Applying for Disability - advice? attorney?

[pjrose]

I told her to collect all the paperwork and letters; I'm going to see her Friday and Saturday.

I recall an earlier thread a few months ago - I am pretty sure Elaine and Denise were participants - that's the one that discussed something along the lines of applying before age 25 in order to qualify under the parents' SSI rather than the child's.....

We need to find out if DH and/or I need to actually need to have applied for our own SSI or be receiving it....

Also, she may have put down her boyfriend's income as the household income, and that relationship isn't necessarily permanent or even long-term.

Will find out more over the weekend when I can actually look at the paperwork (or whatever she has saved - may not be savvy enough to keep everything the way we would).

 

[laurac260]

PJRose, if you have some time later, can you please share with me anything medically you have learned? I have a 20 year old daughter who blacks out frequently - only faints sometimes, but her blood pressure is always very low when she does. She has seen several doctors who tell her that it isn't normal to be like that, but after they order labs, they tell her she is healthy.

She works and for the most part, can function. Sometimes there is no warning, though. Just wondering if you have figured out anything regarding your daughter.

I have the same "condition". So does my mom, so did my grandma, and I am thinking, my daughter will too. I've had all tests run as well, I am as fit as a fiddle. I am borderline hypotensive, borderline hypoglycemic, borderline anemic, BUT, I am in the average on all these, I just hug the low end of each. You don't skip meals when you can help it, get up slowly when you rise, especially in the morning, make sure you eat your protein, hydrate with fruit juice when you feel "light in your loafers", and the latest thing I learned, forget a low sodium diet. I used to stay away from salt because I thought it was bad for you. Not any more. My doc encouraged me to consume salty foods.

I'm like a hybrid automobile. My heart rate runs lower than avg, my body temp is avg at 97.6, not 98.6. I figure I'm just really good at conserving energy!

ps, and you get REAL GOOD at being able to NOT pass out or fall down when everything goes black, or white.

 

[DeniseM]

I know her age, but am not aware of the cutoff age for filing using her (non SS collecting) parent(s) for qualification. As geoand says, the reason for denial will be on the letter. I was only conjecturing. Henceforth I will keep my speculations to myself. JR

In the other thread on this topic, someone stated that a dependent off-spring under the age of 25 could qualify under their parents eligibility. I thought it was you, but I guess not (thus the question) - sorry!

Thanks for helping PJ and I - please don't stop.

 

[pjrose]

TUG Loungers Rock!

In the other thread on this topic, someone stated that a dependent off-spring under the age of 25 could qualify under their parents eligibility. I thought it was you, but I guess not (thus the question) - sorry!

Thanks for helping PJ and I - please don't stop.

Denise, I was just telling DH for the umpteenth time how amazing TUG is. There is no way I could have found out everything I've learned so far without the amazing group that hangs out in the TUG Lounge.

I think there have been three recent discussions on disability...this one, Denise's, and maybe on part of my "send prayers and incense and chocolate" thread. I haven't found the "age 25" post yet though.

And yes, keep the info coming here and via emails/PMs (I cleaned out some old PMs to make room). Our kiddos don't WANT to have disabilities, but they've got them, and in some cases the disabilities are permanent and not curable, treatable, or outgrow-able (is that a word?).

 

[Pat H]

The parents do not have to be on SS for your daughter to qualify. Like I said previously, my nephew gets it. He is 19. I think he gets $500/mo. I don't believe that his parents' past, present or future income has any bearing on his amount.

 

[pjrose]

PJRose, if you have some time later, can you please share with me anything medically you have learned? I have a 20 year old daughter who blacks out frequently - only faints sometimes, but her blood pressure is always very low when she does. She has seen several doctors who tell her that it isn't normal to be like that, but after they order labs, they tell her she is healthy.

She works and for the most part, can function. Sometimes there is no warning, though. Just wondering if you have figured out anything regarding your daughter.

Oy Vey, I feel for her. Yes, I'll email or PM with LOTS of info once my fingers recuperate from all my typing tonight. I'd start with a complete work-up with a cardiologist including echocardiogram, tilt-table test, stress test, EKG of course, and an event monitor such as a Holter Monitor that she wears for several weeks. It is inconspicuous. She wears EKG leads and carries a little box and special cell phone; it continually records EKG info, and if she is dizzy or faints she pushes a button and the info is sent to the monitoring company which immediately sends it on to the doctor.

