Social Security Definition of Brain Injury

Social Security Definition of Brain Injury

Here is the United States federal agency for social security definition of brain injury (SSA). The  use this definition to determine if brain injured people are disabled: Those things in paranthensis are not from the government’s Social Security definition of brain injury.

Organic Mental Disorders (The actual classification):

Psychological or behavioral abnormalities associated with a dysfunction of the brain. (In other words, brain damage.) History and physical examination or laboratory tests demonstrate the presence of a specific organic factor judged to be etiologically related (health related probabilities) to the abnormal mental state and loss of previously acquired functional abilities. (In other words, have the person’s ability to the function in the real world changed). The required level of severity for these disorders is met when the requirements in both A and B (below) are satisfied.

A. Demonstration of a loss of specific cognitive abilities or affective changes (mood changes or behavior) and the medically documented persistence of at least one of the following:

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  1. Disorientation as to time and place; or
  2. Memory impairment, either short term (inability to learn new information), intermediate, or long term (inability to remember information that was known in the past); or
  3. Perceptual or thinking disturbances (e.g., hallucinations); or
  4. Change in personality (or behavior);or
  5. Disturbance in mood (affect); or
  6. Emotional lability (e.g., explosive temper outbursts, sudden crying) and impairment in impulse control; or
  7. Loss of measured intellectual ability of at least fifteen I.Q. points (such as on the WAIS III) from premorbid levels or overall impairment index clearly within the severely impaired range on neuropsychological testing; AND

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B. Resulting in at least two of the following (impairments):

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  1. Marked restriction in activities of daily living (ADL;s); or
  2. Marked difficulties in maintaining social functioning (changes in social behavior); or
  3. Deficiencies of concentration, persistence or pace resulting in regular failure to complete tasks in a timely manner (particularly in work settings or elsewhere); or
  4. Repeated episodes of deterioration or decompensation (getting worse when the stress goes up) in work or work-like settings which cause the individual to withdraw from that situation or to experience exacerbation (increase) of signs and symptoms (which may include deterioration of adaptive behavior)

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by Attorney Gordon Johnson