Metro Washington DC Social Security Disability Law Blog

On Sunday at the Pediatric Academic Societies' annual meeting held here in Washington, D.C., research was presented that found the rate of disability in children has grown by 16 percent within the last decade. While it is not completely clear why the prevalence of disability among children has increased so substantially, it has been attributed in part due to the increased diagnosis of both mental health conditions and neurodevelopmental conditions. Researchers believe that a greater diagnosis of autism may be partly responsibly for the trend.

Researchers reached their findings by reviewing data from the National Health Interview Survey, which is a survey of more than 10,000 parents who have children 17 and younger. They looked at the survey's responses for the years 2001-2002 and 2009-2010.

This Washington, D.C., disability law blog often discusses integrity issues plaguing the Social Security Administration's disability hearing process. There have been numerous allegations recently of biased judges, including some who were accused of discrimination, as well as a variety of problems that have left the administration to deal with a swelling backlog of claims. In one of the latest signs of major problems within the administration, the administrative law judges who decide Social Security disability cases have now sued the Social Security Administration.

The judges' union as well as three individual judges filed the lawsuit last week, accusing the administration of imposing an illegal quota on the judges. The administrative law judges are asked to decide between 500 and 700 disability cases annually, or about two per day.

A new medical development may someday help people in the Washington, D.C., area who have epilepsy, according to recent research. A team at MIT has developed what they are calling "wearable technology," a wristband with sensors in it that gather information and send the data to a computer. The technology is being developed for a number of various health applications, but the team recently learned that the bracelets do a great job of recognizing and reporting epileptic seizures.

In multiple controlled studies, the researchers have learned that the wristbands may be able to detect 100 percent of grand mal seizures before they occur. This is because the wristbands are able to detect and report very small changes in the surface of skin.

Parents of children with disabilities here in the Washington, D.C., area may not be aware that there are several government assistance programs that are meant to relieve some of the financial burdens of parenting such children. The limits of the disability programs and the eligibility requirements are very complicated, however, and some parents become so overwhelmed and discouraged by this that they decide not to seek benefits.

However, it is important to ensure children have adequate financial support, and a recent news column described some of the key points of the main programs in order to help parents find their way.