Social Security disability is an available option for Florida residents who meet the medical requirements. This applies to both mental and physical issues. Those who are considering applying for benefits need to understand what they need to prove in terms of evidence and what forms of evidence are acceptable to the Social Security Administration (SSA) according to the federal regulations. The medical sources that are provided must be deemed sufficient before there will be an approval no matter the issues the person suffers from.
The following sources are considered acceptable: licensed physicians who are medical or osteopathic doctors; licensed or certified psychologists; licensed optometrists; licensed podiatrists; and speech language pathologists. Each will provide a different service and there are certain categories that these professionals must fit into to be deemed credible to state that a claimant meets the requirements.
Psychologists are allowed to be school psychologists or others professionals who are certified or licensed and do the same job as a school psychologist. This will be to establish that there is some form of intellectually-based disability, a learning disability or disabilities, and borderline issues with intellectual functionality. With optometrists, the intent is to establish that the claimant suffers from a visual problem that will be sufficient for benefits. A podiatrist will be able to establish any impairment that afflicts the foot or the foot and ankle – this hinges on whether the state allows a podiatrist to also treat ankle issues. A speech pathologist will determine whether or not there are language or speech impairments.
Since Social Security disability is for those whose medical problems affect them so negatively that they cannot function in a prototypically “normal” fashion and they need assistance from the government, it’s imperative that the requirements are met as is predicated by the SSA. Before moving forward with a claim, it must be understood which medical professionals are qualified to make their assessment and have it be accepted.
Source: ssa.gov, “Acceptable Medical Sources,” accessed on Feb. 2, 2015