Types of supporting information from a professional

Supporting information is usually copies of documents or letters you may already have at home. They need to:

• confirm your or the child’s conditions or disability
• describe the support you or the child needs with everyday tasks or mobility
• help support what you tell us in your application

The type of documents you have will likely depend on your or the child’s circumstances and disability.

Child Disability Payment

Examples of the types of supporting information you can send for Child Disability Payment include:

• letters about assessments or referrals
• care plans or treatment plans
• formal medication or prescription list that shows the medication they take (include a copy of the paper prescription if you can)
• letters about appointments
• medical test results
• letters from the child’s school
• childcare plans from local authorities or schools
• social work assessments
• letters about equipment or adaptations to the home
• letters from health visitors
• letters from occupational therapists, physiotherapists or speech and language therapists
• official diagnosis letters from GPs, hospitals or Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)
• letters from hospitals or clinics
• referral letters from CAMHS
• the Supporting Information form, completed by a professional (this form may be sent to you after you have submitted the application)

Find out more about who you can get this supporting information from.

Adult Disability Payment

Examples of the types of supporting information you can send for Adult Disability Payment include:

• formal medication or prescription list that shows the medication you take
• reports, records or summaries, for example, occupational therapy reports or physiotherapy reports
• social work reports or social work assessments
• care plans or care assessments
• treatment plans
• test results or certificates
• letters from hospitals like discharge letters
• letters about appointments
• letters or documents that show your local authority have made changes to your home, like adding a mobility aid, stair lift, ramp or accessible shower
• reports from specialist organisations who carry out assessments (for example, driving mobility assessments, adjustments to a car)
• Additional Support Needs plan or report
• young person’s care plan from local authorities or schools
• letter from a charity or community organisation
• the Supporting Information form, completed by a professional (this form may be sent to you after you have submitted the application)

Find out more about who you can get this supporting information from.

What your supporting information needs to have

The documents you provide only need to have one of the following:

• be on headed paper
• be from a named address
• include a contact telephone number
• include the professional's full name and qualifications

What is not helpful supporting information

• bus and train tickets
• out of date prescription lists
• photos of your or the child’s condition
• a statement that you have written
• leaflets about your conditions or disability

General information on your or the child’s conditions, like a leaflet, may not be helpful. This is because conditions impact people differently and the information may not reflect how your conditions affect you in particular.

Older information may not be helpful as it may not reflect the impact your conditions currently have on you. But older information is helpful if:

• your conditions and needs have not changed in a long time
• the document describes your needs as they currently are