In particular, the SSA will add 52 new disabilities to the program's list, which will increase the total number of Compassionate Allowances conditions to 165.

The conditions on the expanded list will include severe cancers, genetic disorders, brain disorders, immune system conditions and other serious health issues.

The agency is also improving its online disability application process. Beginning this month, adults who file for benefits online will have the option to electronically sign and submit their application information to the SSA. This will eliminate the mailing requirement and ultimately speed up the process.

It's extremely difficult for those suffering from a disability to wait for the benefits they need. Sometimes, conditions can be so severe that individuals do not have that luxury. Daily living expenses and medical bills can pile up. For this reason, it's great to see the government working toward a more efficient disability program.

If you are suffering from a debilitating disease that prevents you from working, you may want to see if your condition is a part of this revised program.

Source: Social Security Press Office, "Social security announces new conditions for compassionate allowances program," April 11, 2012

According to researchers, sequencing an individual's DNA does not necessarily predict whether he or she will develop a specific disease. As one Harvard medical professor explained, "even if you know everything about genetics, [disease] prediction will remain probabilistic and not deterministic."  

In other words, there is no absolute certainty. We cannot be 100 percent sure whether a particular individual will develop or not develop a specific disease. Factors such as behavior, environment and random events all potentially influence outcomes.

It is probable that gene sequencing could help accurately pinpoint 75 percent of those who will develop Alzheimer's disease, Type 1 diabetes and heart disease. But researchers emphasize there is often no way to prevent or slow these types of illnesses. And since even a high risk of an infrequent disease like ovarian cancer is no guarantee it will come to pass, information gleaned from DNA sequencing may have few immediate implications for patients. 

The real benefit of genome studies is less about predicting medical futures and more about understanding how diseases occur, said one doctor. So while your genes do have a story to tell, you probably shouldn't expect them to function like a crystal ball.  

Source: The New York Times, "Study Says DNA's Power to Predict Illness Is Limited," Gina Kolata, April 2, 2012

WIPA provides resources and information on job placement, benefits planning and career development. It utilizes some 500 community work incentive coordinators across the nation. 

Coordinators strive to alleviate fears among disabled clients that they will lose benefits should they re-enter the workforce. Many clients are eager to re-integrate into the community, but that "can be scary" said one SSDI recipient. 

Clients' livelihood and well being often depend upon health insurance and disability benefits. The threat of failing to retain either can be enough to stop some from seeking employment. But under WIPA, disabled individuals can explore their options, become aware of available safety nets and ultimately take a job.

That was the case for one client with bi-polar disorder, whose coordinator helped him off the streets. She gathered information for weeks, just to ensure the accuracy of documents sent to the Social Security Administration. As a result, the once homeless man continues to receive benefits and works one day per week at a motel in exchange for a free room.

But uncertainty now looms for disabled clients with similar predicaments. A statement by a regional SSA spokesman noted that it was still too early to determine whether legislation would cut WIPA. However, an email by a U.S. Representative's communications director noted that no bill threatening funding currently existed.

The government contends they are not. At least one mother begs to disagree. The woman, whose husband passed away from esophageal cancer, said the pair made plans to have another child. According to reports, he instructed her to use his frozen sperm and resume attempts to give their son a sibling once he had died.

She followed his wishes. A little more than a year after her husband's death, the woman welcomed twins into the world. They were denied benefits under the Social Security system, which noted it operates according to state inheritance laws. Though the children were legitimate, they were not provided for in a will, and thus could not inherit property.

The court acknowledged that the case was one in which "medical-scientific technology has advanced faster than the regulatory process." A decision is expected later this summer. The final ruling could foreseeably change how Social Security law is interpreted, and potentially result in new regulatory measures.

Source: NPR, "Is A Baby Conceived After Dad's Death A 'Survivor'?" Nina Totenberg and Steven Chen, March 19, 2012

But for some individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder, such traits and associated behaviors can interfere with employment. OCD sufferers have a tendency toward compulsive actions such as excessive hand washing, or obsessive thoughts. For one woman, that meant creating a plethora of To Do lists - so many that she had trouble completing actual work in a timely manner, sometimes even at all.

She was eventually called to a meeting with her boss. It remains unclear whether she retained her position. However, it should be noted that OCD is a widely accepted medical condition, and one recognized by the Social Security Administration. Had the young woman been unable to maintain employment, she may have qualified for disability benefits under the SSA's listing of impairments.

Patients often have impaired concentration and a preoccupation with detail that makes even small tasks difficult to surmount. Combine those symptoms with hampered social functioning, and the disturbance may become marked enough to limit employment opportunities or prevent someone from working at all.

Source: Windsor Beacon, "Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder can get in way of work," Sandi Squicquero, March 27, 2012

Mothers with autistic children are six percent less likely to be employed, work seven hours less per week and have less than half the annual income of moms without special needs kids. The same was not true of fathers.

Though researchers could not definitely conclude employment and wage gaps were caused by autistic children, an associate director of the Center for Autism Research at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia noted that in today's system, many parents must serve as both case managers and advocates for their kids. Usually, that parent is the mother.

As more and more kids are diagnosed, the question of how to pay for their care is frequently left unanswered. An autistic child can cost families and the government up to $3.2 million over his or her lifetime, a number that will ostensibly rise as health care prices increase.

In order to collect Social Security Disability for an autistic child, a doctor must find that the disorder causes specific deficiencies that result in serious limitations when it comes to cognitive, social, personal or other functions, such as sustained concentration.

Source: Reuters, "Moms of autistic children work less, earn less" Frederik Joelving, March 19, 2012

Although the changeover was announced in 2010, beneficiaries who enrolled prior to May 1, 2011 have one year from this month to select their preferred electronic payment method. Recipients can choose to have payments deposited directly into bank accounts or placed onto a Direct Express debit card offered by the Treasury Department. The debit card may be used to pay bills and purchase goods. It can also be used at ATMs nationwide.

According to the Social Security Administration, direct deposit first became available to beneficiaries in 1976. Since that time, no electronic payments have been reported as lost. The SSA points out that electronic benefits eliminate check cashing fees and give participants immediate access to their benefits.

However, recipients new to electronic payments or checking accounts may need to be wary. Some stores and ATMs have surcharges. And depending upon your bank, you could be forced to pay for things like paper statements and overdrafts.

Source: Social Security Administration, "Get Your Payments Electronically," March 2011

Even if we, as Massachusetts residents, do not engage in this slang ourselves, we hear it on the bus, when we are out to lunch or when we are taking a stroll. The phrase, "Don't be such a retard," has overtaken our vocabulary and replaced ostensibly less offensive go-to insults.

Though users of the R-word likely mean no harm, it is genuinely hurtful to those with mental disabilities, say advocates for the disabled.

Last Wednesday marked this year's observance of the campaign to put an end to offensive speech and change the way we think about the term retarded. Did it make a difference? In response to the call for change by its athletes, the Special Olympics International Board of Directors adopted a resolution to update its references to participants from "mentally retarded" to "intellectually disabled."

According to media reports, around three percent of the global population has an intellectual disability. That translates to roughly 200 million people across the world.

Source: The Washington Times, "Watch your language: Stop using the R-Word,"Laurie Edwards-Tate, March 5, 2012