The Commissioner of Social Security announced on October 27, 2008, "Compassionate Allowances. The process will fast track disability applications filed by people with cancers and rare diseases. Compassionate Allowances is the second piece of the agency’s two-track, fast-track system for certain disability claims.  When combined with the agency’s Quick Disability Determination process, and once fully implemented, this two-track system could result in six to nine percent of disability claims, the number of cases for as much as a quarter million people, being decided in an average of six to eight days. Read more http://www.socialsecurity.gov/compassionateallowances/conditions.htm

The Listing of disabling conditions in Part A and Part B describes, for each major body system, conditions that Social Security consider severe enough  to usually qualify a person for Social Security disability checks. Most of the listed conditions are permanent or expected to result in death, or contain a specific statement regarding the duration of the condition. For all others, the evidence must show that the condition has lasted or is expected to last for a continuous period of at least 12 months. The Listing of Conditions apply to claims for disability payments under both the Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income programs.

Part A Click here to see the list of conditions for adults age 18 and over. The medical criteria in Part A may also apply when evaluating conditions in people under age 18 if the disease has a similar effect on both adults and children.

Part B Click here to see the list of conditions for children under age 18.

Some criteria in Part A may not consider the effects of the disease in children i.e., when the disease is generally found only in children or when the disease differs in its effect on children versus adults.

When evaluating disability for someone under age 18, Social Security will use Part B first. If the medical criteria in Part B do not apply, then they will use the medical criteria in Part A.

The criteria in the Listing of Conditions apply only to step three of the five-step process. At that step, the presence of an condition that meets the criteria in the Listing of Conditions (See Part A or Part B) is usually enough to establish that an individual who is not working is disabled. (See “The Disability Five-Step Process” on the disability tab.) However, the lack of a listing-level condition does not mean the individual is not disabled. It simply means Social Security must move on to the next step of the process and apply other rules in order to decide if you can receive Social Security disability checks.  Let Social Security Advice Online help you with file your claim for disability benefits.