Social Security Disability Benefits

Mental disorders are a major category for Social Security Disability Impairments. This can be a somewhat difficult category to navigate, since mental disorders can be somewhat subjective compared to other ailments such as cancer or ALS. Organic mental disorders refers to psychological or behavioral abnormalities that are caused by a dysfunction of the brain. Even with treatment, these disorders make it impossible for the subject to adhere to a regular work life, therefore necessitating the need for disability insurance.

To prove a mental disorder, applicants must meet two requirements:

1. The demonstration of the loss of specific cognitive abilities with the presence of at least one of the following:
a. Disorientation to time or place
b. Short term or long term memory loss or impairment
c. Thinking disturbances such as hallucinations or delusions
d. Noticeable change in personality
e. Emotional liability (such as temper or anger) or impairment of impulse control

2. As a result of #1, restriction in one of these aspects:
a. Activities of daily living
b. Maintenance of social functioning
c. Maintenance of concentration.

Examples of an organic mental disorder include:

• Schizophrenia
• Affective disorders (depression)
• Mental retardation
• Anxiety related disorders (severe OCD, post traumatic stress disorder)
• Somatoform disorders (speech, vision or hearing disorders)
• Personality disorders (bi-polarism)
• Substance abuse disorders
• Autism and developmental disorders.

Many people who suffer from mental illness will need the help of family and an attorney to win disability benefits.

Tay – Sachs disease affects mainly infants although older children and even adults can be afflicted. Tay-Sachs is caused by a gene that affects the break down of lipids. While children may seem to be normal at birth, their development begins to slow at around six months of age. They cannot sit up and may suffer seizures. Those with Juvenile or Late Onset Tay-Sachs may experience a lack of coordination, slurred speech and weakness. The disease is characterized by a cherry-red spot in the retina of the eye.

In March 2010, the Social Security Administration added Tay – Sachs disease to of its list of conditions in its Compassionate Allowances Program. This means families can apply for expedited Social Security income to help with medical expenses. Under normal circumstances processing an application for Social Security Income could take many months. Since many parents have to quit their jobs to care for their children affected by the disease, this puts a financial hardship on the family.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) classifies Tay – Sachs disease as a rare disease, meaning it affects less than 200,000 people. Some think that Tay-Sachs disease only affects Jews. However, the disease has been diagnosed in French Canadians and in Louisiana Cajuns.

No cure exists for Tay-Sachs disease and many families struggle to keep their children comfortable. Most children diagnosed as infants die before they are five years old. The life span for those diagnosed with Late Onset Tay-Sachs is usually not affected and the symptoms are treated.

Those suffering from rare and severe medical conditions can have their disability application process quickly under the Compassionate Allowances program which allows Social Security administrators to quickly identify and process the medical information needed. Below is the initial list of 50 medical conditions for the program:

1 Acute Leukemia
2 Adrenal Cancer – with distant metastases or inoperable, unresectable or recurrent
3 Alexander Disease (ALX) – Neonatal and Infantile
4 Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
5 Anaplastic Adrenal Cancer – with distant metastases or inoperable, unresectable or recurrent
6 Astrocytoma – Grade III and IV
7 Bladder Cancer – with distant metastases or inoperable or unresectable
8 Bone Cancer – with distant metastases or inoperable or unresectable
9 Breast Cancer – with distant metastases or inoperable or unresectable
10 Canavan Disease (CD)
11 Cerebro Oculo Facio Skeletal (COFS) Syndrome
12 Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML) – Blast Phase
13 Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) – Adult
14 Ependymoblastoma (Child Brain Tumor)
15 Esophageal Cancer
16 Farber’s Disease (FD) – Infantile
17 Friedreichs Ataxia (FRDA)
18 Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD), Picks Disease -Type A – Adult
19 Gallbladder Cancer
20 Gaucher Disease (GD) – Type 2
21 Glioblastoma Multiforme (Brain Tumor)
22 Head and Neck Cancers – with distant metastasis or inoperable or uresectable
23 Infantile Neuroaxonal Dystrophy (INAD)
24 Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC)
25 Kidney Cancer – inoperable or unresectable
26 Krabbe Disease (KD) – Infantile
27 Large Intestine Cancer – with distant metastasis or inoperable, unresectable or recurrent
28 Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome (LNS)
29 Liver Cancer
30 Mantle Cell Lymphoma (MCL)
31 Metachromatic Leukodystrophy (MLD) – Late Infantile
32 Niemann-Pick Disease (NPD) – Type A
33 Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer – with metastases to or beyond the hilar nodes or inoperable, unresectable or recurrent
34 Ornithine Transcarbamylase (OTC) Deficiency
35 Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) – Type II
36 Ovarian Cancer – with distant metastases or inoperable or unresectable
37 Pancreatic Cancer
38 Peritoneal Mesothelioma
39 Pleural Mesothelioma
40 Pompe Disease – Infantile
41 Rett (RTT) Syndrome
42 Salivary Tumors
43 Sandhoff Disease
44 Small Cell Cancer (of the Large Intestine, Ovary, Prostate, or Uterus)
45 Small Cell Lung Cancer
46 Small Intestine Cancer – with distant metastases or inoperable, unresectable or recurrent
47 Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) – Types 0 And 1
48 Stomach Cancer – with distant metastases or inoperable, unresectable or recurrent
49 Thyroid Cancer
50 Ureter Cancer – with distant metastases or inoperable, unresectable or recurrent

If you have a rare or severe medical condition you may be able to qualify for Social Security Disability benefits under a program called Compassionate Allowances. Under the Compassionate Allowances program, those suffering from certain medical conditions and impairments will have their application processed quickly through the “fast track” program which helps administrators rapidly identify and process medical conditions on the program’s list of medical impairments.

In March of 2010, the Social Security Administration added 38 additional diseases to its list of 50 diseases. Now there are 88 diseases on the list. The additions to the list came after a long review process which included a series of public hearings.

According to the Social Security Administration’s website,

“The initial list of Compassionate Allowance conditions was developed as a result of information received at public outreach hearings, public comment on an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, comments received from the Social Security and Disability Determination Service communities, and the counsel of medical and scientific experts. The expanded list of conditions was developed by holding additional public outreach hearings, working closely with the National Institutes of Health, the Alzheimer’s Association, the National Organization for Rare Disorders, and other groups.”

Social Security Disability Income may sound as if it is only available to those who are injured or sick, but it is also available to individuals suffering from mental illness. However, it is harder to win a claim for mental illness since the symptoms are harder to assess and not as visible as an illness or injury.

It is important to know that examiners are not psychiatrists and go by a “blue book” of impairments. Some impairments may not be listed in this guide and a claim will automatically be denied. Even if your condition isn’t listed in the book of impairments, you can also prove that it is disabling enough to not let you work for at least a year.

When filing, work with a knowledgeable expert such as an attorney or advocate who is well-versed with helping people file Social Security Disability claims. They can help you gather all of the required information that you will need such as medical history, work history and other pertinent information.

Many claims for those with mental illness are denied, but take heart that there is always an appeals process. People with severe mental illness may be unable to function in a work environment and could be eligible for medical vocational allowance.