What is defined as "severely mentally impaired" for D.L.A purposes?

HotShotLin

Hey.

What is defined as "severely mentally impaired" and also "severe behavioural problems" for the purposes of being entitled to High Rate Mobility ~Disability Living Allowance~? ...(Also they'd be in receipt of High Rate Care too)

Would this refer to somebody whom had brain damage or mental regression or somebody who had a severe mental condition such as Schizophrenia, Bi-Polar Disorder or Autism (whichever form) who had behavioural issues say they were temperamental and lashed out at others without warning, etc..

Could somebody kindly advise me on this?

I'd be very grateful.

Thanks!
HSL xXx

the_devil_made_me_do_it

I have Bi-polar & I don't get HRM, although I do get HRC.

shoe*gal_2

My son has autism and is violent without warning as well as requiring full time care. He does not qualify for HRM but does get HRC. I don't know how bad he has to be to get the HRM as he can't be left alone and can't use public transport. We are currently appealing the refusal on renewal.

pmlindyloo

This link talks about children and eligibility - might be useful:

http://www.cafamily.org.uk/media/379407/dla_learningdisabilitiesandautismspectrum.pdf

DomRavioli

A severe mental impairment is not a mental health issue. It refers to those in society who have mental impairments, such as severe retardation, ABI and other brain/CNS disorders where they cannot function at a level considered to be high.

covlass

Severe mental impairment refers to someone who "has arrested or incomplete physical development of the brain resulting in severe impairment of intelligence and social functioning". Conditions that start later in life, such as recent brain damage or the onset of Alzheimer's disease which affect people whose brains are fully developed, do not count.

Lot's of links mention an IQ test for intelligence if it is a child simply ask the school how the child's intelligence rates against that of a child of the same age who has no learning problems/disabilities.

shegirl

Ds gets high rate mobility.He's severely autistic with ' severe learning disability' and sensory issues.

There needs to be an 'impairment' that makes going out and about very difficult,a risk of danger to self and/or others and requiring help/supervision,I believe.

shegirl

Oh,and why do so many people put autism in with mental illnesses?!

rogerblack

shegirl wrote: »

Oh,and why do so many people put autism in with mental illnesses?!

Because the definition of what is a mental illness is unclear.

If you object to the term 'mentally ill' - because that's for people with Schizophrenia and other similar disorders, and is not inborn, do you then object to the use of that term for those whos Schizophrenia developed due to a genetic cause?

Fundamentally, I feel labels are rather unhelpful generally, and getting overly angry about labels applied somewhat inappropriately generally helps nobody.

RogerBlack.
Disabled, Fat, mentally ill, balding, benefit scrounger, rocket scientist, yogurtmaker, woodworker, hungry, 'Virtually unable to walk', 'Cannot cope with minor unplanned change (such as the timing of an appointment on the day it is due to occur), to the extent that overall, day to day life is made significantly more difficult'
(All the above apply to me, either legally, arguably, or to some degree)

Wheekypigs

rogerblack wrote: »

Because the definition of what is a mental illness is unclear.

If you object to the term 'mentally ill' - because that's for people with Schizophrenia and other similar disorders, and is not inborn, do you then object to the use of that term for those whos Schizophrenia developed due to a genetic cause?

I don't know much about schizophrenia, so somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but even if the schizophrenia was caused by genetics it's still treated the same way as non-genetic schizophrenia, right? It's still a mental illness that can be controlled with medication and most people who are disposed to it develop the full-blown illness in their teens or twenties.

Autism, however, is a developmental disorder and is (in most cases) present from birth or early childhood. You can't "treat" autism itself, only some of the associated problems like anxiety, sleeplessness and depression.

An autistic person never has periods where they are not autistic, whereas a schizophrenic person may go through periods of wellness where they appear normal and are able to function well in society.
I hope that makes sense. As I said before, I'm not entirely familiar with schizophrenia so I'm only going on what I have read in articles and such.