Harry Blackmun

“ For a claimant to qualify for benefits by showing that his unlisted impairment, or combination of impairments, is "equivalent" to a listed impairment, he must present medical findings equal in severity to all the criteria for the one most similar listed impairment. ”

“ The Secretary's claim that a functional analysis of child-disability claims is not feasible is unconvincing. The fact that a vocational analysis is inapplicable to children does not mean that a functional analysis cannot be applied to them. An inquiry into the impact of an impairment on the normal daily activities of a child of the claimant's age-speaking, walking, washing, dressing, feeding oneself, going to school, playing, etc. ”

“ Campbell, 461 U.S., at 460, 103 S.Ct., at 1953 ("The regulations recognize that certain impairments are so severe that they prevent a person from pursuing any gainful work. . . . A claimant who establishes that he suffers from one of these impairments will be considered disabled without further inquiry. . . . If a claimant suffers from a less severe impairment, the Secretary must determine whether the claimant retains the ability to [work] ") .
When the Secretary developed the child-disability listings, he set their medical criteria at the same level of severity as that of the adult listings. ”

“ The view that proper study or treatment of pediatric illness and injury must include an assessment of the child's functional capacity to perform age-appropriate activities is well accepted in the medical community. ”

“ No decision process restricted to comparing claimants' medical evidence to a fixed, finite set of medical criteria can respond adequately to the infinite variety of medical conditions and combinations thereof, the varying impact of such conditions due to the claimant's individual characteristics, and the constant evolution of medical diagnostic techniques. ”

“ A recent study prepared for the Department of Health and Human Services suggests that children with multiple impairments, young children who cannot be subjected to the clinical tests required by the listings criteria, and children whose impairments have a severe functional impact but which do not match listings criteria are often denied benefits. ”

“ For purposes of this paragraph, a physical or mental impairment is an impairment that results from anatomical, physiological, or psychological abnormalities which are demonstrable by medically acceptable clinical and laboratory diagnostic techniques." This statutory definition of disability was taken from Title II of the Social Security Act, 70 Stat. ”