19 – Child’s age: 12 years

2013/19 – Child’s age: 12 years

Diagnosis: Asperger’s Syndrome, ADD

Background: The appellant’s son, [T], was stated to be affected as follows with regard to the ability/disability profile completed by his GP:

Mental Health/Behaviour: Severe
Learning/Intelligence: Severe
Balance/Co-ordination: Mild

Report of oral hearing: The appellant was accompanied by a Social Worker from the local Children’s Services Centre. In the course of discussion, the following points were made:

[T] has no concept of time. Most mornings he wakes at 5 a.m. and will wake the household thinking it is time to get up. When he is told that it is too early, he will return to sleep but he is then very groggy when it is 8 a.m. and is reluctant to get up.
He has to be monitored in the bathroom. He will spend ages at the toilet. He has dermatitis in his scalp and ears and has to have creams applied. He has to be helped to dress. He also likes his clothes to be buttoned tight to his neck.
He is a messy eater and he will spill cereal and milk if left to put them into a bowl unaided. At dinner time his food has to be cut up for him. He does not appear to know when he is full and is constantly snacking.
He has no awareness of traffic and has to be brought to and collected from school.
In school he has difficulty relation to his peers. He does not play in the boys’ yard and spends playtime on his own or playing with the girls. He has a fear of balls and this makes him the butt of bad teasing.
He is struggling academically and has difficulty with both his schoolwork and homework. There is a strong possibility that he will not be ready to transition to secondary school and may have to be kept back.
He prefers watching TV programmes which are designed for pre-school children.
He cries easily but music calms him. He has a hearing problem but unless he is wearing earphones he plays his music at a level which is too loud for others.

The Social Worker said that [T] is causing their service some concern, in terms of his behaviour, his own safety and the safety of others. He identified serious concerns around socialisation and said that, while he can be very quiet and introverted, he is subject to aggressive outbursts. He is also inclined to wander and has gone missing, to the extent he is not trusted to be let out alone. He pointed out that [T] has been violent with other children and, on one occasion, knocked a younger sibling unconscious. He said that there are huge issues around his phobic behaviour in relation to ball play. He has been prescribed medication for his ADD condition which brightens him up for a while but once this begins to wear off, he gets distracted easily and becomes sad and down and cries a lot.

Comments/Conclusions: Having considered all of the evidence in this case, including that adduced at the oral hearing, the Appeals Officer concluded that the qualifying criteria for Domiciliary Care Allowance were met. In reaching this conclusion, she noted in particular that [T] has difficulty with activities of daily living such as toileting, dressing and feeding, that he has issues around relating to his peers, that he can be violent to others, and that he exhibits both obsessive and phobic behaviours.

Decision of the Appeals Officer: The appeal is allowed.

Note on decision reason(s): Domiciliary Care Allowance may be paid where a person is providing care at home for a child who has a severe disability, and requires continuous care which is substantially in excess of that normally required by a child of the same age. The qualifying conditions are outlined in social welfare legislation.

Having examined the evidence available in this case including that presented at oral hearing, I have concluded that with regard to [T] has a diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome and ADD, it has been established he currently needs substantial additional care on a continuous basis, as provided for in the legislation. In the circumstances, the appeal is allowed.