Living with a disability can mean facing daily challenges that most people never even think about. It can affect more than just a person’s physical health; it can also impact their work, relationships, and basic independence. For residents of Syracuse who are filing disability benefits, it helps to know which conditions are the most commonly recognized.
1. Arthritis and Other Musculoskeletal Disorders
Pain and stiffness in the joints are more than just a painful inconvenience. For a lot of people, arthritis turns into a chronic and disabling condition. It affects a person’s ability to walk, ride a bike, lift, grip, and do repetitive tasks. Back problems and severe joint issues also fall under this category and are among the top reasons people apply for disability benefits.
2. Heart Disease
Heart conditions are also a leading cause of disability, including coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, atrial fibrillation, and other cardiac problems. When the heart can’t keep up with the body’s demands, even light activity can become impossible.
3. Respiratory Issues
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, and emphysema are all conditions that affect the lungs and limit a person’s oxygen intake. For those with serious respiratory illnesses, shortness of breath can change their lives.
4. Mental Health Disorders
Conditions like depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and PTSD aren’t always visible, but they’re very real. Mental illnesses are now widely recognized as legitimate disabilities. They disrupt routines, limit social interactions, and make it nearly impossible to hold down a job.
5. Diabetes
Diabetes itself isn’t always disabling, but the complications can become severe as the disease progresses. Vision loss, nerve damage, and kidney failure are all possible results of unmanaged or difficult-to-control diabetes. When those complications set in, everyday activities become harder to keep up with.
6. Cancer
A cancer diagnosis often leads to time missed from work, surgeries, and ongoing health struggles. Even when a person goes into remission, the physical and emotional effects of cancer can linger. Some types of cancer move quickly, which makes immediate disability status necessary.
7. Neurological Disorders
This covers a range of conditions like multiple sclerosis (MS), epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, and any condition that affects the brain or nervous system. These disabilities often cause a person to feel weak, and they might face tremors, seizures, or difficulty walking and talking.
8. Autoimmune Diseases
Conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus cause the body to attack itself. The symptoms tend to come and go, but when they flare up, they can be incredibly debilitating. Swelling, fatigue, and pain can make a regular life feel out of reach.
9. Chronic Pain and Fibromyalgia
Pain without a clear cause can be just as disabling as pain where the cause can be identified. Fibromyalgia is one example — widespread pain, fatigue, sleep disruptions, and memory issues all add up to a commonly misunderstood illness that’s impossible to ignore. Especially after a car crash.
10. Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
This category includes things like Down syndrome, autism spectrum disorder, and other cognitive impairments. These disabilities can limit a person’s ability to live by themselves or keep a job if their condition is severe enough and they don’t have a solid support system.
Recognition Is Power
Every disability shows up differently from one person to another. No two situations are exactly alike. But across Syracuse and beyond, many people deal with these conditions every day.
The road can feel isolating, especially when the symptoms aren’t always easy to see or explain to someone who’s not experiencing them. However, knowing what you’re facing — and that it’s recognized — is the first step toward getting the help you deserve.
If you were injured in an accident in Utica or Syracuse, and need legal help, contact our New York personal injury lawyers at Passalacqua & Associates, LLC to schedule a free case review today.
Passalacqua & Associates, LLC
7 Hopper St, Utica, NY 13501
Open 24/7
(315) 500-6425