Paul Scott v. Nancy A. Berryhill

I respectfully dissent from the court’s opinion because I believe the ALJ’s determination that Scott did not demonstrate adaptive functioning deficits manifesting before age 22 was not supported by substantial evidence. In reaching its conclusion, the ALJ relied on the fact that the consultative examiners diagnosed Scott with “borderline intellectual functioning” instead of “mental retardation.”6 The DSM-IV’s definition of mental retardation requires adaptive functioning deficits in at least two specified skill areas. Because the examiners believed Scott had deficits in just one of the…