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Neil Bateman talks through rules governing how to claim disability living allowance; a vital benefit for those parents with a disabled child.

Families with a disabled child are at great risk of poverty and the experience of poverty adds to the stresses they are already experiencing.

Sadly it is not rare for families with a disabled child and multi-agency input to struggle on without having even basic benefits brought to their attention.

Disability living allowance (DLA) is the most obvious place to start when exploring benefits for disabled children. Improvements have made this benefit more accessible with a dedicated children’s claim form (available online at www.dwp.gov.uk/advisers/claimforms/dla1a_child_print.pdf). A successful claim for DLA can generate entitlement to higher amounts of means-tested benefits and tax credits (an extra £41.30 and £41.44 per week respectively), while the higher or middle rate care component of DLA opens up entitlement to carer’s allowance (plus the extra carer’s premium of £25.10 in means-tested benefits).

DLA care component can be awarded when a child is three months old (but the claim can be made any time before) and the mobility component from the age of three. A child under 16 needs to have "substantially" greater needs than a child of the same age and gender who is not disabled, so there is scope for dispute about what "substantial" means. It often helps to show how the child’s needs are more than siblings’ or school friends’ needs in order to overcome this hurdle.

The care component can be awarded where there is a need for additional attention or supervision (the latter being particularly useful for getting DLA for children with behavioural problems). For very young children with special needs, any information about additional tasks or risks is vital. If awarded, the care component will normally last until the age of six.

For the mobility component, the later start date means that it can be overlooked. Most commonly it will be awarded from the age of three to children who have significant difficulty walking. Those with a learning difficulty and the higher rate care component may also qualify if they have disruptive behaviour.

From age five children who need "substantially more" guidance or supervision than other children when walking can qualify for the lower rate mobility component.

- The Disability Rights Handbook has a useful section about benefits for disabled children. See www.disabilityalliance.org 

Neil Bateman is a welfare rights specialist.