Social Security Disability and SSI Benefits For Autism
Resource Details
A disability applicant with a diagnosis of autism and limitations in communication or social functioning may be eligible for benefits.
Children whose symptoms meet the requirements of one of Social Security's "listings" can be approved for disability benefits. Listing 112.10, for autism spectrum disorder, requires that all of the following are documented in a child's medical records:
deficits in social interaction
deficits in verbal and nonverbal communication, and
significantly restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities.
If all three items are documented (a deficit in imaginative activity is no longer required by the listing), Social Security will look to see whether the child's functioning is severely limited by autism.