Legal help with personal assistance in Sweden

Who may qualify for personal assistance?

Personal assistance is individually designed support provided by a limited number of people. It is intended for a person covered by the Swedish LSS legislation who requires help with one or more basic needs because of a major and permanent disability.

Basic needs include assistance with:

• breathing
• personal hygiene
• eating meals
• getting dressed and undressed
• communicating with others
• preventing injury resulting from a mental disability
• continuous support required because of a medical condition.

The assessment concerns the nature of the assistance as well as its frequency, duration, and the way it must be provided.

If assistance with basic needs exceeds an average of 20 hours per week, you may apply to the Swedish Social Insurance Agency for assistance allowance. If the needs do not exceed that threshold, an application for personal assistance may be made to the municipality.

The Swedish Social Insurance Agency explains the requirements for assistance allowance.

The application and needs assessment

The application should explain how the disability affects daily life and what assistance is required. Medical evidence should describe the connection between the diagnosis, the functional impairment, and the practical limitations.

It is useful to document:

• the tasks for which assistance is needed
• how the assistance must be provided
• how often each need occurs
• how long each task takes
• what happens if assistance is unavailable
• which needs are already met in another way.

The municipality or the Swedish Social Insurance Agency assesses whether you are covered by LSS, which needs qualify as basic needs, and how many hours of assistance should be granted. Other personal needs may also be considered when the basic-needs requirement is met.

For a child, a standardized parental deduction is generally made for support that a parent would normally provide to a child of the same age. Certain support needs are exempt from this deduction.

The Swedish Social Insurance Agency provides general information about the process from application to decision.

If the application is denied or too few hours are granted

Read the decision carefully. Check which needs were accepted, how the time was calculated, and why other parts of the application were denied.

A denial may be based on a finding that you are not covered by LSS, that a particular need does not qualify as a basic need, or that the documented time is insufficient.

A municipal decision may be appealed to the administrative court. A decision from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency will normally need to be reconsidered by the agency before the reconsidered decision can be appealed.

The challenge should respond directly to the reasoning in the decision and explain your actual need for assistance. Additional medical evidence, statements from other professionals, or a more detailed description of the support may be required.