Applications that are worth it
Care level, disability card, integration assistance: the paperwork that actually brings relief — and how to approach it.
Paperwork is the last thing you have energy for after a diagnosis. And it is precisely now that it decides what support your family receives — financially, in time and in practice.
The good news: there are not many applications, and they build on one another. Knowing the order and what matters during the assessment saves a lot of frustration and some appeals.
One thing up front: for an application for integration assistance under § 35a SGB VIII you do not need a completed autism diagnosis. What counts is the impairment of participation, not the label.
Reading this from the United Kingdom? The steps below are the German ones. Britain builds it differently — an EHC needs assessment in England, additional support needs in Scotland, DLA or Child Disability Payment for the money — but the sentence you have just read holds there too, and holds harder: none of it needs a diagnosis first. In March 2026, 270,701 people in England had an open autism referral, so waiting for the assessment before applying for anything else is the most expensive thing a family can do. Applications, deadlines and benefits in the UK →
The order that works in practice
You do not have to tackle everything at once. This sequence has proven workable in practice.
Document everything
Keep a simple diary: what happens when, how long it lasts, how much support is needed. These records are your most important material for every application.
Apply for a care level
The care level brings money, relief services and respite care. The application goes informally to the care insurance fund of your health insurer — one sentence is enough; everything else follows.
Severe disability card
It brings compensations for disadvantage, tax benefits and, depending on the markers, further relief. The responsible body is the Versorgungsamt (pensions and benefits office, which also decides on disability status) or the competent state authority.
Clarify integration assistance
Under § 35a SGB VIII at the youth welfare office: for school assistance, autism therapy and other participation services. For an intellectual, physical or multiple disability, the integration assistance provider under SGB IX is responsible instead (depending on the region: social welfare office, regional association or district). If an application ends up at the wrong office, that office must forward it to the responsible one under § 14 SGB IX. Advice before applying is worthwhile here.
Read on in the Mika Guide
The module “Applications” in the Mika Guide takes you through the procedures step by step — with sample wording and checklists for the assessment appointment.
Which application first?
The order that makes sense — and why it works in practice.
Care level
Application, assessment, classification: what counts and what is often overlooked.
Severe disability card
Degree of disability, markers and what they mean in everyday life.
Integration assistance § 35a
School assistance and therapy: the route via the youth welfare office or the integration assistance provider.
The assessment appointment
What to bring, how to describe things and why the bad day is the honest one.
If you are refused
An appeal is normal and often successful — deadlines and how to proceed.
The app is free; the first section of this module is free to read, the deeper content belongs to Mika+ (one-time €19.99, £19.99 in the UK).
On the legal information on this page
I compile this information to the best of my knowledge and keep it as current as I can. Even so: laws change, amounts are adjusted, procedures differ from one federal state to the next — and every family has its own situation.
What you read here is therefore orientation and expressly not legal advice. Only the applicable law and the decision of the responsible authority are binding. For decisions you take on the basis of this page I cannot accept liability.
When a lot depends on it — a refusal, an appeal, a court case — please get support. The independent participation counseling (EUTB) is free and available throughout Germany; social welfare associations such as VdK or SoVD and lawyers specializing in social law can also help.
In the United Kingdom the same job is done, also free of charge, by IPSEA and your local SENDIASS in England, Enquire in Scotland, SNAP Cymru in Wales and SENAC in Northern Ireland; Contact advises families across the whole UK.
Status: August 2026. Law, amounts and procedures change — in the UK, benefit rates are normally uprated every April. What applies at the time of your application is what counts; please check it with the office responsible.
Would you like to talk about it?
I am happy to help you sort out which application makes sense in your situation and what belongs in the justification.