DEPENDENT AUTONOMY AS LONG-TERM IMPAIRMENT FOR BPC/LOAS PURPOSES: FOUNDATIONS IN THE ICF AND THE BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL MODEL

Abstract

This paper examines the concept of 'dependent autonomy' — characterized by the ability to perform daily tasks only when mediated, structured, or supervised by a third party — as an autonomous hypothesis of long-term impairment for the purposes of granting the Continuous Cash Benefit (BPC), set forth in art. 203, V, of the Federal Constitution and regulated by art. 20 of Law n. 8.742/1993 (LOAS). This is a theoretical study with a bibliographic review of Brazilian literature on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), the Revised and Modified Biopsychosocial Functioning Instrument (IFBr-M), as well as an analysis of the Brazilian normative and jurisprudential framework, including the Brazilian Law of Inclusion (Law n. 13.146/2015), Decree n. 6.949/2009, Precedents 48 and 80 of the National Uniformization Panel (TNU), and Themes 173 and 385 of the same court. The study argues that dependence on mediation, structuring, or supervision of others for the execution of activities constitutes a restriction of social participation measurable by the ICF domains, especially in performance qualifiers, and that the IFBr-M already encompasses such dimensions in the official functional assessment. It concludes that dependent autonomy constitutes a long-term impairment equivalent, for legal and social security purposes, to the complete absence of autonomy, imposing on the State the recognition of the right to BPC for those individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder Support Level 1, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder who demonstrate, through biopsychosocial evaluation, the need for continuous third-party support for their full participation in society.