I thought this evening i would start a general thread that hopefully will get people involved and give them the chance to either share there tips or improve on there Disability living allowance claims with simply the use of wording.

Disability living allowance forms can confuse people and often the wrong wording can make an application that fits within the criteria of an accepted claim go bad.

I want to ask a general question from the Disability living allowance form and lets see your typical answer and if its great then hopefully it shows others how wording impacts on a form.
Or if the wording is weak how giving more detailed wording can help.

The question i am setting members this evening is a MOBILITY QUESTION:

Is there anything else you want to tell us to help us understand the help
you need with walking outdoors?
For example, if your condition varies and you have good days and bad days,
please tell us how often you have these and your needs on these days.

So how would you typically complete this question for your child?

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Our Irish members can also use our new website for Ireland which is

Is there anything else you want to tell us to help us understand the help
you need with walking outdoors?
For example, if your condition varies and you have good days and bad days,
please tell us how often you have these and your needs on these days.

I put something like my sons condition does not vary significantly when walking outdoors. He has no understanding of the difference between a road and a pavement and consequently walks in front of people and traffic unless someone is there to guide him and stop him. He is in considerable pain if he has to walk for any length of time for example across a supermarket car park, around the store and back across the car park would leave him too wiped out and sore in his joints to do anything else that day. He hold my arm and leans heavily on me on the days he has over exerted himself and uses a wheelchair if it is cold or if he has a virus even a cold can make him ache. He also will simply lie down wherever he is and refuse to move if he is tired or aches and I cannot move him as he is too heavy so we always have a wheelchair available.

Is there anything else you want to tell us to help us understand the help
you need with walking outdoors?
For example, if your condition varies and you have good days and bad days,
please tell us how often you have these and your needs on these days.

I always photo copy my DLA form - they are a good reminder for when you re-apply

In his last one I put:
Benj has a skewed gait due to his cerebella ataxia and is unable to walk in a straight line, walking 5 - 7 step before stumbling. Objects on the floor are extremely hazardous to him, given he is also visually impaired with 'Paroxysmal Tonic Upgaze'. He cannot see what is below his nose, in order to adjust his line of vision he adopts a chin-on-chest crouching position to see which causes more hazards but he then bangs his head as he cannot see objects above his head. Due to the visual impairment Benj struggles to negate steps, stairs, uneven surfaces and change in flooring colour. Benj is developmentally delayed and has no sense of danger; he has a severe speech delay and uses PEC to communicate in the event he 'got lost' while out, no one would be able to identify his carers as he is unable to communicate without his PEC board. Benj is also suffers with ocular photo sensitivity and needs to wear his sunglasses at all times when outside and needs encouragement to keep them on.

tbh i cant remember what i put when matt was young or what i put last time but it would have been something like
at 16yrs of age matt cannot leave the house alone and has to either hold somebodies hand or have a rucksack on that somebody can hold onto as he is easily distracted and will run across a road to say hi to someone with no thought to traffic.
hmmm thats worrying i dont know what i would put next time but dont think i have to for a few years thankfully and as he is 17 and still needs someone with him all the time it is probably easier than for a child

I wrote that my daughter has no sense of danger, can be easily distracted and walk on to the road or into other people, can suddenly become distressed due to noise or other thng that currently affect her anxiety levels and will cause her to fall to the ground putting her hands on her ears.