Practice Tips and Practical Considerations for Handling Child Cases – NOSSCR 2026 Fall National Conference – Track II (Presented by National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives)
Melissa Lanouette is a Social Security Disability attorney who has practiced in the Boston area since 2012. Her commitment to serving individuals with disabilities predates her legal career: before law school, she worked at Cape Cod Community College in a program supporting students with disabilities. In her practice, she measures success not only by outcomes but by the difference disability benefits make in a client’s day-to-day life.
1 hour CLE
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Program Summary
The Case Turns on Functional Equivalence and Its Six Domains
Childhood Supplemental Security Income claims run on their own framework: a four-step childhood disability evaluation. Within it, functional equivalence does the heavy lifting. This session treats the claim as one continuous case, built from intake and finished at hearing.
The stakes sit in the framework itself. Argue the claim without functional equivalence, and its strongest theory goes unstated. Organize the evidence around the six domains of functioning, and the record answers the questions the evaluation asks. Treat intake as paperwork alone, and the hearing inherits the gaps.
Attendees walk out with the four-step evaluation applied step by step and functional equivalence arguments mapped to the six domains. Practice tips cover every stage, from intake through hearing. The value is practitioner judgment on live claim handling, not a doctrine walk-through.
Eligible for up to 1 CLE Credit Hour
This session was originally submitted for CLE as a live, in-person presentation and a live webcast for the 2026 Fall National Conference and may be eligible for self-study credit. Each state handles self-study credit differently; for questions, please consult your State Bar Association.
Recorded Wednesday, October 14, 2026.
Key topics to be discussed:
- Childhood SSI Intake
What to capture at intake so the claim is positioned for everything that follows. - Four-Step Evaluation
How the four-step childhood disability evaluation structures the claim from the outset. - Functional Equivalence
Why functional equivalence carries the emphasis, and how to build the claim's theory around it. - The Six Domains
How to map a child's functioning onto the six domains that drive the equivalence analysis. - The Hearing
How to carry the developed claim into the hearing, with practical considerations for presenting it. - Practice Tips
Where practical judgment changes outcomes at each stage, from intake through hearing.
This course is co-sponsored with myLawCLE.
Date / Time: October 14, 2026
- 11:00 am – 12:00 pm Eastern
- 10:00 am – 11:00 am Central
- 9:00 am – 10:00 am Mountain
- 8:00 am – 9:00 am Pacific
Closed-captioning available
Speakers
Melissa Lanouette, Attorney | Disability Law Group
Melissa Lanouette is a Social Security Disability attorney who has practiced in the Boston area since 2012. Her commitment to serving individuals with disabilities predates her legal career: before law school, she worked at Cape Cod Community College in a program supporting students with disabilities. In her practice, she measures success not only by outcomes but by the difference disability benefits make in a client’s day-to-day life.
- Education & Credentials
Ms. Lanouette holds a Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School in Boston.
- Recognition & Leadership
Ms. Lanouette has been selected as a Super Lawyers “Rising Star” each year from 2017 through 2025. She was also chosen to participate in the Massachusetts Bar Association’s Leadership Academy cohort.
- Professional Involvement
Ms. Lanouette is a member of the National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives (NOSSCR) and of Advocates, Counselors, and Representatives for the Disabled. She volunteers with the Massachusetts Bar Association’s Dial-A-Lawyer program and acts as pro bono counsel to Boston Swing Central.
- Experience
Since 2012, Ms. Lanouette’s Boston-area practice has focused predominantly on Social Security Disability law, representing claimants pursuing benefits through the Social Security Administration. She views every claim as the claimant’s own story of how disability affects the ability to work and live, and she considers helping clients present that story clearly and confidently, while advocating for the benefits they need, a privilege of the practice.
Agenda
SESSION 1 – Practice Tips and Practical Considerations for Handling Child Cases | 11:00am – 12:00pm
This presentation provides a practical overview of handling childhood Supplemental Security Income claims from intake through hearing. It explains the four-step childhood disability evaluation, emphasizing functional equivalence and the six domains of functioning along with practice tips.
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