Mental health and Mobility awards

Hi Lorraine,
Your full name seems to be showing, so you might want to change your details. If so here is the link.

www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/contact-and-help/registering#r11

I am not sure whether your query relates to DLA or PIP.
Under DLA your son would be entitled to low rate mobility if you can show that he needs guidance and or supervision outdoors, more than a non-disabked child if similar age.
Clearly if your son is a teenager and has no appreciation of traffic danger, or would run off and get lost, it is likely your claim will succeed. However if your son is a five year old this may be more difficult to prove since 5 year olds are generally quite naive to traffic hazards.

If you wish to pursue a claim for DLA mobility you will need good evidence to show how your son departs from the "norm" . Certainly with PIP DWP have been slow to recognise the difficulties that people with mental health problems, or conditions such as autism have in respect of being able to travel about. Under PIP there are various activities which relate to people who have difficulties completing or planning journeys through anxiety, getting list agoraphobia etc etc. It is therefore likely that your son will be able to gain sufficient points if he can not perform any one mobility activity safely, to an acceptable standard in a reasonable time and repeatedly. I suspect safety will be the main issue here.
If I understand correctly you are thinking of making an appeal to gain a mobility award for your son. You say you have made a review which I assume means a previous Mandatory Reconsideration?
If you wish to gain a mobility award you would need to ask for another MR. DWP rarely reduce an existing award in MR. But if they do, and or you still dispute the decision the next step would be to apply to the tribunal for an appeal hearing This is normally done by filling out an SSCS1 form online or by post.
The tribunal can look at the whole award. You can certainly indicate that you only wish to appeal the mobility award. (This all applies whether PIP or DLA is being appealed.) When I say the tribunal 'can' look at the whole award, it has a power to do so, but is not obliged to. There are rare times when the tribunal feels the existing award is incorrect, and wishes to remove or reduce this. This is very seldom done, but if the tribunal were thinking to do this a warning would have to be given.
So, you have the back stop of an appeal tribunal if DWP reduce an award following MR. To mitigate the risk make sure you have plenty of evidence if your son's difficulties, medical evidence, evidence from his teacher, which is really good as comparison with the 'norm' for his age. Or if you have often children or a friend etc does, you can make the comparison from your own knowledge. Use plenty if examples.
I hope this helps.
LL26