Can Maladaptive Behavior Make You Eligible for Disability in Florida?

If you live in Florida and you or someone you love struggles with a mental health issue like maladaptive behavior, you already know that it is a condition that can significantly affect your quality of life, depending upon its severity. In some cases, maladaptive behaviors can be so severe that they prevent you from being able to work and earn an income as you otherwise normally would. If this is the case, you may wonder whether or not you can receive disability benefits due to your condition. Let’s take a closer look at the law together.

What Is Maladaptive Behavior?

Essentially, maladaptive behaviors are behaviors that prevent someone from adapting and participating in day-to-day life as they normally would. Often, these behaviors develop as part of an attempt to avoid stressful and uncomfortable situations. Eventually, however, the maladaptive behavior may cause more stress than the actual stressful situation itself. Over time, as maladaptive behaviors worsen, they can create additional stress and anxiety and can make it difficult to function normally. Some examples of maladaptive behavior may include avoiding certain situations, engaging in behaviors like overeating to soothe feelings, substance abuse, self-harm, and any other number of negative behaviors.

What Factors Are Considered in Awarding Benefits?

The Social Security Administration has two different disability benefit programs. These include Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. The two programs differ in some ways, but both require two particular conditions for eligibility:

• A qualifying medical disability: To determine whether a medical condition qualifies as a disability, the Social Security Administration will often consult its listing of impairments, otherwise known as the Blue Book. This guide contains numerous conditions and their accompanying symptoms. Those who can establish that they have a condition in the Blue Book often increase their chances of being approved for benefits, although it is not strictly necessary. Those with conditions not included in the Blue Book may simply need to provide additional medical evidence regarding their condition and its disabling effect on daily life.
• The disability renders the applicant unable to work for at least one continuous calendar year or more: This requirement is fairly self-explanatory. Essentially, even if the disability is severe enough to cause an inability to work but heals in less than a year, Social Security disability benefits will not be available. It is possible, however, that other types of benefits could be available, so consulting with an attorney is always advised.

Those who struggle with maladaptive behaviors should know that the behavior itself is not technically a disability. Generally, maladaptive behavior can lead to other conditions – anxiety or obsessive-compulsive disorder being only two examples of many. In other cases, the maladaptive behavior may be a symptom of an underlying condition like autism, intellectual disability, schizophrenia, or other mental disorders.

Many of these other mental health disorders are considered disabilities by the Social Security Administration. If you struggle with one of these conditions that has led to maladaptive behavior, you may be eligible for benefits, depending upon the severity of the condition. Consulting with your physician and a knowledgeable attorney is always advised.

How Much Could You Receive?

Sometimes, people understandably assume that the more severe or difficult a particular condition is, the more money they may receive. This is not the case for Social Security disability benefits. Other than for certain rare exceptions (such as blindness), the Social Security Administration does not consider the condition itself when determining a monthly benefit award. Instead, it will consider various other factors including work and earnings history and income and resource level, among others.

Regardless of whether you receive SSDI or SSI benefits, there will be a maximum monthly amount that you are entitled to receive. That amount may be adjusted yearly to take into account the cost of living and a variety of other factors. In 2025, the maximum monthly SSDI benefit an individual can receive is $4,018, and the maximum monthly SSI benefit is $967 for an eligible individual and $1,450 per couple.

Call Disability Experts Today

At Disability Experts, we believe that those who are struggling with a disability deserve to focus on treating their condition and enjoying life to the fullest extent possible. You don’t need any additional stress added to an already difficult situation, and you shouldn’t have to worry about how you’ll pursue the benefits you need and deserve. The good news is, you don’t have to. Instead, you can call us. At Disability Experts, our knowledgeable and experienced legal team understands every aspect of the process of pursuing disability benefits, and we’ll fight for you each step of the way. If you’re ready to get started, give us a call today. We look forward to speaking with you soon.