As Myasthenia Gravis Awareness Month, June is the perfect time to discuss how to go about applying for Social Security Disability benefits with a diagnosis of Myasthenia Gravis.

Myasthenia Gravis is an autoimmune disorder that affects several muscle groups of the body, commonly including those in the face, neck, chest, arms, hands and legs. For each individual with the condition, its affects can be different, causing severe disability in some, while allowing others to live a fairly normal life. Additionally, some respond well to available treatments, while for others nothing alleviates symptoms.

Because the limitations of Myasthenia Gravis can vary, proving eligibility for Social Security Disability benefits with the condition requires substantial medical documentation. You must show your particular case of Myasthenia Gravis significantly limits your ability to perform everyday tasks and makes it impossible for you to hold a job.

The Social Security Administration approves applications for SSD benefits for Myasthenia Gravis under two different circumstances. The first is when the applicant fully meets the criteria laid out in the SSA’s blue book, which is the standard list of impairments and conditions the SSA recognizes as disabling in nature. To meet the blue book criteria, your Myasthenia Gravis must cause you serious issues despite prescribed treatments.

The second manner in which Myasthenia Gravis can qualify for disability benefits is when the condition affects muscle function so significantly that it makes it impossible sustain substantial gainful acitivty. If you’re unable to earn more than $1,010 per month because of your Myasthenia Gravis symptoms, then you may qualify for SSD benefits.

Regardless of which circumstances apply in your particular case, your application for SSD benefits must still be thorough and complete. While a blue book case of Myasthenia Gravis may result in a faster approval of benefits without requiring additional reviews or appeals, the documentation present in your application is what will determine how quickly you may be approved to receive disability benefits.

Proving Myasthenia Gravis severely limits your ability to work can be difficult. This is especially true because for most people, the nature of the condition is such that symptoms worsen with activity and decrease upon resting. Medication can often help reduce the affects of symptoms and can make it possible for many to maintain a fairly normal level of activity without suffering severe and lasting muscle weakness.

In order to prove your Myasthenia Gravis is truly disabling, you’ll need to work closely with your doctor to document the affects it has on your everyday life and your ability to hold gainful employment. You’ll need to show that muscle function is frequently severely compromised. To accomplish this, a neurologist will need to perform tests that fatigue your muscles. The physician will then document how rapidly muscle weakness appears, how long it lasts, and how often such episodes are a problem for you.

Ultimately, the manner in which you document your disability in your application is what determines if you’ll be found eligible to receive SSD. Understanding the application and review process, the SSA’s standard definitions, and the Disability Determination Services procedures can help you increase your chances of being approved for benefits. This is why many people decide to seek legal assistance from a disability attorney who is familiar with the SSA’s processes. For more information, check out this article about how to apply for Myasthenia Gravis with Social Security Disability

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Anyone who has applied for Social Security Disability benefits knows exactly how long and drawn out the disability claim and appeal process can be. Those who are denied during the initial stage of the disabilitu benefits application(which, itself, takes three to six months to complete) must undergo the process of appealing the decision (which takes another three to six months).

Whether you’ve filed a claim for disability benefits based on a mentally disabling condition or have primarily a physical condition which also causes mental capacity issues, you’ll need to adequately describe the limitations you experience in order to be found eligible for benefits. It is sometimes difficult to figure out whether or not you are capable of working.

May has been denoted as Tuberous Sclerosis Awareness Month, but for those living with this rare genetic disorder, every day is a challenge. The fact that most people, including those who work for the Social Security Administration's (SSA) Disability Determination Services (DDS), are not familiar with the disorder and the affects it has on those who have it, can make applying for Social Security Disability (SSD) with a diagnosis of Tuberous Sclerosis an uphill battle.

May is National Neurofibromatosis Month, and as such, it seems an apt time to discuss in some detail the application process for Social Security Disability benefits when diagnosed with this condition.

While Neurofibromatosis is a progressive disorder and one that is clearly disabling, given the nature of the disorder itself and the range of symptoms it can cause, one would think being found eligible for SSD would be a given. However, this is not the case. The application and review process for receiving disability benefits is lengthy and involved, regardless of the diagnosis with which you’re filing.

The fact that Neurofibromatosis causes a cluster of symptoms, which in combination can be quite limiting for those who suffer from the disorder, makes the application process more complicated. You must thoroughly document the affects of all symptoms and include detailed information about the manner in which each (and all of them in combination) result in severe limitations for you with everyday activities, including your ability to hold a job.

Because there are also three forms of Neurofibromatosis, and the fact that most people, including those who work for the Disability Determination Services of the Social Security Administration are not aware of the condition and its implications for people afflicted with it, SSD applicants are sometimes denied benefits simply due to a lack of adequate knowledge on the condition by those responsible for determining eligibility.

In other instances, applicants are denied benefits because they have not sufficiently documented their disability within their SSD application. This may be because the applicant, who is in desperate need of financial assistance due to an inability to work, rushes through the application process. Or it may be simply that the applicant doesn’t understand the degree of detailed information necessary to adequately prove a disability under the SSA’s guidelines.

Any application for SSD, regardless of the condition causing disability, must contain detailed medical records, physician statements and other documentation proving the severity of the condition and the resulting inability to work, deeming it a medically determinable impairment. A definitive diagnosis of Neurofibromatosis must also be proven and you must additionally show appropriate treatment has been sought and that treatments received have not improved your condition enough to prevent or reverse disability. This is true even with a progressive disorder like Neurofibromatosis, which obviously worsens over time, causing more and more issues for those afflicted by it.

Knowing exactly how to document your disability to satisfy SSA eligibility requirements can be challenging. Your neurologist and/or other physicians can help you document your disability and those who are more familiar with the SSD application process can be very effective in gathering the right documentation and composing appropriate physician statements for substantiating your claim for disability benefits.

Having the help of a Social Security lawyer who is familiar with the application and review processes can also make the application process less challenging. An attorney can review your case, help you get the appropriate medical records and other documentation into your application, and can even argue your claim at the SSD hearing, if you’re initially denied benefits and must go before an Administrative Law Judge to appeal the decision.

Mental Health Month began in 1949 and May marks the 63rd year of celebrating awareness of mental health conditions. This year Mental Health America is focusing on two different themes including “Do More for One in Four” and “Healing Trauma’s Invisible Wounds”.

An application for Social Security Disability (SSD) can be entirely based on a disabling, stress related disorder, or can have an emotional stress component which exacerbates a physical disability. In either case, the Social Security Administration (SSA) will want to see specific documentation in your application related to the emotional stress condition you have. They will also apply standard evaluation criteria when examining your claim for SSD benefits.

It can be almost impossible to measure pain. Pain is subjective in nature, after all. What one person finds to be excruciating another person may be able to tolerate. So when a person is disabled due to pain, how does the Social Security Administration determine whether or not that person is disabled according to the SSA guidelines? Exactly how does the SSA define and evaluate pain when pain is so subjective and varies from one person to the next? How can a disability examiner know if you are telling the truth?

There are many disabling conditions, which include an environmental impairment aspect, like hypersensitivity to noise and light, or inability to tolerate dust, fumes or other common environmental elements found in the workplaces within your field of expertise.

Most Social Security Disability applicants wait months if not years for the date of their disability hearing to arrive, and spend considerable time preparing for their hearing. It goes without saying that postponing a hearing is not something anyone wants to do. To make matters worse, if you do miss your hearing and you don’t have a very good reason for doing so, the Administrative Law Judge overseeing your case may decide to deny your disability benefits.