Here is how Social Security defines “Neurocognitive Disorder” for adults:

12.02 Neurocognitive disorders (see 12.00B1), satisfied by A and B, or A and C:

  1. Medical documentation of a significant cognitive decline from a prior level of functioning in  or more of the cognitive areas:

    one

    1. Complex attention;
    2. Executive function;
    3. Learning and memory;
    4. Language;
    5. Perceptual-motor; or
    6. Social cognition.

AND

  1. Extreme limitation of one, or marked limitation of two, of the following areas of mental functioning (see 12.00F):
    1. Understand, remember, or apply information (see 12.00E1).
    2. Interact with others (see 12.00E2).
    3. Concentrate, persist, or maintain pace (see 12.00E3).
    4. Adapt or manage oneself (see 12.00E4).

OR

  1. Your mental disorder in this listing category is “serious and persistent;” that is, you have a medically documented history of the existence of the disorder over a period of at least 2 years, and there is evidence of both:

    1. Medical treatment, mental health therapy, psychosocial support(s), or a highly structured setting(s) that is ongoing and that diminishes the symptoms and signs of your mental disorder (see 12.00G2b);

      and

    2. Marginal adjustment, that is, you have minimal capacity to adapt to changes in your environment or to demands that are not already part of your daily life (see 12.00G2c).

Here is an example of a narrative written about the impact of neurocognitive disorder:

Jane was diagnosed with a neurocognitive disorder on 10/15/22 after suffering a traumatic brain injury. She has significant cognitive declines since her injury. She is easily distracted by multiple stimuli and is unable to attend to multiple tasks at the same time. She is unable to plan her daily activities, follow a schedule, or make decisions without support from others. Jane frequently repeats herself in conversations and needs reminders to stay on task. She is unable to recall names of new people she meets. Jane is no longer able to drive or write and requires support navigating familiar environments.

Go back to Impact of the Disability Narrative