Also I'd do the same with a neurologist - EEG and whatever other tests they can do, and if need be an ambulatory EEG unit (Not so inconspicuous - she'll have some leads glued to her head so will likely want to wear a hat.) It does the same thing - records what's going on neurologically, and if she has an episode while wearing it, it'll help with diagnoses.

DD takes two meds + salt tabs + drinks lots of fluids + avoids triggers.....but still it hasn't been enough. I'll PM or email you later with more details.

Keep track of every med, symptom, episode, etc....I have a computer file I've been keeping for four years now.

 

[pjrose]

The parents do not have to be on SS for your daughter to qualify. Like I said previously, my nephew gets it. He is 19. I think he gets $500/mo. I don't believe that his parents' past, present or future income has any bearing on his amount.

Thank you!

 

[pjrose]

I have the same "condition". So does my mom, so did my grandma, and I am thinking, my daughter will too. I've had all tests run as well, I am as fit as a fiddle. I am borderline hypotensive, borderline hypoglycemic, borderline anemic, BUT, I am in the average on all these, I just hug the low end of each. You don't skip meals when you can help it, get up slowly when you rise, especially in the morning, make sure you eat your protein, hydrate with fruit juice when you feel "light in your loafers", and the latest thing I learned, forget a low sodium diet. I used to stay away from salt because I thought it was bad for you. Not any more. My doc encouraged me to consume salty foods.

I'm like a hybrid automobile. My heart rate runs lower than avg, my body temp is avg at 97.6, not 98.6. I figure I'm just really good at conserving energy!

ps, and you get REAL GOOD at being able to NOT pass out or fall down when everything goes black, or white.

Yup, all of this is familiar....with DD's assorted "hypos" lower than "borderline". She was prescribed to take salt tablets - six x 500mg per day, I believe.

Unfortunately your PS doesn't work for her - I think she's had warning once or maybe twice in four years . With no warning, and with ALWAYS falling backwards, she's also had several concussions .

 

[geoand]

I recall an earlier thread a few months ago - I am pretty sure Elaine and Denise were participants - that's the one that discussed something along the lines of applying before age 25 in order to qualify under the parents' SSI rather than the child's.....

We need to find out if DH and/or I need to actually need to have applied for our own SSI or be receiving it....

You are mixing apples and oranges. You really meant SSA not SSI. SSI is the federal welfare benefit. Disabled children getting benefits on their parents' account is SSA benefit.

 

[laurac260]

Yup, all of this is familiar....with DD's assorted "hypos" lower than "borderline". She was prescribed to take salt tablets - six x 500mg per day, I believe.

Unfortunately your PS doesn't work for her - I think she's had warning once or maybe twice in four years :-(. With no warning, and with ALWAYS falling backwards, she's also had several concussions :-(.

PJ, my situation is no where near like your daughter's. I was posting to a previous person who said their daughter blacks out, not passes out. She may have meant passing out, not blacking out. I really don't know. For someone who experiences this type of thing often enough, I can tell you there are MANY stages between being upright and being out cold. Sometimes things just go blurry. Sometimes things go black. Sometimes things go white. Sometimes you can still walk thru a room (especially if it is your house and you know the way), and just stick your hands out so you don't bump into anything. You aren't going to go unconscious and you know it, so you just wait for your vision to clear.

Other times you find yourself just willing yourself to stay upright. I can usually tell when this is coming because my head will start to tingle first, and/or my legs will turn to jelly. Often you feel clammy. If it gets really bad you just steady yourself, or sometimes, find the nearest place to sit or lay down. That's typically caused by skipping meals, and can usually be immediately remedied by drinking fruit juice.

And sometimes, rarely for me fortunately, you find yourself on the floor. This typically only happens early morning or late at night, when rising too quickly from bed, or if I've skipped meals, or done any of the three and also am down with a cold or something. I've only three times in my life done what I call "passed out", which was when I lost consciousness. Once was when I was on a medication (quit that one immediately), once was a CO leak in our house as a child, and once was when I got up way too quickly to respond to our baby who was crying in an urgent fashion. That day I learned what carpet tastes like. All three times I could still hear, I just couldn't respond.

Your daughter's case is a severe one. I can still function and lead a normal life.

 

[geoand]

info from SSA.gov

This url gives basic info about Disabled Adult Children.

http://ssa.gov/dibplan/dacpage.shtml

It begins with the following:

An adult disabled before age 22 may be eligible for child's benefits if a parent is deceased or starts receiving retirement or disability benefits. We consider this a "child's" benefit because it is paid on a parent's Social Security earnings record.

