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Medication compliance is an issue in social security disability and SSI disability claims for this one reason: a disability judge or disability examiner may have to question how severe and limiting a claimant's condition truly is if they are not taking medication for a specific condition that has been prescribed by a doctor. From my own experience as a former disability examiner for disability determination services, it would seem that there are certain conditions for which medication compliance may be a particularly important factor in a case. Seizure disorder is one of them. By taking anti-seizure meds, an individual may possibly keep their condition under full control, while a failure to take such meds may allow the condition to exacerbate and manifest itself in ongoing seizure episodes. In fact, listings 11.02 and 11.03, the adult listings for epilepsy in the social security disability list of impairments (the blue book manual) specifically state that the criteria for approval must exist in spite of at least ninety days of prescribed treatment. Compliance with prescribed medication is clearly built-in to the approval criteria for epilepsy, a.k.a. seizure disorder. However, there are other conditions for which compliance is hugely relevant. ADHD is one of these. Despite the fact that the ADHD listing does not state that certain signs and symptoms must exist in spite of prescribed treatment, it is nonethless true that an ADHD case that is heard by a judge is not likely to be approved if the records reveal that the claimant (a child or adult) has been directed to take medication by a physician and is not taking it. The judge's position is, of course, easy enough to understand. How can the severity of the condition be determined when medication designed to treat it is not being taken? Short answer: the severity of the condition cannot be determined under such conditions. Claimants who are filing for disability should take care to comply with their treating physician's instructions when it comes to taking medication. A failure to do so can not only interfere with the physician's ability to provide effective treatment, it can also make it impossible for a disability claim decision-maker to approve a disability case. 
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