Neurocognitive Disorder and obtaining Social Security disability benefits

Can I get Disability Benefits for a Neurocognitive Disorder?

These conditions affect an individual’s memory, attention span, perception, and learning ability.

People with neurocognitive disorder may also experience difficulty understanding language and have trouble in social situations and performing daily routine tasks. Neurocognitive disorder can be either major or minor in nature and though more commonly seen in older adults, a neurocognitive disorder can affect people of all ages and health backgrounds.

How can I get approved for SSDI if I have a cognitive disorder?

Social Security recognizes neurocognitive disorders in its Blue Book under Section 12.02. Under this listing, Social Security evaluates disorders “characterized by a clinically significant decline in cognitive functioning.”

The Social Security Administration realizes that some individuals will not meet the above requirements because they live in a supportive and supervised situation such as an institution, a group home, or at home where their functional abilities appear better than they would be in real-life situations where the stress and demands on them would be greater.

In these situations, your neurocognitive disorder must be medically documented as serious and persistent over a period of at least two years and you must be receiving medical treatment, mental health therapy, and psychosocial support, or be living in a highly structured setting that diminishes the symptoms and signs of the mental disorder. You must have minimal capacity to adapt to changes in your environment or to handle demands that are not part of your daily life.

Social Security may also seek information about your disorder and daily functioning from your family, friends and other people who know you and consider whether your statements and those from third parties are consistent with medical evidence provided.

Social Security is more concerned with your ability to function in a work-related setting than what type of neurocognitive disorder you have.

If your symptoms are not severe enough to satisfy the Blue Book listing, Social Security will consider your mental limitations in combination with your age, education, work experience and skills to determine if you have the ability to perform your previous job or any other job. Doctors working for Social Security will evaluate your mental impairments and complete a mental residual functional capacity form (RFC). Vocational analysts will then review the non-medical parts of your application together with the mental RFC. If Social Security cannot find a job that you can do given your impairments, you may still be approved for disability benefits even though your neurocognitive disorder does not satisfy the listing. This is called a medical-vocational allowance.

A Dickinson client of ours was denied Short Term Disability by Cigna.

She underwent a neuropsychological evaluation which found cognitive impairments. At the suggestion of the neuropsychologist, she then underwent a Functional Capacity Evaluation which found physical limitations. Both of the tests, which are considered the “gold standard” for making disability determinations, found our client incapable of full-time employment. Her doctor described her limitations so as to include two hours of rest with every one hour of activity. These restrictions were indefinite. Although she could perform some functions, she was limited to part-time work and could not earn 80% of her indexed pre-disability earnings unless she could work at least 80% of a full-time schedule. There was no evidence in the record that she could do so.