How do I claim DLA for my child with autism?

Start with the phone call

Phone the Disability Living Allowance helpline and ask for a DLA1 claim form. The reason to call rather than download is the backdating rule: your DLA award starts from the date you call to request the form, not the date you return the completed form. Filling in the form takes most parents 6 to 12 weeks once they start; that's 6 to 12 weeks of award you'd lose by downloading.

DLA is for children under 16 in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland (Scotland uses Child Disability Payment instead, applied for through Social Security Scotland). At 16, your child moves to PIP.

What the form is asking for

The DLA1 is around 40 pages and asks for detail in two areas:

• Care needs: what extra help your child needs compared with a non-disabled child of the same age. Personal care (dressing, washing, toileting, eating), supervision, communication, medical care, and emotional / behavioural support all count.
• Mobility needs: how your child gets around outdoors. For autistic children the relevant questions are usually about supervision and safety (running off, no awareness of road danger, severe distress in unfamiliar places) rather than physical mobility.

How to write the form

The single most common reason DLA claims are refused or underpaid is that the form describes the child on a good day, not in concrete detail. The DWP decision- maker reads the form without ever meeting your child; what isn't on the page doesn't exist.

• Write about a typical day, not a good day. The DWP wants “normal” not “best”. If your child needs prompting to eat every meal, write that. If most days end in a meltdown, write that.
• Quantify everything. “Needs help dressing” fails. “Needs full hands- on help with socks, jumper, and shoes; can put pants and trousers on independently if I lay them out; takes 20 minutes with prompting” doesn't.
• Compare to a typical child the same age. DLA is about additional needs. “Most 7-year- olds dress themselves in 5 minutes; mine needs 25 minutes with continuous prompting and physical assistance”.
• Include night-time care. Children who need help during the night qualify for higher care rates. Write down what happens.
• Attach supporting evidence. Clinician letters (paediatrician, GP, SaLT, OT), school SENDCO letter, EHCP if you have one. Doesn't need to be everything; one or two solid pieces is enough.

Contact, Cerebra, and Citizens Advice publish detailed DLA form-completion guides for SEND parents which walk through each section. Use one; it materially changes outcomes.

If refused

1. Request a Mandatory Reconsideration within one month of the decision letter (this is the official DWP statutory limit). The MR letter should name specific decision points you disagree with and add any further evidence.
2. If the MR upholds the refusal, you can appeal to the Social Security and Child Support Tribunal within one month of the MR decision. Most appeals at this stage succeed if the evidence supports the claim.
3. Contact your local SENDIASS adviser or a welfare- rights specialist for help with MR and appeal; the process is winnable with the right framing.

This page is general information, not clinical or legal advice.