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Getting Disability Benefits for Early-Onset Alzheimer's Disease

Social Security has specific criteria for when Alzheimer's qualifies for disability, but an early-onset diagnosis gets fast-tracked.

by Beth Laurence, J.D.

Alzheimer’s disease is a degenerative neurological condition that results in progressive cognitive decline. The first symptom of Alzheimer’s is short-term memory loss, which becomes more pronounced as the disease worsens. Eventually, Alzheimer’s disease affects all aspects of an individual's life, such as speech, problem solving, recognition abilities, and behavior. In the late stage of Alzheimer’s, an individual's symptoms might include the inability to recognize family members, lack of cognitive abilities, incontinence, an inability to even feed oneself, and even an inability to walk. Treatment options include medications and other therapies to improve quality of life and possibly slow the progression of the disease.

Disability for Alzheimer's Disease

Can one win Social Security disability or SSI disability benefits on the basis of Alzheimer’s? Yes, depending on the stage of the disease. The disability listing that Social Security uses to evaluate the severity of Alzheimer's disease (and other forms of dementia) is the listing for Organic Mental Disorders. To meet the requirements of this disability listing, the applicant must prove that he or she has one of the following:

• memory problems, the inability to remember either new information or past events
• disorientation as to place and time, and/or
• disturbances in mood or temperament or changes in personality.

These problems must result in a severe problems with at least two of the following:

• tasks of daily living (for example, shopping, cooking, taking the bus, and personal hygiene)
• getting along with others
• focusing on and completing tasks, or
• recurring episodes of decompensation (periods of time with increased memory loss, disorientation, or personality issues).

Expedited Processing for Early-Onset Alzheimer's Disease

Those who have been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease (when symptoms appear before age 65) are usually the only individuals in need of disability benefits. That's because those over 65 are usually eligible for either Social Security retirement benefits or SSI benefits, without needing to be found disabled. (However, applicants between 62 and 70 can choose to apply for Social Security disability benefits rather than taking Social Security retirement. Read our article about applying for disability when you're over 65 for more information.)

Fortunately, Social Security recently added early-onset Alzheimer's disease to the list of Compassionate Allowance conditions, meaning that the agency will fast-track the processing of the disability application so that applicants with Alzheimer's don't needlessly have to go through the hassle of a denial and appeal as their symptoms get worse. If you are helping someone apply for Social Security disability benefits, be sure to note on the application, or tell the Social Security field rep, that the applicant qualifies for Compassionate Allowance treatment and that the exact diagnosis is "early-onset Alzheimer's disease."

Applying for Disability for Alzheimer's

To help someone apply for disability, you can call 800-772-1213 to set up an appointment to submit an application for SSI or SSDI through your local SSA office. If you’re helping someone to apply for SSDI only, you can do so online at ssa.gov. In your application, include how the applicant's dementia is affecting his or her ability to take care of daily needs such as hygiene, food preparation, grocery shopping, and communication. 

If the applicant has physical problems as well, or other mental problems such as depression, include these on the application. Even if a mental impairment isn't yet severe enough to qualify on its own, sometimes together two or three impairments can qualify for disability. (See our article on multiple disabilities for more information.)

This article is originally posted here:  http://www.disabilitysecrets.com/conditions-page-2-57.html

I re-posted the whole article here because I don't ant to lose this information. Full credit belongs to that website.

A Marriage To Remember - A True Promise of "In Sickness and In Health..."

