Disability for Cerebral Palsy in South Bend

Ease Your Worries By Securing Disability Income

Cerebral palsy has a major effect on your ability—or the ability of a loved one—to function the same way as other people. It can impact your hearing, vision, speech and learning.

If it’s severe enough, cerebral palsy can prevent you from working. Without income, you worry about your future.

Social Security Disability benefits, providing monthly checks and qualifying you for Medicare or Medicaid health insurance, can put your mind at peace.

But to win benefits, you have to prove beyond all doubt that your cerebral palsy makes it impossible for you to work.

Signs and symptoms of cerebral palsy may include:

Impaired balance, coordination or muscle movement
Constant contraction of muscles that interferes with normal movement, speech or walking
Lack of muscle tone, causing a decrease in muscle reflexes
Slow, involuntary movements of the fingers, hands, toes, feet, and sometimes of the arms, legs, neck and tongue
Short, unpredictable, involuntary jerking movements that are not repetitive
Difficulty with precise movements like writing, buttoning a shirt or picking up a spoon

Applying for disability benefits is difficult. Most people get denied. It can make a major difference for you to work with a disability lawyer who treats you like a neighbor, not like a case file.

At The Morgan Law Firm, we’re dedicated to helping our neighbors in South Bend, across Indiana and in Michigan.

How to Qualify for Disability Benefits with Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is a group of neurological and physical limitations caused by disruptions in the brain’s ability to control movement, muscle coordination and posture. These limitations usually appear in early childhood and may become even more obvious over time.

Most people are born with cerebral palsy, but there are cases when the disorder occurs during or after birth. For these, the cause may be malnutrition, infection or head trauma at an early age. Or the cause may be unknown.

To win disability benefits for cerebral palsy, you’ll need to provide medical documentation and evidence of the prescribed treatment of your symptoms. Social Security will use this information to evaluate:

Your ability to stand, balance, walk or perform fine and gross motor movements
Your ability to communicate (your ability to speak and to use language)
Any secondary impairments that may go along with your cerebral palsy (including muscle pain, fatigue and weakness; repetitive motion injuries; arthritis; your perception of your own movements and body position; your perception and ability to identify objects by touch; learning problems; anxiety and/or depression.)

These are the specific symptoms you must document:

The inability to control motor function in at least two extremities (two arms, two legs, an arm and a leg) resulting in an extreme limitation in your ability to use your arms, to stand from a seated position or to balance while standing or walking

Marked limitation in one of the following areas:

understanding, remembering or applying information
interacting with others socially
concentrating, persisting or maintaining pace on a task
adapting or managing your behavior and emotions

Significant interference in communication due to speech, hearing or visual problems

You can get an evaluation of your case for benefits without any charge from The Morgan Law Firm.

Get My Free Consultation!

Securing Disability Benefits for Children

If your child has cerebral palsy, Social Security also offers a disability program to provide financial support for your family.

Children can receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which is for people with limited income, assets and little or no work history.

SSI provides greatly needed help when you’re caring for a child with special needs. To qualify for benefits for your child, your family must meet certain income limits.

When your child reaches adulthood, can’t work and doesn’t have a substantial work record, you can also help them apply for SSI as an adult, even if your family income was too high for them to qualify as a child.

You Don’t Have to Fight for Benefits on Your Own

Applying for benefits requires filling out many forms and submitting a lot of evidence. It’s a great deal of work and can take a long time.

Living with cerebral palsy, you face enough challenges. Get an experienced lawyer to handle your disability benefits claim, so you can focus on your health—or the health of your family member with cerebral palsy.

The law firm of The Morgan Law Firm has helped thousands of people apply for benefits, and appeal denials. You pay no attorney fee until you win.