WHEN MENTAL CONDITIONS ARE 'DISABLING'

Editor's Note:  For more detailed information on Social Security based on mental impairments, please go to the link below:

 http://forsythefirm.blogspot.com   
Mental conditions become 'disabling' when they are so severe that they prevent your ability to perform work related activities on a full-time basis.  Full time is defined as 8 hours per day, 5 days per week, or an equivalent schedule.

Mental impairments include, for example, anxiety, depressive or affective disorders, organic damage to the brain or nervous system, developmental delay, etc.  These are general categories.* Social Security disability awards are based on severe restrictions of function.  These may include, for example, severe restrictions in the ability to:
  •  Concentrate or focus
  •  Persist or stay on task.
  • Finish tasks or complete them in a timely manner
  • Understand and remember simple instructions
  • Adapt to change in work routines
  • Make judgments commensurate with skilled/unskilled work.
  • Respond appropriately to supervision
  • Respond appropriately to co-workers or the public
  • Report to work without excessive absences
If it can be shown through medical or psychological evidence that an individual is severely limited in one or more of the above functions, the individual may qualify for Social Security disability benefits based on a mental impairment.

Merely being diagnosed with a mental illness is not sufficient, by itself, to receive a disability award.  We must show the limiting affects or symptoms produced by the illness and how the ability to perform work is restricted.  Support from a medical doctor, psychiatrist or licensed clinical psychologist is imperative.  In some instances, additional evidence can also be provided by a counselor, school counselor, teacher, 1or other professional.

*Mental Impairments are listed in the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 404, Subpart P, Appendix I, Section 12.  The impairments named in this article are for examples only and do not reflect the entire list of mental impairments that may support a finding of disability.  An attorney or qualified non-attorney advocate can advise you on particular requirements to be awarded disability.  This is intended as general information and not legal advice for any particular individual, condition or situation.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

GETTING MONEY FROM SSDI

SSDI stands for Social Security Disability Insurance .  When you first began working, the Government deducted a percentage of your wages, called a FICA tax.  This continued as long as you worked, in most cases.  This money was matched by your employer and set aside in a government trust fund to help you if you later became disabled and could not work. SSDI is a type of government sponsored insurance program, usually called "Social Security disability insurance."  To get benefits out of SSDI, you must prove  that you have a medical disability so severe that you cannot work any full-time job; that this disability has lasted, or is expected to last, for at least 12 consecutive months. That sounds simple but Social Security has made it rather difficult to prove that you are disabled.  One reason is that their definition of 'disability' is so strict.  You usually must prove that you cannot perform even simple, unskilled work at the sed...
Read more

POST HEARING EVIDENCE

Many people assume that a Social Security disability case is over when the hearing has been held.  This isn't always the case.  Often there is post hearing work that should be done to achieve the best chance of a favorable decision. Everyone at a disability hearing works under pressure.  This includes the claimant, the representative, the vocational expert and even the administrative law judge.  Hearings are generally limited to less than one hour.  The judge will ask questions that place the claimant under stress to answer correctly.  The representative or attorney will be asked to respond to procedural issues or points of law that place him or her under pressure.  The judge must constantly conduct the hearing so that it follows Social Security laws, rules and regulations.  Further, the judge must form accurate hypothetical questions for the vocational expert based on the medical and vocational evidence in the file and upon the claimant's testi...
Read more

CAN YOU GET DISABILITY FOR SLEEP DISORDERS? HOW?

Many of my clients who file for Social Security disability have severe sleep disorders.  The question is, do these sleep problems equate to disability? The answer is, how do the sleep problems restrict the ability to perform full-time work?  What are the symptoms?  How frequent and how severe are the symptoms. Symptoms of insomnia, obstructive sleep apnea, narcolepsy or other sleep disorders often include: excessive daytime sleepiness fatigue loss of memory lack of concentration, persistence and pace irritability - unable to get along with supervisors, co-workers or customers at work If the medical record indicates treatment for these symptoms which has failed, then a finding of disability may be appropriate.  For example, if a person has obstructive sleep apnea which can be corrected by using a CPAP machine, then it is not disabling.  If a CPAP has been tried and failed to fix the problem, then we have valid medical problems that may hel...
Read more