New Intellectual Disorder Listing

In our continuing effort to provide information related to Social Security’s new listings on mental impairments we are going to look at changes made to the Intellectual Disorder Listing. And, as just a reminder, Social Security’s set of listings are used in evaluating disability claims judging a condition’s severity and how it limits a person’s ability to function. This new listing went into effect earlier this year.

12.05 Intellectual disorder (see 12.00B4), satisfied by A or B:

  1. Satisfied by 1, 2, and 3 (see 12.00H):
  2. Significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning evident in your cognitive inability to function at a level required to participate in standardized testing of intellectual functioning; and
  3. Significant deficits in adaptive functioning currently manifested by your dependence upon others for personal needs (for example, toileting, eating, dressing, or bathing); and
  4. The evidence about your current intellectual and adaptive functioning and about the history of your disorder demonstrates or supports the conclusion that the disorder began prior to your attainment of age 22.
  5. Satisfied by 1, 2, and 3 (see 12.00H):
  6. Significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning evidenced by a or b:
  7. A full scale (or comparable) IQ score of 70 or below on an individually administered standardized test of general intelligence;

or

  1. A full scale (or comparable) IQ score of 71-75 accompanied by a verbal or performance IQ score (or comparable part score) of 70 or below on an individually administered standardized test of general intelligence; and
  2. Significant deficits in adaptive functioning currently manifested by extreme limitation of one, or marked limitation of two, of the following areas of mental functioning:
  3. Understand, remember, or apply information (see 12.00E1); or
  4. Interact with others (see 12.00E2); or
  5. Concentrate, persist, or maintain pace (see 12.00E3); or
  6. Adapt or manage oneself (see 12.00E4); and
  7. The evidence about your current intellectual and adaptive functioning and about the history of your disorder demonstrates or supports the conclusion that the disorder began prior to your attainment of age 22.