Record Number of Children on Disability Benefits for Autism and ADHD

Signage for the Department of Work and Pensions in Westminster, London, in an undated file photo. (PA)

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.

DLA can give a significant boost to parental income, with the amount paid for children diagnosed with the most common mental health conditions currently just under £3,800 a year.

Children with the most severe disabilites can get up to £9,500 annually to help with the cost of their care.

One in Nine

Concern has been expressed from some experts that both autism and ADHD, as well as mental health conditions, are being overdiagnosed in both children and adults, potentially allowing more cash-strapped parents hit by the cost of living crisis to claim DLA on behalf of their child.

One in nine children in the UK are now classed as having a disability, figures show, although not all of their parents make a successful claim for DLA.

Dr. Damian Wilde, a psychologist with many years of clinical and therapeutic experience in the NHS, told The Epoch Times last year that ADHD isn’t an illness in the way many people think it is, though the “distress is very real.”

Other experts argue the rising number of autism and ADHD cases are a real phenomenon, not fueled primarily by overdiagnosis, and point to potential environmental triggers for the disorders, which present in a huge variety of ways in individuals.

A 2024 peer-reviewed study, published in the Nature Communications journal, found that higher prenatal exposure to the chemical BPA led to an elevated risk of ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) in males.

DLA claims for children with “behavioural disorders” have more than doubled to 182,000 since before the lockdown era, while claims for youngsters with a diagnosis of ADHD have gone up by 20 percent to 72,500.

Numerous studies have revealed the extent to which children’s mental health was affected by school closures and other restrictions during the lockdowns—although longer term tracking of the data shows the number of children classed as disabled in the UK has been rising steadily since the early 2000s.

The number of parents receiving benefits to support children with learning difficulties, as well as neurodevelopmental conditions—chiefly autism—has risen by almost a third since 2019 to 337,000.

Before the change of government, a DWP paper predicted that almost a million under-16s were expected to be in receipt of DLA by the end of the decade.

The number of parents claiming disability benefits for their children is forecast to be approaching one million by 2028-29, which is equal to around one in every fourteen children.

This would equate to more than double the pre-2020 number of children subject to a DLA claim.

The latest figures suggest the number of DLA claims made for children is rising at a faster rate than the government anticipated.

Amid fears over the soaring benefit bill adding to the national debt, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has pledged to make “difficult decisions” in her first Autumn budget, following Labour’s unexpected decision in July to revoke the winter fuel payment for all pensioners not in receipt of Pension Credit.

Reeves has said she will focus on plugging a £20 billion black hole in public finances.

Disability Payments Could Top £100 Billion

Forecasts by the DWP suggest the bill for disability payments for people of all ages could reach £100 billion by the end of the decade.

In total, there were 4.6 million adults and children in the UK claiming either Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or DLA as February 2024, up 390,000 from the previous year, not including Scotland where policy is devolved.

Adults in receipt of disability benefits are not required to be actively seeking work, unlike those registered as unemployed.

DLA claimants are gradually being moved onto PIP, with children in receipt of DLA able to apply for PIP once they turn 16.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said previously, when making its forecasts on welfare: “Spending on disability benefits has risen from around £1.1 billion in 1985-1986 to £39.1 billion in 2023-2024 in nominal terms, and from 0.3 to 1.4 percent of GDP over the same period.

“The introduction of DLA led to rapid growth in caseloads and spending as a result of wider eligibility, the introduction of claimant self-assessment and a rise in take-up.

“Disability benefits spending is set to rise by 49 percent between 2023-2024 and 2028-2029. Spending as a share of GDP is set to rise from 1.4 percent in 2023-2024 to 1.8 percent in 2028-2029 as growth in disability benefits spending outpaces nominal GDP.”

Economic activity more generally has spiralled in the UK since 2020. Some 9.5 million adults are neither in work, nor are they seeking work.

This figure includes those classed as disabled as well as those who aren’t working for other reasons, such as being homemakers or stay-at-home parents.

The previous government had pledged to reform the welfare system, including the disability payment system, partly by cracking down on fraud and tightening up the assessment system.

It is unclear whether Labour will continue with the Conservative government’s plans for systemic welfare reform.