Families with disabled children: Don’t miss out on financial help
Dear Sir
Contact a Family – a national charity that supports UK families with disabled children whatever their disability – is worried that local families could be missing out on a potential £21.55 – £138.05 extra each week because they wrongly think they’re not entitled to Disability Living Allowance (DLA).
DLA is the main benefit for disabled children and can transform a family’s income by helping to meet the extra costs of raising a disabled child like transport, heating, special food and clothing. It also helps families feel less alone by giving disabled children the chance to have fun at local activities. It can cost three times more to raise a disabled child than a non disabled child and our latest research has found that more than a quarter of families with disabled children have additional expenses of over £300 every month.
Despite this, many parents tell us they don’t claim DLA because they believe their child’s disability isn’t severe enough, their child needs a diagnosis first before they can make a claim or they aren’t eligible because their child has a learning disability, autistic spectrum disorder or behaviour problems.
These are myths and not true.
Contact a Family is here to help. Make sure your family isn’t missing out on this potentially life-saving extra income. Visit www.cafamily.org.uk or call our free helpline on 0808 808 3555 so we can talk you through the rules for getting DLA and send you our DLA guide which includes tips for filling in the claim form.
Una Summerson, Head of Policy and campaigns
Contact a Family
