Can I be reassessed for high rate mobility for my son

karenwhas
karenwhas Online Community Member Posts: 1 Listener
edited November 2017 in Benefits and income
Hi I'm new to this today so hope I'm doing things correctly. My son is 11 years old and was diagnosed with Aspergers 7 year ago. He was awarded high rate care and low rate mobility back then and then again in March of this year. I was wondering however if i can be reassessed for the mobility component. As George is getting older its getting more and more difficult to get him out and about. He can't and doesnt go out alone as he is unaware of any dangers and just wouldn't know what to do or where to go. He has a lot of sensory issues so won't go on public transport, it's far too busy and noisy for him. His walking isn't great and can take a long while to get a short distance so it's just not something he wants to do. He gets picked up for school by a taxi which he is happy with. I would just like to be able to try and get him out and about more to try help him but as I don't have a car and have no way of getting one I wondered if I could ask for a reconsideration on his mobility award. Thank you

Comments

  • Pippa_Alumni
    Pippa_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 5,761 Championing
    Hi @karenwhas, welcome to the community!

    I've moved your post into our 'Ask a benefits advisor' category to see if they can advise you on the best way to go about appealing your son's mobility award. Hopefully somebody will be in touch with you soon! 
  • BenefitsTrainingCo
    BenefitsTrainingCo Online Community Member Posts: 2,621 Trailblazing

    Hi @karenwhas

    As Mike states - the higher rate of DLA mobility generally refers to the claimants physical ability to walk, rather than the extent to which it is curtailed by their distress or need for supervision  - they generally come within the lower rate.

    There is a route through 'Severe Mental Impairment' which can give an award of high rate mobility, and the criteria are set out quite well by Autism UK in the link below.

    http://www.autism.org.uk/about/benefits-care/benefits/children/dla-mobility-component.aspx

    You can ask for a reassessment at any time just by calling up the DWP and asking them to send the forms for him to be reassessed (I'm assuming your recent decision is out of time for appeal here, but please let us know if this is not the case). My only word of warning is to remember that awards can be reduced as well as increased.

    Good luck and do let us know if you need anything further!

    Kind regards,

    Mary

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