Listing 12.02
Neurocognitive disorders
This listing covers disorders where thinking abilities have clearly declined from a previous level, such as dementia, Alzheimer's disease, or brain damage from injury or illness.
Read the full plain-language explanation
SSA looks for medical proof of the decline in thinking, plus either serious limits in day-to-day mental functioning (paragraph B) or a long-term, serious condition kept in check only by ongoing treatment or support (paragraph C). You must satisfy A and B, or A and C.
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What Listing 12.02 asks for
What SSA looks for — see the 3 items
We will check your records against each of these. Every item comes straight from SSA's own listing.
Your medical records must show that your thinking ability has dropped significantly from where it used to be, in at least one area such as attention, planning and decision-making, memory, language, hand-eye or spatial skills, or understanding social situations.
(Listing 12.02, criterion A)
- Your condition must seriously limit your day-to-day mental abilities: an 'extreme' limit in one area, or a 'marked' (serious) limit in two areas — understanding and using information, getting along with others, staying focused and keeping pace, or managing yourself.
- This is one of two paths; you need B or C, not both.
Read the original wording
Your condition must seriously limit your day-to-day mental abilities: an 'extreme' limit in one area, or a 'marked' (serious) limit in two areas — understanding and using information, getting along with others, staying focused and keeping pace, or managing yourself. This is one of two paths; you need B or C, not both.
(Listing 12.02, criterion B)
Alternative to B: your disorder has been medically documented for at least 2 years, you depend on ongoing treatment, therapy, or a highly structured living situation to keep symptoms down, and even so you can barely handle changes or new demands ('marginal adjustment').
(Listing 12.02, criterion C)
How long it must last:
- Paragraph C requires a medically documented history of the disorder over at least 2 years.
- Otherwise, the general rule applies: the impairment must have lasted or be expected to last at least 12 continuous months.
Read the original wording
Paragraph C requires a medically documented history of the disorder over at least 2 years. Otherwise, the general rule applies: the impairment must have lasted or be expected to last at least 12 continuous months.