Actor Seth Rogen Speak On Alzheimer's

Actor Seth Rogen gives his opening statement before a Senate hearing on Alzheimer's Research. From C-SPAN3 coverage, watch the complete hearing here: http://cs.pn/1c8QeoB #EndALZ

Glen Campbell Tour Ends Because Of Alzheimer's Disease; Singer Will Release New Album

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Glen Campbell's Alzheimer's disease has progressed too far to allow him to continue touring. Instead, he'll spend his 77th birthday on Monday in Washington as an advocate for Alzheimer's research. The trip includes a fundraising dinner for the Alzheimer's Association and a visit to Capitol Hill, where he'll visit the Senate. Alzheimer's has robbed Campbell of many of his best memories, gained over a lifetime as an entertainment icon who was a pop star, a groundbreaking session musician, an actor and TV variety show host. But it hasn't taken everything. Campbell will release a new album, "See You There," on July 30. It's a reimagining of some of his most popular songs, recorded by Julian Raymond during the same sessions that produced Campbell's last studio album of all new material, 2011's "Ghost on the Canvas." The album offers new versions of his biggest hits like "Wichita Lineman," "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," "Rhinestone Cowboy" and "Hey Little One." In a brief interview, Campbell said of the songs: "Oh, they're great. Those are great." His wife, Kim Campbell, says her husband still occasionally lays down vocal tracks in the studio but the disease has progressed too far to allow him to continue touring, something the family and Campbell's management left open when he wrapped up his successful goodbye world tour last year. "Glen still wants to record, but it's just a matter of if he's able to," Kim Campbell said. "It just gets more and more difficult for him all the time." He remains healthy and vigorous and continues to play golf. His family invites musicians over to the house from time to time – songwriter Jimmy Webb, who wrote some of Campbell's most iconic hits, visited with his family over the weekend – and Campbell joins in on jam sessions, playing the guitar as if the progressive, irreversible neurological disorder has yet to touch his muscle memory. "We're trying to live our lives and stay out there and socialize as much as we can as long as we can," she said. "The other night we went to see Merle Haggard and hung out with Toby Keith on his bus. ... Everybody played different songs and had a great time. So we're still out there trying to do that kind of stuff. But eventually we might not be able to do that." Surfdog Records owner Dave Kaplan says "See You There" is meant to feel like sitting next to Campbell in the living room, the way he was introduced to him on "The Goodtime Hour." The singer's voice has changed enough with age that the songs take on a new life. Kaplan took Raymond's vocal recordings and surrounded them with music meant to leave lots of space for the singer's voice. "I was immediately struck that they were kind of intimate and they definitely shook your spine," Kaplan said. "They were haunting and stunning and had this new intimacy in a way I hadn't heard these songs." It was hearing Campbell sing "Hey Little One," with its simple opening, that convinced Kaplan it was OK to mess with the perfection of the originals. "You just don't hear that on planet Earth," he said. "You don't just hear that. That sealed the deal in three words." Original Post from:
http://www.today.com/health/country-star-glen-campbells-battle-alzheimers-music-remains-man-2D80201251

Bobby Womack Diagnosed with Early Onset Alzeimers

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/bobby-womack-diagnosed-with-early-alzheimers-20130102

Celebrating Thanksgiving with 'Generation Alzheimer's'

(CNN) -- Judy Warzenski didn't realize how bad her father, Donald's, memory had gotten until he turned to her sister Joyce and asked, "Where's the girl who was sitting next to you?" He did not recognize Joyce as his own daughter.

This Thanksgiving, Warzenski and her younger siblings will eat Thanksgiving dinner with their father in a private dining room at a nursing home in Pennsylvania. Moving her father there in October was an agonizing decision.

"It's really very upsetting to me," said Warzenski, 62, of central New Jersey. "I promised him I would never do this. I promised him I would never put him in a nursing home, which I've come to realize is an unrealistic promise."

Warzenski, who had commented on a previous CNN dementia story, is one of many baby boomers who must watch their loved ones suffer from Alzheimer's, the most common form of dementia. The condition, which robs people of their memory and thinking skills, necessitates tough decisions about caring for people as their minds slowly slip away.

"Often, the baby boomers are thrust into the position of caring for a loved one with dementia because that loved one declines and needs 24-hour supervision," said Laura Wayman, a dementia care specialist and author of "A Loving Approach to Dementia Care."

To continue reading the full article, go to (photo from that article too):
http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/20/health/dementia-alzheimer-thanksgiving/index.html?hpt=hp_bn12


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