If you or someone you love were recently diagnosed with Lewy Body dementia and you are wondering whether it may qualify for Social Security disability benefits, this video is for you.
My name is Kaitlin Wildoner and I’m an attorney who helps disabled clients obtain their disability benefits as quickly as possible so they can focus on getting better.
In this video, we’re going to discuss when Lewy Body dementia can qualify for the Social Security Disability compassionate allowance program. Lewy Body dementia is a type of progressive dementia that occurs in people older than 65 years of age. It is the second leading cause of degenerative dementia in the elderly, following Alzheimer’s disease.
Lewy Body dementia causes physiological changes in the brain and symptoms can include cognitive impairments and abnormal behaviors. The physiological changes in the brain include a buildup of an abnormal protein in the brain called Lewy bodies. These proteins cause brain cell loss and atrophy which results in a disruption of perception, thinking, and behavior.
The clinical manifestations of Lewy Body dementia tend to be characterized by cognitive impairment and dementia with pronounced fluctuations in your alertness and attention with periods spent just staring off into the abyss, disorganized speech, recurrent visual hallucinations, rigidity, and loss of spontaneous movement ability, as well as depression.
The similarities between Lewy Body dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease can present a significant challenge when doctors are trying to make a definitive diagnosis. However, people with Lewy Body dementia have the diffuse presence of the Lewy bodies in both the subcortical and cortical areas of the brain. People with Lewy Body dementia also tend to have more severe dopamine loss when compared to people with Alzheimer’s disease.
Social Security tends to evaluate cases involving Lewy Body dementia under Listing 11.17, which is neurodegenerative disorders of the central nervous system, or 12.02, which is neurocognitive disorders.
When evaluating Lewy Body dementia cases, Social Security is looking for clinical information from the claimant’s medical records that are documenting progressive dementia. Activities of daily living reports completed by either a relative or a caretaker can also be helpful as that can also help to document the claimant’s loss of functional ability.
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