Can You Get Social Security Disability For Dementia

The Importance Of Doctor And Third Party Statements

When determining your RFC, the SSA will generally place the most weight on your treating doctors’ opinions, your medical history, and any psychological or neuropsychological testing. But the SSA will also consider statements given by third persons such as family members and caretakers. These statements are helpful because they give a glimpse into your ability to interact with others, perform daily activities, and concentrate on activities. These statements should contain detailed information on why you cannot perform any work. It is best to have statements from individuals who have known you for a long period of time and who can provide an opinion as to how your daily functioning has declined over at least a one-year period.

In addition, the SSA is also required to consider any work evaluations and any attempts you have made at performing work. The agency must also review any statements you provide about your own treatment and symptoms.

Those Who Have Dementia With Declines In Learning Memory Concentration Or Language Can Often Get Disability Benefits If They Meet The Requirements Outlined By The Ssa

Dementia usually involves a progressive decline in your everyday functioning, in which your memory, language skills, judgment, or personality are affected. A variety of medical conditions can cause dementia. The most common conditions are Alzheimer’s disease, head injuries, and having a stroke. Although dementia is more likely to occur in elderly patients, the onset of dementia symptoms can occur at any age. Your doctor can give you a neuropsychological evaluation to determine whether you have dementia.

If your symptoms of dementia will prevent you from working for 12 months or more, you may qualify for Social Security Disability or Supplemental Security Income benefits. You can apply for SSDI benefits if you are not currently receiving retirement benefits. Once you reach full retirement age , your SSDI benefits automatically change to retirement benefits.

Finding The Right Doctor Can Help

All applicants should make sure to find the right doctor. Be sure to ask your doctor before you begin the application process as to whether or not they will help with documentation requirements. Doctors will need to complete various paperwork for someone with signs of dementia in order to qualify for disability benefits. It is possible they will have to run more tests and be willing to send results to the appropriate person or persons.

You will almost certainly have to present documentation from treating medical professionals to complete the application process for disability benefits. Each case will be different, of course, because every persons situation is different. A Disability Advocate can help you determine the right paperwork to present and can help to increase your chances of being approved for benefits.

to see how!

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Is Alzheimers Considered A Disability

In some cases, Alzheimers is considered a disability, especially in the case of early onset Alzheimers. If the symptoms of Alzheimers will prevent the person from working for at least a year, then they might qualify for Social Security Disability or Supplemental Security Income benefits.

Qualifying for SSDI

In order to qualify for SSDI, patients must meet the requirements of a disability listing. For patients with Alzheimers or other forms of dementia, neurocognitive disorders are the most common disability listing that they qualify for.

Patients will need to present medical evidence that they have declined in:

• Memory and learning
• Language ability
• Social skills

The decline in these areas must be significant enough to cause the patient severe limitations in how they function.

The SSA will require documentation showing that the patient meets these qualifications. These documents can be obtained from a primary care physician or other specialists that the patient sees. They also take into consideration work evaluations and any attempts the patient has made to continue working.

Compassionate Care Benefits

In many situations, it can take disabled patients a long time to qualify for disability benefits, sometimes years. Compassionate Care allows patients with certain severe medical conditions to be approved quickly sometimes in only a matter of weeks.

How Can You Prove Your Disability Is Real To The Ssa

Largely, through tenacity.

The Social Security Administration recently began to enforce a change to its operating guidelines. These new guidelines state that an applicants personal physicians account is no longer given priority over a short-term meeting with an SSA -affiliated medical examiner who doesnt know the patients history. The exam may simply not be thorough enough to help the medical examiner understand a disability that is not physically or visibly obvious.

For many of those who are applying for disability for invisible disabilities, this is an exhausting and frustrating process. Applicants have often already spent months or even years in their search for a personal physician who can correctly diagnose and treat their disability.

If youve been dealing with an invisible disability, odds are good you have plenty of documentation from various doctors visits, possible ER visits, follow-up appointments, prescriptions, and may also have supporting documentation from friends, family, or your prior workplace.

Gather all the supporting documents, medical and personal, together and use them to create a timeline: initial doctors visits and follow-ups, ER visits, prescriptions, documents from your previous place of employment, supporting statements from spouses or other caretakers, etc.

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It’s Time To Get The Benefits You Deserve

Suze Orman shares how to get disability benefits in less timeâwith no out-of-pocket costs

Self-help services may not be permitted in all states. The information provided on this site is not legal advice, does not constitute a lawyer referral service, and no attorney-client or confidential relationship is or will be formed by use of the site. The attorney listings on this site are paid attorney advertising. In some states, the information on this website may be considered a lawyer referral service. Please reference the Terms of Use and the Supplemental Terms for specific information related to your state. Your use of this website constitutes acceptance of the Terms of Use, Supplemental Terms, Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy. Do Not Sell My Personal Information

As Mentioned Earlier Dementia Is Not Part Of The Normal Aging Process And Several Factors Can Contribute To Its Development

• Degenerative neurological diseases such as Parkinsons, Huntingtons disease and some forms of multiple sclerosis.
• Vascular disorders that affect blood circulation in the brain.
• Traumatic brain injuries.
• Infections of the nervous system such as meningitis or HIV.
• A long history of drug or alcohol abuse.
• Certain forms of hydrocephalus .

