Disability Living Allowance (child), known as DLA (child), is a tax-free, extra-costs benefit.
This is available to those under the age of 16 who, due to a disability or health condition have mobility issues and/or have needs which are substantially more than a child the same age without the disability or health condition. You can find more about DLA (child) on the Government’s website.
For most claimants an assessment won’t be necessary but if one is required, you can find out more below.
What to expect – select the relevant option to move to that section:
To claim DLA for a child you need to be their parent or look after them as if you’re their parent. This includes step-parents, guardians, grandparents, foster-parents or older brothers or sisters.
If your child currently lives in Northern Ireland, you can apply through the Department for Communities (DfC) by either:
- printing off and filling in the DLA claim form provided by the DfC
- phoning the Disability Living Allowance, (DfC) helpline and asking for a printed form:
Disability Living Allowance helpline
Telephone: 0800 587 0912
Textphone: 0800 012 1574
Find out more about contacting DfC here.
The child’s disability or health condition must mean at least one of the following apply:
- they need much more looking after than a child of the same age who does not have a disability or health condition
- they have difficulty getting about
They must have had these difficulties for at least 3 months and expect them to last for at least 6 months.
The payments are split into two areas, a care component, and a mobility component. There are different rates available for each of these depending on the severity of the health condition or disability.
To claim the highest rate for mobility the child must be at least 3 years or older, for the lower rate of mobility the child must be at least 5 years or older.
If your child is under these ages and you claim DLA for them, you should be sent a claim pack 6 months before they turn 3 and 6 months before they turn 5. You can then apply for the mobility component if you think they’re eligible for it.
Care component
The rate the child gets depends on the level of looking after they need, for example:
Lowest rate
Help for some of the day.
Middle rate
Frequent help or constant supervision during the day, supervision at night or someone to help while they’re on dialysis.
Highest rate
Help or supervision throughout both day and night, or a medical professional has said they might have 12 months or less to live.
Mobility component
The rate the child gets depends on the level of help they need getting about, for example:
Lowest rate
They can walk but need help and or supervision when outdoors.
Highest rate
They cannot walk, can only walk a short distance without severe discomfort, could become very ill if they try to walk or they’re blind or severely sight impaired.
If you make a claim for child DLA, you may be asked to bring them in for an assessment. This is usually because more information is needed before a decision about the claim can be made by DfC.
The assessment will be carried out by one of our functional assessors and is likely to be different from what you would expect from a GP or hospital consultant. The assessor is not there to diagnose or treat a medical condition but to assess how a condition affects the child.
To do this, the assessor may or may not need to carry out a physical examination.
Our functional assessors have experience working with children (e.g. paediatric nurse/doctor, GP, or other healthcare professional with relevant professional experience of working with children).
The assessor will discuss the child’s medical history, any medication and activities undertaken in a typical day. This will be recorded but will not be a word-for-word record. You can also bring extra information or medical evidence to the assessment to help the assessor with their report.
Should any physical examination be necessary, your verbal consent will be obtained. There will be no need to remove clothing.
After the assessment our functional assessor completes a report using criteria laid out by the DfC. This is to provide the DfC decision maker with an impartial, justified medical opinion about how the child is affected by their medical condition.
The report is one piece of information DfC uses in deciding entitlement. The functional assessor who carries out your assessment does not make any decision about your allowance, benefit or credits, and they will not know the outcome of your claim.
DfC makes decisions on claims and will let you know the outcome of your claim. Any questions or concerns about their decision should be directed to the DfC office handling your claim as they will know what information was used to decide your claim.
Your child will need to apply for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) when they turn 16.
When they apply for PIP
Your child will get a letter inviting them to apply for PIP. The letter will be sent:
- shortly after their 16th birthday
- when they leave hospital, if they were in hospital on their 16th birthday
- about 20 weeks before their DLA award ends, if they were awarded DLA under special rules for people who might have 12 months or less to live
