Living Between Two Countries: What a Family With a “Different” Child Receives in Slovakia and in England (2026–2027)

A practical, human and truthful guide for parents who don’t want to wander between paragraphs.

There are families who live between two worlds. Between two countries. Between two systems that pretend to help – but each in its own way.

And when you have a child who is “different”, who needs more than the world knows how to give, you find out that you must learn two languages: the language of diagnoses and the language of offices.

This article is for parents who want to know exactly what awaits them – at home and in England. Without myths. Without sugar‑coating. Without “it will somehow work out”.

Slovakia: a system that teaches you to fight

On paper, everything is clear. In reality, it is a jungle where a parent must fight for every euro, for every document, for every level of dependency.

And the worst part is that no one tells you the truth in advance.

Where to Apply – Everything Starts at the Labour Office (ÚPSVaR)

Official websites:

ÚPSVaR: https://www.upsvr.gov.sk

Ministry of Labour: https://www.employment.gov.sk

Here you apply for:

• caregiver’s allowance
• €200 bonus
• personal assistance
• fuel allowance
• car allowance
• allowance for equipment/aids
• disability card (ZŤP card)
• parking card
• compensations
• reassessment of the level of dependency

How it works in reality

• 2–6 months for the first decision
• 3–9 months for an appeal
• the assessment doctor does not come, or comes without notice
• decisions differ depending on the region
• the office “forgets” to send the file
• parents have to chase and remind them

How they treat parents

Exact amounts in Slovakia (2026)

Caregiver’s allowance (until July 2026)

1 child (level 4–5):

OP: €663.50 Bonus: €200 Total: €863.50

2 children:

OP: €882.50 Bonus: €200 Total: €1,082.50

3+ children:

OP: €882.50 Bonus: €200 Total: €1,082.50

➡️ The bonus is only one, not for each child.

From July 2026 (indexation)

1 child: approx. €912 2 children: approx. €1,147

From February 2027 – new system

The reform replaces the caregiver’s allowance and personal assistance with one integrated allowance.

The amounts are not fixed (€1210 / €1030). They will be linked to the average wage, not to fixed tables. Expected range for the highest levels: approx. €1000–1100, but final values are still being approved.

Personal Assistance (PA)

Personal assistance is:

• help for a person with a disability
• performed by an assistant
• paid per hour
• according to Act No. 447/2008 Coll.

It is not caregiving. It is not babysitting. It is help with tasks the child cannot manage.

How much PA costs (from 1 January 2026)

• €6.22 per hour
• maximum 1,400 hours per year (approx. 116 per month)
• the number of hours is determined by the assessment doctor

Who can be a personal assistant

According to the law:

• A parent cannot be a personal assistant of a minor child (under 18).
• They can be one only after the child turns 18, max. 4 hours per day.
• Reason: maintenance obligation + conflict of roles.

An assistant can be:

• a grandparent
• an adult sibling
• a friend
• a neighbour
• a stranger

Work and income while receiving the caregiver’s allowance

From 1 July 2024:

• Income limit = 3 times the minimum living standard.
• Minimum living standard 2026: €284.13
• Calculation: 284.13 × 3 = €852.39 per month (net income) ➡️ If the parent earns more, the Labour Office reduces or removes the allowance.

The law does not set a number of hours, but the work must not interfere with caregiving.

Which medical reports you need for the Labour Office (ÚPSVaR)

ÚPSVaR requires reports not older than 6 months.

The most important doctors:

ÚPSVaR does not accept:

• school reports
• reports from teachers and assistants
• reports from private therapists
• old reports

England: a system no one explains to you

England has a completely different system.

Not worse.

Just different.

And most importantly: no one tells you what you are entitled to.

Official websites in England

GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk

DLA: https://www.gov.uk/disability-living-allowance-children

PIP: https://www.gov.uk/pip

Universal Credit: https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit

Carer’s Allowance: https://www.gov.uk/carers-allowance

EHCP: https://www.gov.uk/children-with-special-educational-needs

In England no one tells you anything

• the GP won’t tell you about DLA
• the school won’t tell you about EHCP
• the council won’t tell you about the extra bedroom
• no one tells you about Motability
• no one tells you about Council Tax Reduction
• no one tells you about Carer’s Allowance

If it weren’t for Facebook, most parents would get nothing.

How to apply for DLA and PIP

• you apply online
• they send you a paper form
• you fill it in yourself
• you attach all reports
• even old ones, even one‑year‑old, even two‑year‑old

GOV.UK understands that:

• the paediatrician gives appointments once every 1–2 years
• CAMHS has an 18–36 month waiting list
• diagnosis takes 1–3 years

➡️ Old reports are acceptable.

DLA (up to 16 years)

Current rates 2026 (weekly):

• Low: £31.35
• Middle: £79.40
• High: £118.60

Mobility:

• Low: £31.35
• High: £82.40

PIP (from 16 years)

Opens entitlement to:

• LCWRA
• Carer’s Allowance
• Carer element in UC
• Council Tax Reduction
• Blue Badge
• Motability
• transport discounts

LCWRA – reality

In the UK system:

• A parent can have LCWRA for themselves
• and at the same time the Carer’s element for the child

➡️ The combination is legal and common. ➡️ It is hard to prove that you can care for a child.

Universal Credit – what a parent actually receives

• Standard allowance
• Children
• Disabled child element (for each child according to DLA)
• Carer element

UC takes away the full Carer’s Allowance, but leaves you the Carer element.

Healthcare in England

• after giving birth: one year free dentist + prescriptions
• with UC: dentist, optician, glasses, prescriptions free
• children: everything free until adulthood

GP in England

• it is not “your” doctor
• there are many doctors in one practice
• you see a different one each time
• diagnosis is given by a paediatrician, not the GP

Medication in England

• for everything: paracetamol or ibuprofen
• melatonin only on prescription
• paediatrician once a year or every two years

Special schools in England

• the child is there all day
• 9:00 – 15:00
• they have assistants
• they have SENCO
• they have therapies
• sensory rooms
• hydrotherapy
• farms, horses, pools

Free transport

If the child has an EHCP or a special school:

• bus from door to door
• with an escort
• every day
• free

You must apply for it online.

Mainstream schools in England

• the child may have an assistant
• but often shares them
• the school cannot refuse the child
• if the child cannot cope → the school must apply for an EHCP

Two worlds, two truths

Living with an autistic child means living in constant tension between what the child needs and what society can give.

In Slovakia, the allowances are low and the parent must fight for every document. In England, there are services, but waiting times are long and the cost of living is enormous.

Yes, England gives more — but a large part of it disappears into rent, energy and everyday life.

Still, a parent feels they can give the child a little more: more therapy, more calm, more space to breathe.

But neither system is easy. And neither makes a parent’s life simpler.

Every child on the spectrum is different. One doesn’t speak, another speaks too much. One fears touch, another can’t get enough of it. One needs silence, another needs movement.

And in the middle stands the parent, learning anew every single day.

A child being “different” does not mean the parent has it easier. Quite the opposite — it means more paperwork, more battles, more explaining, more misunderstanding. But also more love, more courage and more strength than they ever knew they had.

And maybe that’s why we live between two countries. Because in one we find support, in the other services. In one certainty, in the other hope.

And somewhere in between we build our own world — one where our children can grow, develop and be themselves.

Not a perfect world. But ours.