Thomas Andrade v. Commissioner of Social Securit

MEMORANDUM

Thomas Andrade appeals a judgment of the district court affirming the Commissioner of Social Security’s denial of his applications for disability insurance and supplemental security income benefits under Titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and affirm.

We review de novo a district court’s judgment upholding the denial of social security benefits. Tommasetti v. Astrue, 533 F.3d 1035, 1038 (9th Cir.2008). We must affirm the denial of benefits unless it is based on legal error or the findings of fact are not supported by substantial evidence. Valentine v. Comm’r Soc. Sec. Admin., 574 F.3d 685, 690 (9th Cir.2009).

Mary McDonald, Ph.D., performed a psychological evaluation of Andrade which included the Performance portion of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale. An-drade achieved a Performance IQ of 72, indicating borderline intellectual functioning. In Dr. McDonald’s view, this was consistent with her evaluation as a whole, including the other standard testing she administered and Andrade’s history and presentation in a clinical interview and mental status evaluation. Dr. McDonald concluded that Andrade had…