DLA works differently from adult PIP — and the test at its centre is one most parents have never heard articulated.
DLA for children has two components, assessed separately:
A 4-year-old needing help getting dressed is developmentally normal — that alone won't score. An 11-year-old needing the same level of hands-on prompting, well past when peers manage independently, is exactly the gap DLA is measuring. The form is asking you to make that comparison explicit: not "what does my child need," but "how does that differ from a same-age child without a disability."
A decision letter states the rate for each component separately, the weekly amount for each, the total, and the date range the award covers (DLA awards are time-limited and get reviewed — not indefinite). It also states exactly what evidence was considered: your claim form, plus any medical reports you sent in. If you only sent the form and no supporting letters, that's genuinely all that gets weighed — which is why evidence matters as much for children as it does for the adult PIP process.
Same principle as PIP: you have one month from the date of the letter to ask for a Mandatory Reconsideration before you can appeal. Missing that window doesn't end your options, but it does mean any change typically only applies from when you get back in touch — not backdated to the original decision.
DLA doesn't continue into adulthood. Somewhere around a child's 16th birthday, DWP will get in touch to start the move to adult PIP — which uses the completely different points-based system in the guide above, not the "substantially greater need" test. It's worth knowing this is coming rather than being surprised by it: the evidence and framing that worked for a DLA claim won't map directly onto a PIP claim, because the test itself changes.