- Messages
- 2
- Type of diabetes
- Parent
- Treatment type
- I do not have diabetes
Hi. Newbie here. I've looked through the forum (which seems to cover almost EVERYTHING related to diabetes - very impressed!) but I can't find what I'm looking for, and things have changed so much over the past year or so that I'm unsure as to how to proceed.
My then 16, now 17 year old son was hospitalised and diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in December 2014. He'll be treated by the paediatric department of our local hospital until he's 18 - and thank goodness for that, because newly diagnosed adults seem to be left to fend for themselves in this area! A couple of months ago his nurse mentioned that "all" newly diagnosed diabetics are entitled to a year of DLA (I suppose it would be PIP now) to cover the adjustments made in lifestyle, etc. I can't find any mention of this anywhere online, but she swears her patients' parents have been getting it for years.
To be clear, my son has no actual disabilities or health problems beyond the usual that insulin dependency brings and doesn't need extra care or medication. The benefit would only be available for the first year, to get us over the initial outlay. If I was on a good wage I wouldn't even be asking about this, but I'm a low wage earner whose salary is topped up by tax credits, so it did actually make quite a difference to my bank balance, particularly since he was diagnosed just before christmas!
So my question is, has anyone else heard of this limited one year only benefit? And if so, is there a different way to apply to it than the norm? When I rang the DWP they just talked about PIP as a long term thing and I don't think he understood what I was asking. Hope I've been clearer here!
My then 16, now 17 year old son was hospitalised and diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in December 2014. He'll be treated by the paediatric department of our local hospital until he's 18 - and thank goodness for that, because newly diagnosed adults seem to be left to fend for themselves in this area! A couple of months ago his nurse mentioned that "all" newly diagnosed diabetics are entitled to a year of DLA (I suppose it would be PIP now) to cover the adjustments made in lifestyle, etc. I can't find any mention of this anywhere online, but she swears her patients' parents have been getting it for years.
To be clear, my son has no actual disabilities or health problems beyond the usual that insulin dependency brings and doesn't need extra care or medication. The benefit would only be available for the first year, to get us over the initial outlay. If I was on a good wage I wouldn't even be asking about this, but I'm a low wage earner whose salary is topped up by tax credits, so it did actually make quite a difference to my bank balance, particularly since he was diagnosed just before christmas!
So my question is, has anyone else heard of this limited one year only benefit? And if so, is there a different way to apply to it than the norm? When I rang the DWP they just talked about PIP as a long term thing and I don't think he understood what I was asking. Hope I've been clearer here!