Last Updated September 17, 2026
Conditions Center · Neurological · Social Security Disability
Also called CP, spastic cerebral palsy, dyskinetic cerebral palsy.
Cerebral palsy can support SSDI or SSI when documented motor, communication, or combined mental limits meet Listing 11.07, or when residual function rules out sustained work. SSA does not approve a claim because CP was diagnosed in childhood, a school IEP exists, or a person uses a wheelchair part-time. The listing looks at current extreme or marked functional findings, not the historic label.
What is Cerebral Palsy?
NINDS describes cerebral palsy as a group of disorders that affect movement, muscle tone, and posture from injury or abnormal development of the immature brain. Types include spastic, dyskinetic, ataxic, and mixed. CP is not typically progressive, but functional demands can increase with age, pain, fatigue, or secondary joint and spine problems. Associated conditions may include intellectual disability, epilepsy, speech or swallowing difficulty, and vision or hearing impairment.
Common symptoms of Cerebral Palsy
- Spasticity, weakness, or involuntary movements affecting walking or hand use
- Balance, coordination, or fine-motor difficulty
- Dysarthria or other speech and communication limits
- Pain, contractures, or fatigue that worsen with a full day of activity
- Associated seizures, cognitive limits, or sensory impairment in some people
How can Cerebral Palsy affect a person’s ability to work?
- Inability to stand, walk, or transfer without an assistive device or extra time
- Reduced bilateral hand use for typing, assembly, or tool work
- Communication barriers in telephone or public-facing jobs
- Off-task time from pain, fatigue, or toileting and positioning needs
- Absences for therapy, orthopedics, neurology, or equipment management
Does Social Security have a Listing for Cerebral Palsy?
Social Security currently has listing criteria that may apply: 11.07 (Cerebral palsy). Meeting a listing requires the specific medical findings in that listing, not only the diagnosis.
Listing 11.07 is met by paragraph A, B, or C. A requires disorganization of motor function in two extremities resulting in an extreme limitation in standing up from a seated position, balancing while standing or walking, or using the upper extremities. B requires marked limitation in physical functioning plus marked limitation in one mental area (understanding, interacting, concentrating, or adapting). C requires significant interference in communication due to speech, hearing, or visual deficit. Section 11.00L describes CP as a group of static, nonprogressive disorders from early brain abnormalities. Related intellectual, seizure, or sensory impairments may be evaluated under their own listings when those independent criteria are met. Childhood listings are a different set; this site is adult-claim oriented.
SSA first establishes medically determinable CP with neurological or developmental records. Listing 11.07 is applied to current motor, mental, and communication findings using the definitions in 11.00D, 11.00E, and 11.00G. If 11.07 is not met or medically equaled, SSA assesses physical and mental RFC, including whether a person who functions in a highly structured setting can sustain competitive work.
Can you qualify if you do not meet an SSA Listing?
Yes. Motor or communication limits that miss 11.07’s extreme or marked combination criteria may still preclude work through RFC.
What medical evidence may help document Cerebral Palsy?
- Neurology or physiatry records stating the CP type and current motor findings
- Therapy, equipment, and mobility notes describing transfers and walking distance
- Speech-language or audiology records when communication is limited
- Cognitive or adaptive testing when Listing 11.07B or a separate mental listing is considered
- Orthopedic and pain records for contractures, spine disease, or secondary arthritis
Testing, imaging, and laboratory studies
- Clinical motor examinations; imaging of the brain is historical support, not a current listing score
- Audiometry or vision testing when 11.07C is alleged
- No blood test establishes Listing 11.07
Records should show therapy, medications for tone or seizures, surgeries, and equipment. Improvement in a supported living or school setting does not by itself show competitive work capacity.
How SSA may evaluate residual functional capacity
RFC should describe a typical day of standing, walking, hand use, and communication—not a one-time clinic hallway walk. Associated intellectual disorder or epilepsy belongs on those guides when those diagnoses are documented.
Supported limits often reduce standing, walking, lifting, climbing, and bilateral reaching or handling. Documented need for a two-handed mobility device is vocationally important.
Mental RFC is not assumed from the CP label. When 11.07B mental areas or a separate 12.00 listing are in play, those limits need treating-source support.
Common issues that can weaken a disability claim involving Cerebral Palsy
Submitting only a childhood diagnosis; describing complete dependence that never appears in adult treatment notes; or treating every CP claim as a Compassionate Allowance.
What may strengthen the medical documentation
Current specialist examinations, therapy measures of mobility and hand use, and specific communication or cognitive records when those issues are alleged.
Cerebral Palsy and related medical conditions
- Down Syndrome — Listing 10.06 applies to non-mosaic Down syndrome documented through the listing's karyotype or alternate physician-report pathways. Mosaic Down syndrome and other congenital disorders affecting multiple body systems are evaluated under the listings for the body systems affected and through the remaining disability evaluation when necessary.
- Epilepsy — A neurological disorder involving recurrent seizures. Listing 11.02 focuses on seizure type and frequency despite adherence to prescribed treatment.
- Hearing Loss — SSA evaluates hearing loss under Listing 2.10 when it is not treated with cochlear implantation and under Listing 2.11 when a cochlear implant is involved. When the listing criteria are not met, SSA considers documented communication, safety, and other work-related limitations.
- Intellectual Disorder — Adult Listing 12.05 requires significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning, significant deficits in current adaptive functioning, and evidence that the disorder began before age 22. Paragraph A applies when the person cannot participate in standardized intelligence testing at the required level, while paragraph B uses qualifying standardized intelligence-test scores.
- Spinal Cord Injury — SSA evaluates spinal cord disorders under Listing 11.08. The listing contains three-month persistence requirements, but SSA may allow some claims sooner; documented total cord transection with loss of motor and sensory function below the injury is an express example.
- Vision Impairment — SSA evaluates visual disorders under Listings 2.02, 2.03, and 2.04. Statutory blindness has a specific legal definition and is not the same as every listing-level visual disorder.
How Brock & Stout may help
We compare adult function with Listing 11.07, gather related intellectual or seizure evidence when it exists, and develop RFC for residual motor limits. Representation cannot guarantee approval.
Frequently asked questions
Ordinary cerebral palsy is not treated as a named CAL condition on SSA’s current list. SSA still evaluates Listing 11.07 and residual functional capacity. Verify any separately named rare diagnosis against the current CAL list.
No. Adult Listing 11.07 requires current extreme or marked functional findings, or significant communication interference, as defined in the listing. Childhood records help the history; they do not replace adult examinations.
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Speak with a Social Security Disability attorney
If Cerebral Palsy is affecting your ability to work, Brock & Stout can review the claim, look for missing medical evidence, and discuss next steps. If we represent you, you do not owe attorney fees or case costs if the claim is denied.
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This page is general educational information about Social Security Disability as of the date of this publication. It is not legal or medical advice, does not create an attorney-client relationship, and does not guarantee results. Eligibility depends on individual facts and current Social Security rules.
