Stronger After Stroke · Norton Neuroscience Comprehensive Stroke Center and Resource Center

Should You Apply for Disability After a Stroke? Steps to Take With Sam Schad

·50 min·2 clips

There are 5 hidden steps to disability approval that Social Security doesn't advertise

Rosa Hart opens the conversation by naming a topic most stroke survivors and families do not know much about. She introduces Sam Shad as a disability specialist who works at a law firm and is often mistaken for an attorney. Sam says he is not a lawyer, though 30 years of experience and the legal setting around him give him useful backup when he needs it. The episode then turns to the basic question behind disability claims after stroke: what can the person still do? Rosa and Sam keep that question grounded, focusing less on diagnosis than on job demands because that is what the system looks at. Hand function comes up early as one of the everyday realities that can matter. Sam explains that having one hand does not settle the question by itself, since the issue is whether the person can still meet the physical requirements of work. Balance matters too. If someone needs a cane or has to use another arm to stay steady, that can affect carrying, moving, and getting through a workday safely. From there, Sam lays out the work categories used in the review process. He walks through very heavy, heavy, medium, light, and sedentary work. The distinction is not abstract, and it quickly narrows the field. Most people who have had a stroke will not be able to do the top three categories. Light work is not as forgiving as it sounds. It still requires carrying, and that is where arm weakness and balance problems start to matter in a concrete way. Rosa pushes the conversation toward real-world examples. They talk through clerical jobs, factory work, standing all day, supervisory duties, testing, and pulling products off a line. The point is to show how specific tasks add up. That makes it easier to see why someone might be unable to return to a job even if they can still sit at a desk for part of the day. Rosa also gives space to how hard it can be to put these questions into words. Sam responds by translating the rules into ordinary language instead of leaning on jargon. The episode lands as a plainspoken guide for people trying to understand the next step after stroke.

As heard by us

A practical guide to how stroke-related limits can shape work categories.

Rosa Hart talks with Sam Shad, a disability specialist at a law firm who is not an attorney, about stroke recovery when work gets harder to manage.

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Why you'd press play

If you want a plain-English take on how stroke can affect disability claims, press play.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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