“Permanently” refers to a condition which is not likely to improve or which will continue throughout the lifetime of the individual; it may be a condition which is not likely to respond to any known therapeutic procedures, or a condition which is likely to remain static or to become worse unless certain therapeutic measures are carried out, where treatment is unavailable, inadvisable, or is refused by the individual on a reasonable basis; “permanently” does not rule out the possiblity of vocational rehabilitation or even possible recovery in light of future medical advances or changed prognosis; in this sense the term refers to a condition which continues indefinitely, as distinct from one which is temporary or transient.

“Totally” involves considerations in addition to those verified through the medical findings, such as age, training, skills, and work experience, and the probable functioning of the individual in his particular situation in light of his impairment: an individual's disability would usually be tested in relation to ability to engage in remunerative employment: the ability to keep house or to care for others would be the appropriate test for (and only for) individuals, such as housewives, who were engaged in this occupation prior to the disability and do not have a history of gainful employment; eligibility may continue, even after a period of rehabilitation and readjustment, if the individuals work capacity is still very considerably limited (in comparison with that of a normal person) in terms of such factors as the speed with which he can work, the amount he can produce in a given period of time, and the number of hours he is able to work.

The term “employment” refers to an activity in which a person engages on a full-time basis for financial gain.

In determining whether an applicant is totally disabled for employment, his work experience or his capacity for work must be considered. The disability decision must be based upon an evaluation of the person's capacity for employment, considering his or her impairment.

The disability decision about a male applicant is made from the standpoint of employment or competition in the labor market. A single or lone woman is considered from the standpoint of employment or competition in the labor market. A married woman who lives in her family group is considered from that standpoint only if she has recent employment experience which indicates that she would be employed if she did not have an impairment.

A person who is working as part of a training program is not “employed.” Such work activity may be in the person's own home, in a school, a sheltered workshop, a factory, or other training setting. The determining factor is not the location of the activity, but the presence or absence of supervision, a training goal or objective, and the economic value of the item produced or service provided by the person.

Employment in a sheltered workshop, such as Goodwill Industries, usually is not considered to be “employment” in the context of this section, even though such activity is not part of a training program. One determining factor in such situation is whether the person is capable of competing with nondisabled persons in the labor market.

Another determining factor is whether the person's employment activity in a sheltered workshop involves production or service of real economic value, such as work on a contract basis for private industry.

The term “homemaking” refers to responsibility for making the decisions necessary for the management of a home and family and for performing the duties necessary to carry out these decisions. Homemaking is a full-time useful occupation which involves responsibility for at least one person in addition to the applicant.

The essential functions of a homemaker, in addition to the decision-making responsibility, are: planning and preparing meals, washing and ironing clothes, cleaning, shopping for food and supplies, and training and caring for children.

A standard to be used in determining total disability for homemaking is the adequacy of the woman's performance as a homemaker at the time she applies for ADP as compared to the adequacy of her performance as a homemaker over a period of time prior to her application. Other factors which must be considered are: whether any other persons are performing the homemaking for the applicant, and the length of time required for the applicant to perform the homemaking functions for herself and at least one other person.