Worried about mobility

Ryea1394

Hi everyone, 
Sorry in advanced for the lengthy question and any help would be greatly appreciated. 

I have recently sent the form for dla for my 7 year old.

The questions for mobility were tricky as I feel they were aimed at what the physical body is capable of and doesn't take into consideration other reasons the body may not work as it should, my daughter is able bodied but her brain will not allow her body to mobilise properly.

I'm not sure I've worded this correctly but I hope you get the jist of what I'm saying. 

Has anyone else had trouble with something similar? 

Ross_Alumni

Hello @Ryea1394

Welcome to the online community, I hope you are well this morning.

The wording of the questions isn't always clear, so I'm sorry that you got a bit stuck on them and weren't sure how to approach them. Out of curiosity, how did you approach answering them in the end? Did you explain that your daughter is physically capable but has challenges in terms of her mental health instead?

There's no need to worry, I understand what you mean and I'm sure other community members will too  

This is a very supportive and welcoming site to be a part of so I’m hopeful that you’ll find it to be a positive outlet. Feel free to have a look around and get involved wherever you’d like 😊 I have included below a few of the pages I’d recommend having a look through to get used to things:

• The virtual coffee lounge which is one of our categories, in which we play games and talk about general subjects such as hobbies and interests
• The recent discussions page, which shows an overview of everything happening across the community
• The categories page, which shows a full list of discussion groups on the community

If you have any questions at all then don’t hesitate to ask.

Ryea1394

I did explain that her mental health hinders her physical capability and I've also had the gp send a letter to explain this so I'm hoping it is taken seriously 

poppy123456

The mobility component

If your child needs help getting around they may qualify for the mobility component. You need to show that your child is unable or virtually unable to walk and/or needs substantially more guidance and supervision than a child of the same age without a disability or health condition.

The lower rate mobility component can be paid to a child from the age of five years. It is for children who can walk but who need extra guidance or supervision on unfamiliar routes outdoors.

The higher rate mobility component can be paid to a child from the age of three years. It is for children who are unable, or virtually unable to walk, or where the exertion required to walk would constitute a danger to their life or would be likely to lead to a serious deterioration in their health. Children can also qualify if they have a severe visual impairment, are both deaf and blind, or are severely mentally impaired.

Four factors are taken into account when deciding whether your child is virtually unable to walk. The test is whether their:

‘ability to walk out of doors is so limited, as regards to:

• the distance over which
• the speed at which
• the length of time for which or
• the manner in which

(they) can make progress on foot without severe discomfort, that (they are) virtually unable to walk.’

To qualify for the higher rate mobility component because of severe mental impairment, the child has to meet all the following criteria:

• be entitled to the higher rate care component of DLA
• suffer from a state of arrested development or incomplete physical development of the brain which results in severe mental impairment of intelligence or social functioning
• exhibit ‘disruptive behaviour’ which ‘is extreme’ and ‘regularly requires another person to intervene and physically restrain them to prevent them from causing injury to themselves or another, or damage to property’
• be so unpredictable that they require another person to watch over them whenever they are awake

https://www.carersuk.org/help-and-advice/financial-support/help-with-benefits/disability-living-allowance