Contact run a free helpline which can tell you what advice services are available in your area - 0808 8083555. You also get support via email or social media. It is open 9.30am-5pm, Monday-Friday, except on Tuesdays it only opens at 10:15.

Many advice services offer appointments via telephone, email, or videocall as well as, or instead of, face-to-face.

If you need further help, use AdviceLocal to find the best options near you. Enter your postcode and select ‘welfare benefits’ from the drop down menu and search.  This will tell you about any Citizen’s Advice, law centres, or independent advice agencies in your county. (If you live near a county border, check there isn’t a closer option in another county or borough.)

If that doesn’t bring up a service that you can get to, check with Citizens Advice if there is one that helps with benefits problems near you. Many now offer advice over the telephone. 

Check if there is a Law Centre near you.

There are sometimes services that you can access through your GP, social worker, or community centre. There's no harm in asking - so call your GP, and your social worker, or community centre if you have one, and ask if there is a service for you.

Some charities provide advice services for particular groups - for example, The Down’s Syndrome Association provides advice for families who have a child with Down’s Syndrome. Check if there is a charity that provides benefits advice to people with your child's illness or impairment. If they provide information on their website about appealing or claiming DLA it may also be very useful as it will usually show how people with similar symptoms to your child's have proved their entitlement. 

Scope offer telephone and email advice to everyone with a disability or caring for someone with a disability.

Advice NI also provide advice (including welfare benefits advice) for people living in Northen Ireland

If you have nowhere else to turn, try your MPs caseworker. These are not usually expert benefits advisers but they will often be familiar with the problem and might well be able to help you. (You could point them towards our help).

If they say they are too busy….

If the organisation you contact says they are too busy, ask them to keep your name on a waiting list, or to tell you how long before they might be taking on new clients.

Ask if they know any other organisations you should contact for help if they cannot give you an appointment themselves.

Remember that you are likely to have to wait a long time for the appeal hearing (6 -12 months, depending on where you are in the country) so you do have a bit of time to find an organisation which might be able to help you prepare for the appeal hearing.

If you can’t find an adviser to help, don’t worry.

Our help will tell you everything you need to know. 

It may not be possible, but it is also worth trying to get help from an adviser to prepare for the appeal or even represent you at the appeal. It can be very upsetting to have to explain all the difficulties your child has in detail and so it is usually best if you are helped by someone more remote. 

If you cannot find an adviser to help you prepare for the appeal, ask a friend or relative and ask them to read our guidance.