Ways To Apply For A Child With Cerebral Palsy-Disability Benefits

If your family includes a child suffering from cerebral palsy, a steady income stream is important to maintain the quality of life needed to support childcare and start building your lives. More often, the family income derived from employment is not sufficient to compensate for all the expenses that come with the continuing medication. Hence, Disability Benefits from Social Security can usher the needed support and fund source.

Understanding Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral Palsy is a neurological disorder affecting the brain development of young children, even before they are born. Because of the abnormalities in the brain, cerebral palsy is a crippling condition affecting the child’s muscle tone and development, posture, and ambulation, in general. The symptoms of cerebral palsy are often noticeable during infancy, however, in the majority of cases the symptoms show themselves when the kid is in preschool age.

Although cerebral palsy is not contagious nor progressive, there is no recognized remedy for them. It also has a disabling effect to the child and the condition does not typically improve over the course of time. The usual symptoms of cerebral palsy include:

– Limited gross and fine muscle movements,

– Troubles in the child’s perception, particularly in depth perception,

– Absence of the child’s ability to communicate,

– Limitation on the child’s cognitive ability,

– Seizures and epilepsy, and

– Lack of muscle control resulting in musculoskeletal problems.

Even with the onslaught of medical scientific discipline, the treatments for cerebral palsy are designed solely to limit its complications. Some treatments include various patterns of therapy to give limbs controlled exercises to reduce some musculoskeletal complications. Other forms of treatments are developed to re-route certain brain functions that would allow patients to accomplish some tasks they would normally not be able to perform.

Early detection of cerebral palsy gives the child a better chance to benefit from the therapy. People with cerebral palsy are also given seizure medicines, and in some cases, Botox, to loosen up the muscular tissues and prevent them from contracting involuntarily. Walkers, braces, communication aids and other ambulation assistance devices are also given to people with cerebral palsy. Continuous researches are also conducted to advance the quality of life of people with cerebral palsy.

Because of the crippling condition of cerebral palsy, adult patients have a hard time finding gainful employment due to the restrictions brought about by their condition. Parents whose children have cerebral palsy are often unable to continue full time employment and have limited activities because of the required time and attention for childcare. Therefore, having Disability Benefits from Social Security Insurance is such a huge breather to patients and parents of kids suffering from cerebral paralysis.

Qualifying for Disability Benefits

In majority of the cases, the parents are the ones filing for the Social Security Disability Benefits. Generally, to qualify for these benefits, you must be able to demonstrate one of the following:

– The patient must have an IQ equal to or less than 70.

– The individual afflicted with cerebral palsy must have problematic behavioral patterns, such as emotional instability or being destructive.

– The patient demonstrates communication deficiency because of speech, hearing or sight defects.

– There is the absence of the ability to ambulate because of the lack of functional motor skills in two or more limbs.

These claims must be backed up with pertinent medical documentation with respect to the diagnosis of cerebral paralysis. The medical documentation must highlight at least one of the conditions above, to establish that the person’s ability to perform day-to-day tasks is compromised because of cerebral paralysis.

Disability Benefits Application Process

When applying for a Social Security Disability Benefit, the applicant must proceed to the local Social Security Administration office to get the application forms. Forms can also be requested by to be sent to your home by calling the Social Security office’s hotline. In some cases, applying for the benefits online before the in-person interview can help speed up the application process.

Many first-time applicants have encountered denial of the benefits application, generally because of their inability to show evidence of impairment due to cerebral palsy. To improve the chances of approval, the applicant must be able to discuss with the Social Security office of his willingness to supply evidence of impairment. An application that comes with verifiable documentation to support the claim is more likely to get approval.

Some common documentation required includes:

– Patient’s birth certificate

– Applicant’s Driver’s License and other Proof of Identification

– Utility bill or other evidence of the applicant’s address

– Past medical bills

– Names and information about therapists and attending physicians

– Other documentary evidence of the condition

It is imperative to gather all the required paperwork and have all the necessary information in order, before submitting the application. In general, the applicant will be notified within 90 to 120 days, whether the application for Disability Benefits is approved or denied.

Speeding Up the Application Process

Applying for your child’s Disability Benefits can be time-consuming and frustrating at times. In most cases, even if the application were approved, it would take more than three months before the initial claim is given. More frustrating is the fact that many legitimate claims are denied because they are deemed unqualified because of unsatisfactory documentation.

Often, making sure that all the required information is properly filled out and all the necessary medical documentation is complete, can spell the difference between approval and denial. Although not a requirement, consulting a Social Security Attorney can give you a better fighting chance for your claims. You may have to incur some fee when availing the services of a Social Security Attorney; however, they are the best person who understands how the evidence should be presented in order to obtain the highest likelihood of approval.

Even though your child is afflicted with cerebral palsy, it does not mean that your child will continue to suffer. There are treatment options that you can pursue to enhance the quality of life of your child with cerebral palsy. You also need not suffer financially as you can obtain Disability Benefits from the Social Security Insurance for your child. Once your Disability Benefits application is approved, you can provide your child with cerebral palsy better quality of life, and free your family from financial strife.