Your Child’s Ability to Function and Disability Benefits

Unlike in adult cases, a child’s ability to function will help in awarding benefits. The Social Security Administration (SSA) will use the following domains in its assessment:

• Attending and completing tasks
• How your child interacts and relates with others
• How your child manipulates and moves objects
• The use and acquisition of information
• How the child cares for you
• Your child’s health and physical well-being

This assessment is then compared to the function of other children the same age as your child. An Ocala disability attorney knows that the main consideration is how your child performs in activities compared to other children the same age.

The following will be assessed by the SSA:

• The activities your child can perform
• The activities your child cannot perform
• The restriction of activities compared to other children without impairments
• The location of difficulty: home, childcare, school, or elsewhere
• How much help your child needs to do activities
• The independence of your child in regards to initiating, sustaining or completing activities
• The type of structured or supportive setting your child needs
• The frequency your child needs a structured or supportive setting

Of the six domains of functioning mentioned above, an impairment must result in “marked” limitation in two domains, or an “extreme” limitation in one domain.

Here is the scale of limitations:

• Moderate
• Marked (more than moderate)
• Extreme (more than marked)

“Extreme” limitation is the rating given out to the worst limitations, but does not mean a complete inability to function. “Extreme” translates to when the impairment seriously interferes with a child’s ability to independently participate in activities.

For more information regarding the functional equivalence in your child’s SSI case, contact Ocala disability lawyer CJ Henry Law Firm, PLLC at 352.304.5300.