Children under the age of 18 can apply for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability benefits. SSI is a need-based program. The child’s parents or guardians must have below a certain level of income and resources. To apply for SSI benefits for your child, call or visit your local the Social Security Administration office.

A diagnosis alone is not enough information for the Social Security Administration to decide whether or not your child is disabled due to a mental condition. This applies to all mental conditions in children including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), attention deficit disorder (ADD), autism, depression, mental retardation, learning disabilities, and any other mental disorder. What the Social Security Administration needs to know is the severity of your child’s condition. How does your child’s condition affect his ability to function? What is your child unable to do that other children his or her age normally do?
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To evaluate your child’s condition, the Social Security Administration will want all of your child’s medical records. Usually, the Social Security Administration will want all of your child’s records beginning one year prior to the date you filed the application for disability benefits and continuing to the present. The Social Security Administration will want all records from pediatricians, neurologists, psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors, hospitals, and any place else your child has received treatment or evaluation. The Social Security Administration will write to these sources requesting copies of your child’s medical records. However, if you want to make sure the Social Security Administration actually receives everything, you can obtain copies of your child’s records and give them to Social Security Administration yourself.

When evaluating your child’s condition, the Social Security Administration will look at his or functioning in a number of areas.In children from birth up to age 3, the Social Security Administration looks at the areas of motor development, cognitive/communication function, and social function.

In children from age 3 to age 18, the Social Security Administration looks at 4 areas: cognitive/communication function, social function, personal function, and concentration/persistence/pace. Cognitive/communication looks at intellectual functioning and ability to communicate (including speech problems). Social functioning looks at the child’s ability to get along with other children, family members, and adults outside the family. Personal function looks at the child’s ability to handle feeding, grooming, and avoiding dangers. Concentration, persistence, and pace looks at the child’s ability to pay attention, his or her ability to persist at a task and not give up to easily, and his or her ability to complete tasks in a reasonable amount of time.

Let me say that children with only the severest mental conditions are found to be disabled. Lots of children who are in learning disabled classes for reading or math are denied. Just because a kid is in some kind of special education class does not mean that the Social Security Administration will decide the child is disabled. Most attention deficit hyperactivity disorder cases are denied. The kids who are being found disabled are very severely limited.