How long will the needs last?
Coeliac disease Duration Guidance
| Age at date of claim | Award period |
|---|---|
| 0 - 11 | Award to age 12 (or for 1 year, whichever is the longer) |
If care needs related to supervision of dietary intake are identified, entitlement should be considered in the context of why those specific care needs are present and whether those needs are substantially in excess. Duration of award should also be considered having regard to whether improvement of any other condition present, such as learning or a behavioural disorder is expected.
Background
The child will need to remain on a gluten free diet for life. Otherwise healthy children will learn how to do this for themselves in childhood becoming proficient at maintaining their safe diet by age 11 to 12. This is the age at which they will be expected to make unsupervised consistently correct food choices at lunch times. Children diagnosed in early childhood may be proficient at managing safe food choices from age 8. Recently diagnosed older children take 3-6 months to learn how to manage their gluten free diet. Otherwise healthy children with coeliac can cooperate with the diet their parents provide for them. Additional thought is required to provide a healthy diet for affected children but the effort is not substantially more than providing a healthy diet for a child without coeliac disease.
