The Veteran's son, S.O., is seeking recognition as a helpless child due to his cognitive disability and autism. The Board has ordered additional medical opinions regarding whether S.O.'s condition was permanently incapable of self-support prior to his 18th birthday.
The deciding factor: The decision requires further evaluation by a VA physician to determine if S.O.'s condition, including cognitive disability and autism, manifested such that he was permanently incapable of self-support through his own efforts before his 18th birthday.
- Claimed conditions
- Cognitive disability, Autism
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 20, 2018
- Citation
- 18159491
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 18159491.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's adult child, L., was added to his VA compensation award as a dependent on the basis of permanent incapacity for self-support prior to attaining the age of 18. The Board denied an earlier effective date due to lack of claim within one year of L.'s eighteenth birthday.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for permanent incapacity for self-support for his child, S.C., dated on October 8, 2015, is granted with an effective date of October 8, 2015.
- Granted
The Veteran's son, O.M., is recognized as a helpless child due to his permanent incapacity for self-support prior to reaching the age of 18, primarily attributed to autism and Asperger's Syndrome.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for an initial compensable rating for hearing loss, service connection for psychiatric and cognitive disabilities secondary to hearing loss, and TDIU due to his hearing impairment. The claims are being remanded because new examinations are needed to assess the current severity of the Veteran's disability and opinions are required regarding whether his psychiatric and cognitive issues are related to his hearing loss.
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