In the immediate aftermath of a birth of a new child in Pennsylvania, your excitement over your new arrival is likely so great that the expenses associated with caring for a new dependent probably do not register in your mind. Yet that may quickly change should your child experience developmental delays.
Many in your same position have come to us here at Steppacher Law wondering where they might turn to for financial assistance in supporting the cost of treating their child’s failure to thrive. Like them, you may express surprise in learning that Social Security Disability benefits may be a viable option.
SSD benefits for minors
You probably assume that SSD benefits are only made available to adults whose disabling conditions make them unable to support themselves. Yet federal lawmakers understand the financial burden that accompanies the care of an ailing child, and thus extend those benefits to parents to help cover those costs (in certain situations). Should your child demonstrate a failure to thrive (in comparison with other infants in their respective demographic cohort), then you may qualify for disability benefits as you and your family attempt to address the issues contributing to it.
The SSA’s qualifications for a failure to thrive
As is the case with other disabling conditions, the Social Security Administration requires that your child’s case meets certain criteria to qualify for benefits for failure to thrive. These include three distinct weight-for-length measurements during their first two years of life (or three separate BMI measurements from the age of two to three) which place them in the bottom third of their cohort). In addition, they must demonstrate a developmental delay that puts them two standard deviations below the mean for their respective age group (or their documents in visits at least 120 days apart).
You can find more information on qualifying for SSD benefits throughout our site.
