Compassionate Allowance - Thanatophoric Dysplasia (Type 1)

Applying for Social Security Disability Benefits can be rather tedious and long. Up to seventy percent of the applications that are submitted for Social Security disability are denied on the first attempt. The ensuing appeal process has become bloated due to an ever-increasing backlog of cases. As a result, it is not at all uncommon for cases to drag out for years. While the government’s efforts to reduce fraud and make sure the funds are getting to those who truly need them are admirable, the other side of the coin is that those who do actually need them face an almost insurmountable struggle to obtain them.

Thankfully, the Social Security Administration (SSA) recognized the need to streamline the approval process for some conditions that invariably necessitate disability benefits. The result is the Compassionate Allowance program, which forged a list of illnesses (88 of them, to date) that automatically qualify for expedited approval for disability status, provided that adequate supporting documentation is provided. With an illness that qualifies as a Compassionate Allowance, a case can be approved in a matter of a few weeks, rather than months or years, bringing you and your family some much-needed relief.

Thanatophoric Dysplasia is one of the conditions that qualify for a Compassionate Allowance exception. If your child has been diagnosed with Thanatophoric Dysplasia, it is important that you initiate the application process for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) in a timely manner so that your benefits will be headed your way as soon as possible.

Thanatophoric Dysplasia, Type 1- Conditions and Symptoms

Thanatophoric Dysplasia is a severe skeletal disorder that results in extremely short arms and legs, with extra folds of skin on the limbs. Other telltale signs of this disorder include a narrow chest, undersized ribs, poorly developed lungs, and an enlarged head. Type 1 also results in bowed long bones, although it lacks the characteristic cloverleaf skull of type 2.

Infants with Thanatophoric Dysplasia Type 1 are usually stillborn or do not survive long after birth. In fact, the term thanatophoric is Greek for “death bearing”. There are very rare reports of children who have survived into early childhood; most of those have required extensive medical support, including anti-seizure medication, shunts to drain excess fluid from the brain, and hearing aids.

The few children who have survived this disease have been treated with antiepileptic drugs to control seizures, shunt placement for hydrocephaly, suboccipital decompression for relief of craniocervical junction constriction, and hearing aids.

Filing for Social Security Disability with Thanatophoric Dysplasia (Type 1)

A child who has been diagnosed with Thanatophoric Dysplasia, type 1 will automatically meet the criteria for Social Security disability benefits, because TD1 is one of the conditions that has been determined to meet the qualifications for a compassionate allowance. The result is that your case will be accelerated through the approval process so that you and your family can get some much-needed relief. As long as you can provide the necessary documentation, you will be fast-tracked through the process in as little as three weeks so that benefits can be on their way to you as soon as the next benefit cycle begins.

Molecular genetic testing of the gene FGFR3 may need to be done to prove the disability.

Your Thanatophoric Dysplasia (Type 1) Social Security Disability Case

If your child is born with Thanatophoric Dysplasia, Type 1, you can be confident that he or she will most assuredly qualify to receive benefits from the SSA. However, it would still be extremely wise to have your case reviewed by a Social Security disability lawyer. You will want to minimize the possibility of any errors or omissions that could result in agonizing delays to your case and an experienced disability lawyer can do exactly that. Trust your case to a caring professional that can make sure everything is right the first time.