| SSI Benefits for Children These are benefits payable to disabled children under the age of 18, who have a limited income and resources, or who come from homes with limited income resources.
Under the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, a child from birth to age 18 may receive monthly paymnents based on disability or blindness if:
He or she has an impairment or combination of impairments that meets the definition of disability for children and,
the income and resources of the parents and the child are within the allowed limits.
How Social Security Decides if a child is disabled for SSI
The law states that a child will be considered disabled if he or she has a physical or mental condition (or a combination of conditions) that result in "marked and severe functional limitations." The condition must last or be expected to last at least 12 months or be expected to result in the child's death. And, the child must not be working at a job the is considered to be substantial work.
To make this decision, a disability evaluation specialist first checks to see if the child's disability can be found in a special listing of impairments that is contained in Social Security's regulations. These listings are descriptions of symptoms, signs or laboratory findings of more than 100 physical and mental problems, such as cerebral palsy, mental retardation or muscular dystrophy, that are severe enough to disable a child.
Ths child's condition does not necessarily have to be one of the conditions on the list. If the symptoms, signs or laboratory findings of the child's condition are the same as, or medically equal in severity to the listing, your child is considered disabled for SSI purposes.
If your child's impairment(s) does not meet or medically equal a listing, the DDS then decides whether it "functionally equals" the listings. They asses the effects of the condition or combination of conditions on your child's ability to perform daily activities by comparing your child's functioning to that of children the same age who do not have imapirments.
To do this they consider questions such as:
What activities is your child able or not able to perform?
Which activities are limited in comparison with those of same-age peers?
What type and amount of help does your child need to complete age-appropriate activities?
Sources of information on your child include, but are not limited to, the doctors and other health professionals who treat your child; teachers, counselors, therapists and social workers.
Following are some of the disability categories on which we can presume your child is disabled and make immediate SSI payments:
HIV Infection
Total blindness
Total deafness (in some cases)
Cerebral palsy (in some cases)
Down's syndrome
Muscular dystrophy (in some cases)
Mental retardation
Diabetes (with amputation of one foot)
Amputation of two limbs.
Amputation of leg at hip
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