Applying for Social Security Disability if you have Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

If you live with multiple sclerosis and are unable to work due to an MS-related disability and/or other conditions, you might be entitled to Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits.

Multiple Sclerosis, is a disease that occurs when the fatty myelin sheaths surrounding the axons in the brain and spinal cord are damaged by attacks from the body’s own immune system. Put simply, Multiple Sclerosis causes the immune system to destroy the coatings of nerve channels, shorting out nerve signals and limiting the capacity of the spinal cord and the brain to correspond with each other.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has identified multiple  sclerosis as a chronic condition or “impairment” that could cause disability severe enough to prevent a person from working and therefore could qualify him or her for disability benefits through Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

The SSA has established criteria in four specific areas of functioning to determine whether an individual’s MS-related impairments are severe enough to qualify him or her as “disabled.” To support a person’s application for disability benefits, healthcare professional(s) should provide the SSA with medical evidence of the individual’s condition.

Your medical evidence should refer directly to the criteria in these four areas:

1. Disorganization of motor function

2. Visual impairment

3. Mental impairment

4. Fatigue

This artcile has other symptoms of MS that you may be suffering from. It is important to consult the proper doctors if you have any of these symptoms. 

Unusual Symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis (healthcentral.com)

Corroborating a neurologist's diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis with a long-term record of symptoms and impairments provided by a primary care physician will greatly strengthen a case for disability benefits. Medical evidence that will strengthen a MS disability case includes:

1. proof of demyelination from a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

2. spinal tap that shows increased myelin basic proteins

3. evidence of slowed, garbled or halted nerve impulses from Evoked Potential Tests including VEP,          BAEP'S, and SSEP'S

The Social Security Administration (SSA) will evaluate an American filing a claim for disability benefits for his or her multiple sclerosis under the listing 11.09 Multiple Sclerosis of section 11.00 Neurological Disorders of the Blue Book. Listing 11.09 also refers to several other listings that an individual with MS could potentially qualify under depending on their debilitating symptoms.

11.09 Multiple Sclerosis

Applicant must have one of the following with the proper acceptable medical documentation:

A.) Disorganization of motor function as described in 11.04B – significant and consistent disorganization of motor function in two extremities causing continuous disturbance of gross and dexterous movements, or gait and station (walking and posture).

OR

B.) Visual or mental impairment as described under the criteria of the following listings:

2.02 Loss of Central Visual Acuity

2.03 Contraction of the visual field in the better eye

2.04 Loss of visual efficiency or visual impairment in the better eye

12.02 Organic Mental Disorders

OR

C.) Significant, reproducible fatigue of motor function with substantial muscle weakness on repetitive activity demonstrated on physical examination resulting from neurological dysfunction in regions of the central nervous system known to be pathologically involved by the multiple sclerosis process.

Several symptoms of multiple sclerosis are severe enough to stop someone from being able to work in the labor market. If an individual is able to work full-time with MS without any complications, he or she will not qualify for disability benefits. This is because the SSA’s definition of “disability” states that the condition must be severe enough to prevent an individual from engaging in substantial gainful activity (SGA) or in other words, earning more than $1,130 per month in income. If an applicant is unable to earn SGA due to their MS, he or she may qualify for disability benefits.

Due to the wide variety of symptoms caused by multiple sclerosis, people diagnosed with MS may not meet any of the listings described above, but may not be capable of working due to the severe symptoms. In these cases, the SSA will evaluate the person’s ability to work a job that requires little to no education or training to perform (such as being a greeter at a store entrance). If the SSA finds that the individual is incapable of performing unskilled work, he or she will most likely will become approved as long as they meet the technical requirements.

If you need helping applying for Social Security Disability or SSI, please contact me at joshben99@gmail.com. I have over 20 years experience with Social Security Disability cases.