longer on Ng tube he will probably be awarded nothing. It's wrong and totally frustrating. I have been told of other parents of children with ds that it's pot luck. The wording on the claim and who looks at your claim and makes the overall decision. No help really but that's my experiance with the dla. I have been told the older he gets the higher the chance of getting dla. I hope this is true. Xxx
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