The following information came from: http://ssa.gov/dibplan/dqualify2.htm

The number of work credits you need to qualify for disability benefits depends on your age when you become disabled. Generally, you need 40 credits, 20 of which were earned in the last 10 years ending with the year you become disabled. However, younger workers may qualify with fewer credits.

The above info refers to SSA benefits.

The following info about SSI benefits came from http://ssa.gov/ssi/:

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a Federal income supplement program funded by general tax revenues (not Social Security taxes):

It is designed to help aged, blind, and disabled people, who have little or no income; and

It provides cash to meet basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter.

 

[pjrose]

You are mixing apples and oranges. You really meant SSA not SSI. SSI is the federal welfare benefit. Disabled children getting benefits on their parents' account is SSA benefit.

I'm definitely having trouble with the alphabet soup - thanks!

This url gives basic info about Disabled Adult Children.

http://ssa.gov/dibplan/dacpage.shtml

. . . .

And thanks SO MUCH for the link and info!!

 

[pjrose]

She was offered a job!

Well this is an interesting turn-around. Today she got a call from a nearby grocery store offering her a part-time job. :whoopie: She is going to take it of course - and take her meds and drink her fluids. She'll need to find someone to drive her in exchange for gas money or make arrangements with a taxi company. Maybe there's someone looking over her shoulder or some Karma operating, that she got denied benefits one day and the job offer the next.

The best thing would be if she can stay upright and KEEP the job . And if not, if she has a syncope, well then that'll add evidence to the disability issue .

And re Laura's discussion of variations on blacking out, losing consciousness, etc, DD goes from standing or walking or sitting to flat on the floor in an instant, almost always totally unconscious, generally for a few minutes but sometimes 10-12 minutes and a few times over 20 minutes. The very few times she felt dizzy first she has sat down immediately - once in the middle of the lunch line in high school. She'd try to lean against a wall and someone would call the school nurse who would put her in a wheelchair and have her rest for awhile and drink some water. She has sometimes been told after a syncope that her fingernails were blue and sometimes she remembers later that her vision was blurry for an instant.

 

[laurac260]

Well this is an interesting turn-around. Today she got a call from a nearby grocery store offering her a part-time job. :whoopie: She is going to take it of course - and take her meds and drink her fluids. She'll need to find someone to drive her in exchange for gas money or make arrangements with a taxi company. Maybe there's someone looking over her shoulder or some Karma operating, that she got denied benefits one day and the job offer the next.

The best thing would be if she can stay upright and KEEP the job . And if not, if she has a syncope, well then that'll add evidence to the disability issue .

And re Laura's discussion of variations on blacking out, losing consciousness, etc, DD goes from standing or walking or sitting to flat on the floor in an instant, almost always totally unconscious, generally for a few minutes but sometimes 10-12 minutes and a few times over 20 minutes. The very few times she felt dizzy first she has sat down immediately - once in the middle of the lunch line in high school. She'd try to lean against a wall and someone would call the school nurse who would put her in a wheelchair and have her rest for awhile and drink some water. She has sometimes been told after a syncope that her fingernails were blue and sometimes she remembers later that her vision was blurry for an instant.

If I were to rate your daughter's situation and my situation on a scale of 1 to 10, mine would be a 1, as in, merely an inconvenience. Your daughter's would be atleast a 10. That is scary. I don't know how I would ever have been able to let her out of the house, though I know you don't have a choice. My heart goes out to her, and you.

 

[pjrose]

If I were to rate your daughter's situation and my situation on a scale of 1 to 10, mine would be a 1, as in, merely an inconvenience. Your daughter's would be atleast a 10. That is scary. I don't know how I would ever have been able to let her out of the house, though I know you don't have a choice. My heart goes out to her, and you.

Exactly - and that's why the issues we had this summer were so very much more scary than other teenage rebelliousness.

And thanks - {{HUGS}}

 

[presley]

I certainly hope she doesn't pass out on the job. Other than that, I am very happy that she got one.

In my daughter's case, the more active she is, the less likely she is to black out or pass out. She fainted without notice while getting a haircut once. It really scared everyone in the shop. Her job is on her feet all day, and while she has had some light-headed moments, she has never passed out. I hope that turns out to the be case for your girl.

 

[pjrose]

I certainly hope she doesn't pass out on the job. Other than that, I am very happy that she got one.

In my daughter's case, the more active she is, the less likely she is to black out or pass out. She fainted without notice while getting a haircut once. It really scared everyone in the shop. Her job is on her feet all day, and while she has had some light-headed moments, she has never passed out. I hope that turns out to the be case for your girl.

thanks. She seems to be the opposite to your daughter.

