How A Child With Vision Loss Can Qualify For Social Security Disability Benefits
How A Child With Vision Loss Can Qualify For Social Security Disability Benefits
If you have a child who has suffered vision loss that is severe, then he or she could qualify for Social Security Disability benefits known as Supplemental Security Income (SSI). The most straightforward way to be approved for disability benefits would be for the child with vision loss to meet the Social Security Administration (SSA) definition of blindness.
The SSA defines blindness of having vision of 20/200 or less in the better eye when using contact lens or corrective eyeglasses. That means that because of vision problems your child can only see at 20 feet what a normal person could see from 200 feet. If your child has horrible vision in one eye, but good vision in the other eye, then he or she will not qualify for disability benefits.
To qualify for disability benefits, you must provide supporting evidence and medical records that confirm the child’s vision loss and the severity of the vision deficiencies. You will need to provide vision test results that indicate your child’s best corrective vision. These tests should be conducted by an optometrist or an ophthalmologist.
Medically Qualifying for SSI With Vision Loss If your child cannot meet the SSA definition for blindness because the vision problem doesn’t entail central acuity or because he or she has vision better than 20/200 in the other eye, then a different approach will need to be required. There are three other ways that your child could be approved for disability benefits:
· Your child meets or equals the childhood vision listing for impairments
· Your child qualifies through the Compassionate Allowances Program
· Your child has severe limitations in six domains of functioning
Childhood Listing 102.03 from the Blue Book describes the requirements for being approved for disability because of decreased peripheral vision. The listing requires that your child provide medical proof of one of the following:
· The largest angle around a fixated point is not more than 20 degrees
· A mean deviation of at least 22 decibels determined by automated static threshold perimetry
· A visual field efficiency of no more than 20 percent, shown through the use of kinetic perimetry Childhood Listing 102.04 is titled Poor Visual Efficiency, which is a combination of poor peripheral vision and poor central acuity. To qualify using this listing, your child must have a field of vision ratio of no more than 20 percent of a vision deficiency value of 1.00 or more after corrective measures have been used.
Childhood Listing 102.2(B) is for children who are unable to participate in standard vision testing. In this case, your child could be approved for disability if medical tests reveal that your child’s better eye is unable to fixate or follow objects and one of the following apply –
· Irregular anatomical findings indicate a vision level of 20/200 or less in the better eye
· There is no reaction to visual evoked response testing in the better eye
· Irregular neuroimaging shows injury to the cerebral cortex, which would likely cause vision of 20/200 or less in the better eye
· An ERG reveals Leber’s congenital amaurosis or achromatopsia in the better eye
Speak with your child’s doctor before applying to make sure he or she meets one of the Blue Book listings. A doctor can also help make sure all tests are completed and that you have enough medical evidence to support your child’s claim.
Financially Qualifying For Benefits
Not only will your child need to meet the Blue Book listing, but your household will need to meet the income limits set by the SSA. The household income, number of parents, and number of ineligible children also in the household are all factored in. You will need to submit things like pay stubs and W2s to prove financial eligibility.
Applying For Disability Benefits To apply for SSI on behalf of your child, you will need to visit an SSA office. Call (800) 772-1213 to make an appointment before going. Hard medical evidence is a necessity for the success of the disability claim, so speak with your child’s doctors to ensure you have as much medical evidence to support your child’s claim.
Resources:
https://www.disabilitybenefitscenter.org/glossary/acceptable-medical-source
https://www.ssa.gov/ssi/text-child-ussi.htm
https://www.disabilitybenefitscenter.org/state-social-security-disability