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Disability for Children with Learning Disorder or Developmental Delay

Children diagnosed with an “intellectual disorder” may be eligible for SSI to help pay for special education needs and/or medical treatments. Social Security income is designed to help any family with low income pay their bills. Having a child with special needs can be very labor intensive and create extra costs. SSI may be able to help offset these extra expenses.

Applying for Disability with an Intellectual Disorder is different than just applying for disability. The SSA Blue Book refers to intellectual disorders as “characterized by sub-average intellectual functioning and significant deficiency in adaptive functioning”.

The applicant must receive medical documentation that the child is “extremely limited” in every day tasks. For instance these tasks may include motor functions, memory and learning, regulation of emotions and severe problems interacting with other people or children.

It is important to note that this category in the Blue Book does not include neurocognitive disorders (112.02), autism spectrum disorder (112.10), or neurodevelopmental disorders (112.11). You can click the blue number links next to each one of those for more information.

Documentation

Proving your case involves plenty of documentation. You will need to gather school records as well as any and all medical records relating to this issue. Parents who go down this road are often overwhelmed with the amount of paperwork necessary to complete the process. This is why we feel hiring a professional to guide you through the process is well worth it.

A professional will help you get all your paperwork lined up as well as help you with the submission process. A legal professional will also help you with any appeals should the first application be denied.

If you are in the Brevard County area of Florida and need legal assistance in applying for SSI for your child, please feel free to reach out to us at 321-914-4710