Problems Walking Outdoors (DLA only)

LOWER MOBILITY

Most people getting the ‘mobility’ part of DLA because of mental health problems get the ‘lower rate’, which is paid because you need someone with you when you are in unfamiliar places. This could be because of:

· Panic attacks
· Anxiety that makes it hard for you to concentrate/ communicate
· Voices which distract you
· Paranoid feelings
· You putting yourself at risk in some way

Incredibly, if your difficulties are so severe that you can’t get out at all, then you do not qualify. List ALL the difficulties you might have and explain how having someone with you helps (e.g. encouragement, guidance, communicating with strangers, reassurance, keeping from danger, calming, helping you to a place you feel safe, etc.)
DLA caselaw says that your ability to walk outdoors should ignore ‘familiar routes’, so if you cope with getting to see friends/ relatives, or to some local shops and back alone, that shouldn’t stop you getting benefit. Try, then, to imagine how you would cope in an unfamiliar setting, and answer the questions in that context.

HIGHER MOBILITY

To qualify for the higher rate of the Mobility Component someone must either be suffering from a PHYSICAL disablement and their PHYSICAL CONDITION as a whole must be such that they are:

· Unable to walk OR
· Virtually unable to walk OR
· The exertion needed to walk would constitute a danger to life or be likely to lead to a serious deterioration in health OR
· They have no feet (from birth or through amputation)

OR someone must be:
· Both 80 per cent deaf and 100 per cent blind

OR
· Be getting DLA ‘Care’ at the highest rate AND be severely mentally impaired from ‘arrested development of the brain’ AND have severe behavioural problems needing constant supervision to avoid danger to self, others or property.

In effect, these conditions rule out the higher mobility component for most people with mental health problems unless they also have physical disabilities that make it very difficult or dangerous for them to walk.

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