Record Number of Children on Disability Benefits for Autism and ADHD
Published on August 14, 2024
The number of parents claiming disability benefits on behalf of their children for developmental disorders such as autism and ADHD has surged by almost 40 percent since before lockdowns, the latest figures reveal. More than 730,000 under-18s are now the subject of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) claims, a benefit given to parents who need help caring for their children. This is up by from 534,000 since November 2019, when the number of claimants stood at 534,000, according to statistics on all benefits published on Tuesday by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Overall, boys are twice as likely to be subject to a DLA claim than girls, with payments for ADHD three times more common for males under 18 than for females....