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How To Apply For Disability Benefits After A Stroke

Your doctor can help you gather evidence to support your disability claim. Friends or family members can assist as well. A Social Security advocate or attorney can be an invaluable resource, particularly if you need to qualify through an RFC analysis or if youre denied benefits initially and need to file an appeal.

Just keep in mind that medical evidence is a cornerstone of your disability claim. Records may vary, based on the kind of stroke you suffered and the lasting effects you experience.

Claiming Dementia Disability On A Long Term Disability Insurance Policy

Long term disability insurance policies often restrict benefits for mental conditions with some form of limitation. Mental disorders are typically designated with a specific clause such as mental or nervous disorder.

In these cases, the benefits are limited to 12 to 24 months. Insurance companies may try to fit dementia disability claimants into this category, even though the patients illness may be a physical disorder of the brain. In fact, additional physical disorders may accompany the underlying dementia, which can possibly strengthen your claim.

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Talk To A Disability Lawyer

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Self-help services may not be permitted in all states. The information provided on this site is not legal advice, does not constitute a lawyer referral service, and no attorney-client or confidential relationship is or will be formed by use of the site. The attorney listings on this site are paid attorney advertising. In some states, the information on this website may be considered a lawyer referral service. Please reference the Terms of Use and the Supplemental Terms for specific information related to your state. Your use of this website constitutes acceptance of the Terms of Use, Supplemental Terms, Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy. Do Not Sell My Personal Information

Social Security’s Blue Book Listings For Dementia

Social Security will evaluate disability claims based on mixed dementia or DLB under several different Blue Book listings, including Listing 11.04 for central nervous system vascular accident , Listing 11.06 for Parkinson’s disease, and Listing 12.02 for neurocognitive disorders. Here’s an overview of the criteria required to meet those listings:

• Listing 11.04: Sensory or motor aphasia that disrupts speech or communication, or serious problems with motor functioning in at least two extremities, resulting in problems with standing, walking, or motor skills.
• Listing 11.06: Significant rigidity, bradykinesia , or tremor in two extremities causing interference with standing, walking, or motor skills.
• Listing 12.02: Loss of memory, executive function, the ability to use language effectively, the ability to concentrate on and complete tasks, and/or the ability to interact with others using socially acceptable behaviors.

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What Are The Most Common Conditions That Qualify For Disability Benefits

The Social Security Administration keeps a list of conditions that meet the requirements for a legal disability. The SSA updates this list frequently, and you can still qualify for benefits even if your disability is not listed. However, some conditions are more common than others. For example, genetic disorders and diseases make up a greater percentage of disability claims than accidents or injuries. The most common medical conditions awarded disability benefits include:

• Musculoskeletal and Connective Tissue Disorders These conditions can include chronic back pain, arthritis and amputation.
• Nervous System Conditions The most common nervous system disorders include brain tumors, stroke, dementia and Parkinsons disease.
• Cardiovascular Disorders Heart disease is the most common cardiovascular disorder awarded benefits. Others include high blood pressure and heart failure.
• Cancer Cancer or cancer treatments can be incredibly debilitating. Certain cancers will often qualify you for a compassionate allowance, which will allow you to get benefits much more quickly.
• Mental Disorders Mental disorders that could keep you from working include schizophrenia, autism and substance abuse disorders.

Other possible conditions that could qualify you for disability benefits include diabetes, obesity, complications from pregnancy and blood disorders. Even chronic depression and broken bones sometimes meet the SSAs definition of a disability.

Is Dementia A Disability

Living with dementia can be devastating. It can make performing normal daily activities difficult or impossible. The long-term loss of quality of life is challenging for people living with a disability. Many people who have dementia are unable to work, which can make managing and living with a severe medical condition even more overwhelming.

Fortunately, people who have a disability that is expected to last at least a year may be eligible for benefits from the Social Security Administration . Social Security Disability Insurance is a program administered by the SSA that supports disabled individuals who have a qualifying work history, either through their own employment or a family member. You may be eligible for SSDI benefits if your symptoms prevent you from working and you have worked in the past. The SSDI program is a kind of insurance policy managed by the federal government that is available to people with qualifying disabilities and have earned benefits by paying into the system through prior work taxed by the government.

