What is the DLA Helper

Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for children is a non-means-tested benefit available to children under 16 who have a disability or health condition that affects their daily living or mobility. It can make a significant financial difference for families, but the application form (DLA1 Child) is long, detailed, and often difficult to complete accurately.

The DLA Helper in SEN Evidence Vault guides you through each question on the DLA form, helps you frame your answers using evidence from your Vault, and pulls AI-identified extracts from your uploaded documents to support what you are describing.

DLA vs PIP

Children under 16 claim Disability Living Allowance (DLA). DLA has two components:

• Care component — for children who need significantly more care, attention, or supervision than a child of the same age without a disability
• Mobility component — for children aged 3 and over who have difficulty walking

When a child turns 16, DLA transitions to Personal Independence Payment (PIP), which is assessed differently. The DLA Helper is specifically designed for DLA for children under 16.

How the DLA Helper works

The DLA Helper breaks the DLA1 Child form into manageable sections. For each section:

1. Guided questions — the app walks you through what DWP is actually asking, in plain English
2. Evidence suggestions — if you have uploaded reports that are relevant to this section, SENVault highlights relevant extracts
3. Draft answer — you write your answer in the app, with prompts to help you describe your child's needs accurately
4. Evidence linking — you can attach specific documents from your Vault to support each answer

The result is a structured record of your DLA application that you can use alongside the paper or online form.

Starting a DLA application

From the navigation, select DLA Helper and then Start new application. You will be asked to:

• Confirm your child's date of birth (the app will verify they are under 16)
• Select the condition(s) you are applying on the basis of
• Choose whether to work through the full form or focus on specific sections