Documenting Social Anxiety for Social Security
Preface: It should be noted that medical evidence (such as treatment records and opinions) are often the best evidence of how social anxiety disorder is disabling. However, by its very nature, social anxiety disorder can make treatment difficult if not impossible. This post discusses alternative methods of documenting a social anxiety disability case.
Every case is different so it is very difficult to make general statements about how to prove a case. At least, other than, “make sure SSA gets your medical records.” Personally, I recommend working with a lawyer to help figure out the best way to develop your …
Deaf, Hard of Hearing, & Blind Resource Expo
This Friday, June 3, 2011, the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation and Independence Center, in partnership with the Access 2 Sign Language and Sign Language Network present the Deaf / Hard of Hearing / Deaf Blind Resource Expo.
The expo will be held at the Independence Center at 729 Tejon Street in Colorado Springs between 9 am and 1 pm. For more information, contact Angela at 719-471-8181 V/TTY or 719-358-2513 VP.
Milo, Kinnect and the future of therapy
I previously wrote about the “Milo & Kate” demo for Kinect (at that time “Project Natal”) for the XBOX 360. The possibility of using a program like this for therapy seems obvious for teaching empathy or helping autistic individuals practice picking up on body language or facial cues.
Here is a recently released video from TED showing off the development in this software over the last year.
Frankly, the “gamey” elements are the most distracting part of the video. I don’t see …
Can Social Security immediately pay disability benefits to children?
Yes. Under some circumstances, Social Security can immediately start Social Security disability benefits, and continue to pay benefits for up to six months, while the state agency component of Social Security makes a formal decision of whether the child is disabled. These are called “Presumptive Disability” cases.
Basically, Social Security is saying that the child is probably disabled, and as such will pay benefits, while it reviews the case to confirm the presumed disability.
Here are the conditions that may qualify:
Do powerchairs cost as much as cars?
Mark E. Smith’s great blog Wheelchairjunkie.com, has a great article about powerchairs — a topic which combines two issues I am passionate about: disabilities and technology.
I have seen some amazing powerchairs, from a super speedy model with an Herman Miller Aeron chair, running circles around people at Sam’s club, to a Dean Kamen Segway filled with a small bench (!) at Whole Foods letting the rider sit much higher that in a traditional chair, aiding in shopping and interacting with people at a common height. It is exciting seeing the developments in this area. These advances create an expectation of more than just simple …
Bionic hand commercially available
While it does not seem as useful as Dean Kamen’s Luke arm, this prosthetic arm is commercially available today.
Seven facts about complex partial seizures
Today’s guest article is contributed by Meredith Walker, who writes about the masters in public health. She welcomes your feedback at “MeredithWalker1983 at gmail.com” Enjoy the article and please make her feel welcome!
Complex partial seizures are epileptic seizures that affect one particular region of the brain. These seizures do not usually cause a tonic seizure more commonly associated with epilepsy, but instead affect thoughts and behavior.
Sufferers may go undiagnosed or misunderstood as this type of seizure is often not recognized as a physical disability and thought, instead, to be a mental disorder. Even when diagnosed, those with complex partial seizures may feel isolated as this invisible disability may …
Childhood epilepsy and Social Security disability benefits
How does Social Security look at children’s disability cases based on epilepsy or other seizure disorders?
Social Security first considers the Listing of Impairments. The Listings are a set of descriptions of medical conditions which can be disabling. The Listings tell you the what kind medical evidence you need and the medical findings to prove that the condition is disabling. While the Listings are not the only way to be found disabled, they are very important in children’s disability cases.
For seizure disorders, there are two critical Listings.
111.02 Major motor seizure disorder
111.03 Nonconvulsive epilepsy
iBot discontinued but motorized wheelchair technology marches on
I was surprised to read in Popular Science that Dean Kamen’s iBot (an electric, motorized wheelchair which goes from four wheels to two wheels lifting the rider in the process, and can climb stairs,) has been discontinued due to costs. Neither insurance companies, nor Medicaid, wanted to foot the bill for this expensive, although amazing, power chair.
If you are lucky enough to have an iBot, HiZook notes that service will continue on the iBot until 2013.
Here is a commercial for the now departed iBot:
How cool was that! Check out the SavetheIBot campaign to try to …
Game or therapy?
Check out this demo for a Xbox Project Natal game called “Milo & Kate.”
Can you imagine the therapeutic value of this? From phobia therapies like the one below, to helping people with social phobias, to even more complex therapies such as helping individuals with Asperger’s syndrome pick up on social cues, vocal inflections and body language. The possibilities are amazing!
It also opens the possibility of long distance and even multiple provider therapies: the patient interacts with a single avatar …
