“7. Your representative has criticised the Tribunal’s decision making on the ‘severe mental impairment’ criteria to eligibility for an award of the Mobility Component of Disability Living Allowance at the Higher Rate. 8. Your representative argues that, given that the Tribunal accepted (at paragraph 30 of its statement of reasons) the evidence recited at paragraphs 19 and 20, it was incumbent on it to explain with greater particularity than it did why it did not accept that you satisfied the ‘severe mental impairment’ criteria. 9. I am persuaded that this ground of appeal is realistically arguable and warrants a grant of permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal. My grant of permission extends to all matters raised in your UT1 application form.”
“The mobility component 73. (1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, a person shall be entitled to the mobility component of a disability living allowance for any period in which he is over the relevant age and throughout which- … (c) he falls within subsection (3) below; … (3) A person falls within this subsection if – (a) he is severely mentally impaired; and (b) he displays severe behavioural problems; and (c) he satisfies both the conditions mentioned in section 72(1)(b) and (c) above.”
“(5) A person falls within subsection (3)(a) of section 73 of the [1992 Act] (severe behavioural problems) if he exhibits disruptive behaviour which- (a) is extreme, (b) regularly requires another person to intervene and physically restrain him in order to prevent him causing physical injury to himself or another, or damage to property, and (c) is so unpredictable that he requires another person to be present and watching over him whenever he is awake.”
“18. Within the documents in the bundle, we were told the following about Ahmed's parents' experience of his behaviour: a. Ahmed has no sense of danger. He will run off in any direction and somebody needs to be with him to stop him from running on to the road (pages 26-27). b. When he runs, he is unable to judge obstacles and his surroundings. He will trip over causing himself cuts and bruises (page 28). c. He needs to be restrained with strong straps and there is a need for a special-needs pushchair (page 50). d. He will not respond to the command 'stop' (page 50). e. There are two extra locks on each door in the house, and there is a need to ' put a GPS tracker in Ahmed's nappy pad (page 51). f. He does not sleep and can spends days awake. He will be full of energy, hopping and jumping (page 51). g. He is unable to follow simple instructions (page 66). h. If he drops to the floor, he has to be physically moved (page 79). i. He occasionally has episodes where he will temporarily paralyse and not be willing to walk (page 87). 19. In an Education, Health and Care Plan ("EHCP") dated 01.07.2020, the following relevant matters are explained about his behaviour: a. Ahmed is a cuddly, happy and energetic boy (page 63). He enjoys cuddles (page 65). b. He is described as being sensitive to too much sound. He responds well to firm pressure and contact (page 63). c. He can display sensory seeking behaviours with his hands such as playing with cornflour and foam, as well as his poo (page 63). d. He displays little sense of safety or awareness of others (page 63). e. He can be impulsive in his behaviours which can impact on the safety of those around him, for example he will push past and bump into other children if they are in his way (page 63). f. He finds it difficult to follow instructions (page 64) and is unable to follow simple instructions (page 66). g. He can get very upset when someone comes to play with toys he is playing with or takes them away. When playing alongside peers, at times he can push other children to get what he wants (page 66). 20. At the appeal hearing, Mrs Bashir told us the following additional information about Ahmed's behaviour in response to our questions: a. After Ahmed's father passed in 2021, Ahmed's behaviour deteriorated. Examples included pulling, hitting, pinching, pulling Mrs Bashir's hair, throwing things, biting, and breaking things in the house. It has led to broken tiles and a broken dining table. He will scratch the walls with pens. b. He does not seem to feel pain when he gets cut. c. He is hyperactive at night time and wakes his siblings up. d. There are 3 locks on the front door. e. His behaviour has been worse since the 2020 EHCP document was produced. She did not recall receiving any written reports from the school about his behaviour. It was more likely she has received phone calls. She was not getting any written reports about physical restraint. f. At home, she will restrain him by holding him down on the couch and encouraging deep breathing. g. If walking outside, she will hover around him, hold his hand or guide him with her hand. If she takes him to the park, she will follow him around the park. h. Ahmed last saw the community paediatrician in 2019 or 2020. i. She did not receive a pushchair from the NHS despite expecting one. j. The reference in the EHCP document to touching poo is a reference to Ahmed putting his finger in his nappy.” a. Ahmed has no sense of danger. He will run off in any direction and somebody needs to be with him to stop him from running on to the road (pages 26-27). b. When he runs, he is unable to judge obstacles and his surroundings. He will trip over causing himself cuts and bruises (page 28). c. He needs to be restrained with strong straps and there is a need for a special-needs pushchair (page 50). d. He will not respond to the command 'stop' (page 50). e. There are two extra locks on each door in the house, and there is a need to ' put a GPS tracker in Ahmed's nappy pad (page 51). f. He does not sleep and can spends days awake. He will be full of energy, hopping and jumping (page 51). g. He is unable to follow simple instructions (page 66). h. If he drops to the floor, he has to be physically moved (page 79). i. He occasionally has episodes where he will temporarily paralyse and not be willing to walk (page 87). a. Ahmed is a cuddly, happy and energetic boy (page 63). He enjoys cuddles (page 65). b. He is described as being sensitive to too much sound. He responds well to firm pressure and contact (page 63). c. He can display sensory seeking behaviours with his hands such as playing with cornflour and foam, as well as his poo (page 63). d. He displays little sense of safety or awareness of others (page 63). e. He can be impulsive in his behaviours which can impact on the safety of those around him, for example he will push past and bump into other children if they are in his way (page 63). f. He finds it difficult to follow instructions (page 64) and is unable to follow simple instructions (page 66). g. He can get very upset when someone comes to play with toys he is playing with or takes them away. When playing alongside peers, at times he can push other children to get what he wants (page 66). a. After Ahmed's father passed in 2021, Ahmed's behaviour deteriorated. Examples included pulling, hitting, pinching, pulling Mrs Bashir's hair, throwing things, biting, and breaking things in the house. It has led to broken tiles and a broken dining table. He will scratch the walls with pens. b. He does not seem to feel pain when he gets cut. c. He is hyperactive at night time and wakes his siblings up. d. There are 3 locks on the front door. e. His behaviour has been worse since the 2020 EHCP document was produced. She did not recall receiving any written reports from the school about his behaviour. It was more likely she has received phone calls. She was not getting any written reports about physical restraint. f. At home, she will restrain him by holding him down on the couch and encouraging deep breathing. g. If walking outside, she will hover around him, hold his hand or guide him with her hand. If she takes him to the park, she will follow him around the park. h. Ahmed last saw the community paediatrician in 2019 or 2020. i. She did not receive a pushchair from the NHS despite expecting one. j. The reference in the EHCP document to touching poo is a reference to Ahmed putting his finger in his nappy.”
“Mrs Bashir told us about […] further behaviour as outlined at paragraph 20 above. It was more severe than the behaviour described in the documents we had read. There were no documents to support this deterioration in behaviour, such as reports from the school. Ahmed had also not seen the Consultant Paediatrician since 2019 or 2020. We accept that Ahmed's behaviour probably did get worse for a period after the death of his father. This would be entirely understandable. Because the description is not supported by other evidence, however, we are not satisfied that Ahmed's behaviour can be properly described as extreme disruptive behaviour.”