Chicagoland Social Security Disability Law Blog

While Social Security Disability benefits can greatly help out a disabled person finanacially, it does not offer them the same physical assistance they may need in their daily lives. This is especially true for people living with muscular dystrophy, which can often times affect multiple systems in the body including the heart, nervous system, eyes and brain. For people suffering from this disabling musculoskeletal disease, accomplishing everyday tasks requires a lot of help from the people around them.

This was especially true from one teenager in nearby Michigan. A junior at a local high school, his muscular dystrophy prevented him from performing even the most basic of school tasks like walking down the hallways or even opening his own locker. That's when the school's occupational therapist got an idea: why not give the student the tools necessary to do something on his own?

As many people here in Illinois may have noticed, it seems like there has been an influx of news reports about the baby boomer generation in the last few years. While a majority of the news stories have been about the fear of Social Security drying up in the next two decades, others have focused on the very real fear of failing health and how this could affect their daily lives.

In a recent study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 13 percent of people 60 or older reported symptoms such as confusion occurring more often in their daily lives. Of those people, one-third explained that their confusion and memory loss was interfering with many aspects of their lives, including social activities, ability to do chores, and an interference with their work. But because nearly 45 percent of people age 60-64 complained of an interference with life and work, there is a growing concern now that many of these people may be considered disabled before retirement is an option.

As with any serious head trauma there is always the concern that the injury has caused permanent damage that will leave the victim suffering long after the injury has healed.  While this may not be the case in some circumstances, this is a very real outcome for others.  

Such is the case with most concussion victims who often times suffer from severe headaches are chronic pain as a result of their injury.  But with continued success in nerve operations, doctors think they may have finally found a way to alleviate the pain and suffering these patients must endure on a daily basis.

As many Illinois residents know, science is advancing every day.  And with most of the recent developments making our daily lives even easier, it's exciting to see what scientists come up with next.  This sentiment is considerably more truer for disabled people who rely on the new advancements to greatly improve their quality of life.

Whether it's a recently aquired disability or one that the person has had their entire life, certain impairments can have a greater effect on what a person can and cannot do on a day to day basis.  Take for example a person who is paralyzed from the neck down.  While unable to move the majority of their body, science has been able to offer them mobility through computerized wheelchairs.  But not, researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology believe they may be able to give people like this something else: the sense of touch.

When most people think about disabilities, they generally think about the most common that occur in the largest portion of the population. But what many people don't realize is that even rare conditions can qualify as a disability as well. Such as the extremely rare birth defect where a child is born without a trachea. One Illinois family knows this condition all too well now after their daughter was born with this defect. But thanks to doctors from the Children's Hospital of Illinois, she may not be as disabled as she once was.

The now 2 1/2-year-old girl was given a 99 percent chance of dying after she was born in a Korean hospital. She spent all of her time in an intensive care unit, her breathing assisted by a tube inserted through her mouth. If she survived, she would require respirator assistance her entire life, most likely qualifying for disability benefits as well. But doctors in Peoria wanted to see if they could give the girl a fighting chance by way of an experimental surgery that had only been attempted six times previously.

Did you know that more than 14 million U.S. workers depend on Social Security Disability benefits? The program provides funds needed for basic living expenses. Unfortunately, recent media attacks have attempted to sour sentiments regarding the program, which is nevertheless required for individuals suffering with debilitating disorders. Despite recent critiques of the program, the benefits are a much-needed necessity for many Americans.

The Social Security Disability Insurance program is for those who are unable to work due to a serious medical or psychological issue. Recipients pay into the system through tax withholdings (back when they were capable of working). Unfortunately, many beneficiaries of the system will push themselves and attempt to work, causing further issues to his or her health before seeking benefits.

For anyone suffering from epileptic seizures, the chances of catching it before it happens is usually rare. This can especially become a problem in instances of grand mal seizures which can sometimes cause serious damage if not properly responded to. But while this is a concern for a portion of people here in Illinois, as well as the rest of the United States, short of assistance dogs, there have been little advancements in technology able to detect a seizure before it occurs.

But researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology believe they may be able to change that with a new wearable skin sensor that has been able to detect the onset of a seizure with 100 percent accuracy. It's something the researchers hope will be able to stretch beyond helping people with epilepsy and can be adapted to help people with other mental conditions as well.

Residents in Illinois hear the stories all of the time from people who have lost their limbs. Whether it was the result of a horrible tragedy or the result of a birth defect, the general sentiment among these people is that returning to normal always seems like a far off goal, sometimes too far to even fathom. But with the recent advancements in prosthetics, doctors and scientists are trying to change that feeling to something more positive.

Over the past decade, we've seen a huge improvement in the designs of prosthetics. With many manufacturers implementing lighter and more malleable materials, even disabling injuries such as the loss of limb won't feel like such a burden anymore. Some prosthetics are now introducing computer chips that adjust for terrain and activity, offering people a better chance at recovery both their mobility and their self-esteem.