Has your child been diagnosed with Edwards syndrome or Trisomy 18 and are you wondering whether it may qualify him or her for Social Security disability benefits?
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 discuss when Edwards syndrome may qualify for the Social Security Disability compassionate allowance program. Edwards syndrome is a genetic disorder in which a person has an extra third copy of the genetic material from chromosome 18 instead of the typical two copies. This chromosomal condition can cause severe intellectual disability and cognitive abnormalities. It tends to have a significant impact on all organ systems of the body and children born with Edwards syndrome tend to have intellectual disabilities and delayed development. They may also have congenital heart disease, seizures, and other physical malformations. Additional associated conditions may include: heart defects, malformations of the digestive tract, malformations of the urinary tract, and due to the presence of several life-threatening medical conditions, many infants unfortunately do not make it past the first few months.
This disorder is a relatively common syndrome affecting roughly one out of every 3,000 live births and is three times more common in girls than in boys. The diagnosis of Edwards syndrome is made by a genetic testing of the amniotic fluid, ultrasounds of the heart and the abdomen, and x-rays of the skeletal system.
Social Security does consider Edwards syndrome to be a compassionate allowance case under Listing 110.08, which is defined as a catastrophic congenital disorder, with death usually expected in the first few months of life. However, because this is a childhood listing and a compassionate allowance, the child’s parents must also meet the income and asset requirements for SSI or at least one of the child’s parents must be disabled, retired, or deceased and receiving their own Social Security benefits for the child to qualify for benefits.
When reviewing Edwards syndrome cases, Social Security is looking for medical records that include the clinical history and examinations that describe the diagnostic features of the impairment, as well as lab results that show the results of the genetic testing.
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