What is a medically determinable physical or mental impairment?
To meet our definition, a child’s impairment must result from anatomical, physiological, or psychological abnormalities that are demonstrable by medically acceptable clinical and laboratory diagnostic techniques. The impairment must be established by medical evidence consisting of signs, symptoms and laboratory findings, not only by a claimant’s statement of symptoms. We need evidence from acceptable medical sources to establish whether a child has a medically determinable impairment. Acceptable medical sources are: • licensed physicians (medical or osteopathic) • licensed or certified psychologists (includes school psychologists, for purposes of establishing mental retardation/learning disorder/borderline intellectual functioning) • licensed optometrists (for the measurement of visual fields or acuity) • licensed podiatrists (for purposes of establishing impairments of the foot, or foot and ankle, depending on the State) • qualified speech-language pathologists (for purposes of establ
