Autism & Blue badges

[coco2891]

Does anyone ever get one ?

My son has just turned 4 and just been diagnosed with Autism. My local council says we are not eligible.
My reason for wanting one is the danger element with him, he has no road sense, he's a runner and frequently has meltdowns when we have to go to or leave places which means it's a real struggle to get in and to the car / get him in the car safely. I feel like a blue badge would logistically make a massive difference for us - esp with the school run 😖
So is it a postcode / local council thing or is there a higher power I can contact ?
Thanks x

Theyve really tightened up the eligibility for a BB now. It certainly seems to be more mobility based.

There is an appeals procedure. If you contact the Local Authority who turned you down they'll tell you how to go about it. I got mine renewed on appeal thankfully

Ok thanks x

are you in England? there was a consultation last year to extend BB eligibility to 'hidden disabilities' (Wales/Scotland already do this). consultation came out in favour but criteria have not been checked changed yet. I read somewhere that is is supposed to come into action in Summer/Autumn this year.

just to add - DD is 11 with ASD and severe LD. we never managed to get a BB not even through appeal. I would wait until the government chances the eligibility criteria later this year. definitely post code lottery. my LA is very tough but my neighbour LA much less so.

We did when ds was 8 and it’s been a godsend.

I guess at 4 part of the problem is when you say “no sense of danger” most people would think “that’s a 4 year old” not realising the difference.

If you compare him to other kids of the same age in your application, and make clear that you understand he's not just a 4yo,it may work. Does he get mobility-based DLA for that reason? Might be easier to start there and then apply for the BB (my eldest has ASD, middle rate care and low este mobikity DLA, but was 6 when we applied so easier to show his running in panic had him less safe than his peers)

I recently got one for my 4yr old autistic son. I sent a covering letter explaining how very difficult it was to go anywhere, how this impacted us as a family, and how he endangered himself, his sisters and passers by. I referenced his autism throughout. 6 weeks later I got a call saying to come and pick up his blue badge. Well worth a try, good luck

Thanks for the replies , he does get DLA but not for mobility it's based on his constant care needs. I'll start putting a letter together and go for it again x

Hi, not posted on here in a while, I recieved a blue badge for my diagnosed autistic son aged 3 after 3 weeks of applying. It was pretty straight forward they just wanted a letter from a professional who works with him. Hope this helps xx

Thanks 😀

Most 4 year olds are dangerous in a car park. Your son is not significantly different from his peer group in that regard. If he was 13 and the same height as you and you couldn't physically hold him back then you would be eligible.

@MumUnderTheMoon You don't know my son , I have given a brief explanation in my original post. For a start it's not a car park , he is extremely strong and hard to physically manage. We arrive at school the same time as his peers and I can tell you that he is vastly different in that regard

My now 5yo wasn't dangerous in a car park at age 4, but then he's not Autistic -could talk and understand

I was simply stating the reasons that can be used to refuse a blue badge. He is 4, plenty of four year olds will not do as they are told and have no road sense, my point was that you will have to show that your sons needs as regards road safety and awareness are significantly different to his peer group. Otherwise this will probably be the reason that he will be refused one.

At 4 years old they would be questioning why holding hands or using reins or a buggy don't stop him running off etc. You would need to show why none of those are realistic ways of managing the behaviour. You will have more chance when he becomes eligible for low rate mobility when he is 5 and if the school back you up with similar behaviour there. We got one for ds when he was 7 and still using reins and a sn buggy.

Ds 5 with asd has one. He got it when he was 4.

I wrote a covering letter explaining about the no danger awareness, I strongly advise you to spell it out though. Bcos one persons no danger awareness is totally different to the next persons, ds puts himself at risks I didn't even know could exist, I know several people with autistic children and there children have so much more danger sense than ds. For instance my friends boy has non verbal autism but he can play in the back garden alone and is in and out totally fine while she does her housework, I suspect ds will be 25 before he would be able to do that and I'll still have my binoculars out the kitchen window

I can't leave my ds in another room alone for a minute for example as he's ripping the carpets up at the skirting board and cutting his fingers open on the carpet tacks he comes to the toilet with me and while I'm sat on the toilet he's beside me trying to eat hand soap etc etc.

But I think what ultimately got him his BB was his mobility issues, he's a full time tip toe walker (on the very tips) and wears special boots and falls over all the time and I sent evidence in from his pead and a copy of his ehcp etc.

To be honest, I'm grateful we got one, but it doesn't really make much of a difference to my stress levels, ds is still hard work getting him from a to b no matter how close we are!

We got one for our ds, at age 4. It's possible. I provided extensive reasons and if you can grt a professional to back you up it'll help.

It will be changing later this year, as a consultation has high lighted the inequality in application for blue badges between developmental/mental health conditions and physical disabilities such as ASD. You can appeal currently but look out for the changes in the summer or autumn this year.