Sunday 30 December 2012

Disability Living Allowance/ Disabled Students Allowances

Although I never considered Crohns to be a disability when I read through the information on the gov website it changed my opinion on what a disability could be. Before I was diagnosed with Crohns I had done some research on it and realised that was most likely what I had but I still had no idea how much it would change my life afterwards. As a student who's over the age of 19 I have to pay for my prescriptions now and when i'm taking 3 or 4 different tablets a month I know this will eventually add up and be expensive. I've heard a lot of bad things about people with Crohns trying to claim for DLA and being made to feel that they don't have anything wrong with them or that they aren't 'ill' enough. It sounds stressful and time consuming but I know it will make my life much easier knowing my prescriptions can be paid for each month. 
Disabled Students Allowance was something I came across while looking at Disability Living Allowance. Its basically the same but for students and can help people with things like dyslexia but also those with a long term health condition. Next year I have decided to move back into student halls to make life a bit simpler. Students halls will be much better as everything is included in the price which means no worrying about bills (something that I currently sort out at the house!) or other things like internet. Its also right next to my where my lectures are held which means no long walk from the house so I can easily get in and go home if I need to leave. I'll have an en suite so no sharing a bathroom with someone I don't know! These are things I didn't consider as much last year but now its important that my last year at Uni is as comfortable as possible. This accommodation is quite a lot more expensive but DSA would help me to afford it. 

There is a great guide on the NACC website about how to claim for DLA which will make it much simpler as there is so much to fill in! You can find a link here

Has anyone had any experiences of claiming for either of these? I will write an update when I hear back!





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