Question:
If you have OCD are you considered handicaped?
2006-04-01 19:07:32 UTC
If you have OCD are you considered handicaped?
Three answers:
spedusource
2006-04-01 19:17:41 UTC
We don't use "handicapped" anymore... it implies being a beggar (cap in hand), and most people with disabilities are no longer limited to begging to survive.



If you have OCD, it depends on the level of severity. If medication does not relieve your symptoms to a point where you can work, then you are eligible for disability benefits from the government (contact SSI). If medication does help, you are still eligible for reasonable accomodations in the workplace through the Americans with Disabilities Act section 504. If medication fully relieves your symptoms, then you have a medical condition, but not a disability.



If you are under age 22, and still in school, you can receive additional supports in school in the category "Other Health Impaired" through special education programming, if your distractibility and other symptoms affect your learning and participation in class. You will need a doctor's report confirming the diagnosis and recommending learning supports from the school. At the college level, you can have some supports through ADA 504.



Remember, regardless of what medical and other conditions you may be dealing with, you are considered a PERSON. You are NOT your conditions. You are yourself, and you are dealing with more challenges than most other people to accomplish daily living and work. Keep your goals and dreams!
m&d01
2006-04-01 19:40:40 UTC
I lived with a girl and am still friends with her. she has ocd and i consider her handicapped. Hers is moderate, with her daily frustrations and mental beliefs. It definitely hinders her. if she would stay on medicine or work through her fears i think she would be alright but she wont. One thing i should say is that ocd can be overcomed in my opinion only if the person wants to enough.
kacsspock1221
2006-04-01 19:09:55 UTC
It is considered a learning disability becasue of the distraction/prefection factor: but not a handicap. Some of the most sucessful celebrities have OCD and they do quite well. Howie Mandell is one of them.


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
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