My Daughter Is Too Young To Have Worked, Can She Still Get Disability Benefits?

Children who are too young to have worked and are believed to be disabled may qualify for Supplemental Security Income ("SSI"). As with Social Security Disability Insurance ("SSDI"), the Administration will first determine whether your son or daughter meets one of the Listing of Impairments. If a listing is met, you will be found to have adhered to the medical requirements for disability (note that a claimant would still need to meet the financial requirements). If a listing is not met, at least for SSDI, a judge will evaluate whether a claimant is able to work based on their residual functional capacity (the most that a claimant can do despite all of the limitations).

For SSI, rather than determining whether a younger child can work, a judge will look at functional equivalence. In other words, a judge will evaluate whether a claimant functionally equals a listing by looking at six domains: acquiring and using information; attending and completing tasks; interacting and relating with others; moving about and manipulating objects; caring for yourself; and lastly health and physical well-being. To functionally equal a listing, a child will need to have "marked" limitations in two domains or one "extreme" limitation. For more information on marked and extreme limitations, visit http://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/cfr20/416/416-0926.htm. Thus, children who are too young to have worked can still potentially qualify for SSI benefits.