By Chris Sharry on October 2nd, 2024 in Disability, Social Security Disability
Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of conditions that affect movement and posture. It’s caused by damage that occurs to the developing brain, most often before birth. The term cerebral refers to the brain; palsy refers to the loss or impairment of motor function.
All people with CP have problems with movement and posture. The symptoms of CP differ in type and severity from one person to the next and may even change over time. Symptoms may vary greatly among individuals, depending on which parts of the brain have been injured.
Children with CP exhibit a wide variety of symptoms, including:
- Lack of muscle coordination when performing voluntary movements (ataxia)
- Stiff or tight muscles and exaggerated reflexes (spasticity)
- Weakness in one or more arm or leg
- Walking on the toes, a crouched gait, or a “scissored” gait
- Variations in muscle tone, either too stiff or too floppy
- Shaking (tremor) or random involuntary movements
- Delays in reaching motor skill milestones
- Difficulty with precise movements such as writing or buttoning a shirt
There are three main types of CP:
- Spastic: This type involves muscle tightness and spasms.
- Dyskinetic: This type involves issues with muscle control.
- Mixed: This type involves features of both the spastic and dyskinetic types.
Examples of conditions that often happen alongside or because of CP include:
- Seizures and epilepsy.
- Intellectual disability.
- Conditions that affect your ability to communicate.
- Vision and hearing problems.
- Bone and muscle conditions.
- Feeding issues.
- Behavior disorders.
Qualifying for Disability With Cerebral Palsy
Social Security sets out what’s required to be granted disability benefits for cerebral palsy in disability listing 11.07. You must have a diagnosis of cerebral palsy plus a detailed description from your doctor of one of the following:
- Significant limitations in communicating due to speech problems (such as dysarthria or aphasia), vision problems (such as strabismus or hyperopia), or hearing problems (such as sensorineural hearing loss).
- The inability to control the movement of at least two of your extremities (either an arm and a leg or two arms or two legs). This means that you must have extreme difficulty in the ability to use your arms, to balance while standing or walking, or to stand up from a seated position.
- A mix of serious physical problems and cognitive or behavioral problems. Specifically, you must have “marked” (seriously limiting) physical problems along with a marked limitation in one of the following:
- thinking (understanding, remembering, or applying information)
- interacting with others (social problems)
- finishing tasks (problems with concentration, persistence, or completing tasks quickly), or
- regulating emotions, making good decisions, and adapting to changes.
If you do not meet or equal a listing, your case will be evaluated under steps 4 and 5 to determine if you can do your past work, or if there are any other jobs that you can still do despite all of your limitations. To qualify for SSDI, applicants must have a medically determinable impairment that prevents them from working or engaging in substantial gainful activity for 12 months or longer. The Social Security Administration (SSA) considers earning over a certain monthly amount as substantial gainful activity. Please call our office for a free case evaluation and to speak with Attorney Christopher Sharry about your Social Security Disability Case.
