Astrue

MEMORANDUM **

Hoang appeals from the district court’s decision affirming the Commissioner’s denial of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for the period from March 14,1996 through May 7,1998. We reverse and remand for an award of benefits.

The Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) concluded that Hoang had no determinable mental impairment and discredited the opinion of an examining physician, Dr. Valette, who, after testing, diagnosed Hoang with “intellectual functioning in the borderline range” that limited him to “simple, repetitive tasks.”

The ALJ’s refusal to credit Dr. Valette was not based on substantial evidence. In particular, although Dr. Valette mentioned that Hoang took one of the administered tests without his glasses, the doctor accounted for that circumstance by estimating Hoang’s actual intellectual functioning as somewhat higher than his tested score, although still “minimally in the borderline range.” In nonetheless entirely discounting Dr. Valette’s opinion, the ALJ “selectively focused on aspects of the report which tended to suggest non-disability,” but ignored the report’s overall conclusions. Widmark v. Barnhart, 454 F.3d 1063, 1067 (9th Cir.2006)…