Getting Disability Benefits for Dementia

The SSA may consider you disabled if you meet the specific requirements in its listing of impairments. If your diagnosed condition is not specifically among those listed in the Blue Book, the SSA may alternatively grant benefits based on your residual functional capacity.

• Efficiently plan and judge
• Proper social behavior in different scenarios
• Physical coordination

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Social Security Disability Insurance

In short, Social Security Disability Insurance is a program that will pay monthly dues to you and your family if you can prove you are insured. If you have paid your social security taxes, been in the workforce long enough, recently, and are currently suffering from one of the medical conditions listed under the compassionate allowances initiative, you may qualify for SSDI.

Not Sure If Your Condition Meets Social Securitys Definition Of Disability Call Us Today

Determining whether your medical condition fits for the Social Security definition of disability is only one step towards getting benefits. If you have questions about the application process or any other Social Security matter, a Tulsa disability attorney from our law firm can help. We can help you determine your chances of approval for disability benefits, and can assist you throughout the application process. Contact us online or call our Oklahoma law office to schedule a free consultation today.

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Alternative Ways To Qualify Outside The Blue Book

If your condition does not match the requirements listed in the Blue Book, you can still be eligible for disability benefits if Social Security deems aspects of your condition to be equal to a disability listing.

Additionally, if you do not meet the criteria listed in the Blue Book, you can still qualify if you can prove that your illness diminishes your ability to work.

If your condition is not yet in the Blue Book, you can still qualify if your illness is medically determinable, and that it either reduces your RFC or qualifies you for a medical-vocational allowance.

Does Dementia Qualify As A Disability

Those affected by dementia, dementia disability, or dementia-related illnesses such as Alzheimers disease devastate not only the person afflicted with the illness but also their families. When a long-term disability Alzheimers or dementia disability claim is denied, a family may also be destroyed financially. If you are in this situation, dont wait, contact us today. We take on insurance companies and fight for the benefits that you need and deserve.

Dementia, no matter the form, impairs a persons ability to function, work, or even provide for their basic hygiene. People with dementia suffer a long slow decline into complete cognitive impairment. They are robbed of their ability to remember their families, to take their medications, where the restroom is, how to open a can of soup, how to safely cook, etc. All forms of dementia are recognized as a disability. Many long-term disability insurance policies cover dementia however, not all long-term disability insurance companies willingly pay benefits disability sufferers are entitled to.

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Dementia and Long-Term Disability

Vocational Evaluation of Persons with Dementia

Please call our attorneys at Mehr, Fairbanks & Peterson Toll-Free at 800-249-3731, and ask a lawyer a question about your dementia disability claim now.

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Impairments Can Get You Immediate Social Security Disability

By | Submitted On May 05, 2010

Many people are frustrated because applying for Social Security Disability can take so long. In an effort to streamline the process there has been an effort to identify certain types of rare cancers and other conditions that would allow a finding of “immediate disability” approval.

In this ongoing effort the Social Security Administration announced in February 2010, that the agency is adding 38 more conditions to its list of Compassionate Allowances conditions. There are now 88 conditions that have been included as part of the Compassionate Allowances Initiative. This list will be expanded for people with a confirmed diagnosis of an additional 38 diseases and medical conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease, Tay-Sachs disease and mixed dementia. Claims involving these conditions will be approved automatically.

“The addition of these new conditions expands the scope of Compassionate Allowances to a broader subgroup of conditions like early-onset Alzheimer’s disease,” Commissioner Astrue of SSA said.

In summary, SSA has now recognized certain serious conditions should result in immediate disability approval. Rather than waiting over 18 months, people with these conditions can expect approval in just a matter of weeks.

The complete list of compassionate allowances can be found at this link:

Disability Benefits For Dementia

• Disability Benefits for Dementia

Is Dementia a Disability?

A large percentage of the population is suffering from mental and physical health conditions. The baby boomer generation is currently most affected due to their age. One of the health issues that is seen among that group is dementia. It is a mental health issue that is affecting more and more people each year.

In the US there are approximately 5.7 million people living with dementia. Every year, there are approximately 7.7 million new cases of dementia that are diagnosed worldwide. In total, there are approximately 50 million people who are suffering from this condition.

Alzheimers disease is the most common form of dementia. It accounts for approximately 60 70 percent of all cases of dementia. Though, it is common among older adults, it can also be seen in younger people. The impacts of this disease are enormous as the affects can be far reaching.

Not only does Alzheimers affect the person who is suffering from the disease, but it also affects their families, their career, their social interactions and their ability to ability to live independently. Today, 40% of elderly patients suffering from this disease rely on disability benefits.

Symptoms and Causes of Dementia

Dementia might be considered as a relatively common condition however, the symptoms and causes can be varied. The medical community is actively researching dementia and continuing to come up with more information on potential causes.

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