When possible, questions that supplement or clarify information obtained on the SSA-3373
should be open-ended. Encourage the claimant to take the lead to provide a narrative
response. Avoid leading questions such as, “You can't drive much with your bad back,
can you?”
Techniques such as prompting or recasting a significant statement of the claimant's
into a question are useful in eliciting details from the claimant. For example, if
the claimant says, “I am too nervous to drive anymore,” the response might be “You
cannot drive your car anymore? Why not?” or “Tell me about it.”
When the claimant has had an adequate opportunity to explain his or her functions
and limitations, more structured questioning may be used. However, the opening moments
of the contact may reveal situations that may require a different approach. For example,
if the claimant seems depressed, under-productive or too anxious to focus on a narrative
response, questions may need to be more directive. Similarly, if the claimant exhibits
hyperactive behavior, he or she may respond with too much information, and the questions
may need to be more restrictive to control the responses.
Remember that the areas of mental functioning (i.e., paragraph B criteria of the mental
disorders listings) to be assessed are:
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Understand, remember, or apply information,
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Concentrate, persist, and maintain pace, and
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Physical impairments also affect these areas of functioning. We look at how a claimant's
physical and mental impairments restrict his or her ability to function in each of
the areas. For example, in the area of interacting with others, the claimant needs
to describe how his or her impairment(s) affects the effectiveness, independence,
appropriateness, and sustainability of his or her ability to function with others.