She had a cashier's job once, and passed out after maybe a month - the cardio wouldn't clear her to back for an all-standing job, and they didn't have anything else for 15 year-olds. This new job is in the bakery, so presumably she'll be walking around - that will be good for her.

She is ALSO going to see a new cardiologist Tuesday, who is experienced in some testing she hasn't had yet but that was recommended to me. I'm cautiously optimistic.

 

[pjrose]

update on denial

She saved (!) and showed me all the disability paperwork. Her application was denied b/c she didn't have enough quarters, which we already knew b/c she had only held one job, as a cashier for a few months, and then she started having the syncopes. Her cardio at the time would not approve her to go back for any job that required standing in one place.

The denial said that since she didn't have the quarters to qualify, they did not consider the disability issue, but she can appeal. We hope she won't need to appeal, as the new job she's hoping to start soon is in a supermarket bakery, so she'll be moving around. We're keeping our fingers crossed that it'll work out. She has an appt with the new cardio tomorrow and we're also optimistic about that. We're hoping that he'll do some tests that weren't done by the previous one, and maybe figure out a way for her to better manage this condition

If not and if she lands on the bakery floor a time or two, then I guess she'll need to appeal the disability denial.

 

[Passepartout]

Thanks for the update. We had felt this was the reason for the denial. We will continue to hold out hope for a medical resolution to her problem. That's far better than a life of (and on) disability.

Jim

 

[geoand]

If not and if she lands on the bakery floor a time or two, then I guess she'll need to appeal the disability denial.

Based on what you said, she was denied because she didn't have enough quarters of coverage. There was no determination made on her disability.

This denial was on the disability insurance claim. She has not worked enough to qualify for the disability insurance. Hopefully, I can explain this. When a person files for retirement benefits, Social Security must make a determination on whether or not he has sufficient quarters of coverage to qualify. If the determination is that he does have enough, then Social Security must make a determination on whether or not he is "retired." If the determination is that he does not have enough quarters of coverage to qualify, no determination is made on the retirement issue. The appeal would be consider only the quarters of coverage issue and not the retirement issue.

In your daughter's situation, the appeal is only on the quarters of coverage issue. In these situations, generally, a claim for Supplemental Security income is taken. The issues on this type of claim are income, resources, and disability. Social Security will first determine eligibility based on income and resources. If income or resources are too high, then this claim is also denied but not based on the disability issue.

 

[puppymommo]

Based on what you said, she was denied because she didn't have enough quarters of coverage. There was no determination made on her disability.

In your daughter's situation, the appeal is only on the quarters of coverage issue. In these situations, generally, a claim for Supplemental Security income is taken. The issues on this type of claim are income, resources, and disability. Social Security will first determine eligibility based on income and resources. If income or resources are too high, then this claim is also denied but not based on the disability issue.

I agree withh Geoand here. There is no grounds for appeal because she hasn't worked enough quarters to qualify for SSDI. What she may qualify for is SSI which has no work requirement and is solely based on disability, recognizing that people with severe disabilities may not be able to work. If I remember correctly, persons on SSI can earn a limited amount of money before it is taken out of their SSI benefit.

 

[pjrose]

Geo and Puppymommo - Right BUT she could also potentially be covered under OUR Social Security - that's what I'm not completely clear on, but it was discussed in earlier posts/threads about filing before or after she's age 25 - if before she might be covered under ours, if after 25, then she loses that possibility.

Or something like that. I'm still fuzzy here. I know people have tried to explain this one to me, so I'll go back up and read the posts, PMs, etc when I'm not so tired :zzz:

So tomorrow is her first day at the bakery job 1+ mile from her house. Hoped-for rides fell through, so she's planning to get there and back with her bicycle. She's already had 1-2 syncopes while riding it, so I'm a nervous wreck.

 

[geoand]

Geo and Puppymommo - Right BUT she could also potentially be covered under OUR Social Security - that's what I'm not completely clear on, but it was discussed in earlier posts/threads about filing before or after she's age 25 - if before she might be covered under ours, if after 25, then she loses that possibility.

Or something like that. I'm still fuzzy here. I know people have tried to explain this one to me, so I'll go back up and read the posts, PMs, etc when I'm not so tired :zzz:

So tomorrow is her first day at the bakery job 1+ mile from her house. Hoped-for rides fell through, so she's planning to get there and back with her bicycle. She's already had 1-2 syncopes while riding it, so I'm a nervous wreck.

This url will clear some things up for you.

http://ssa.gov/dibplan/dacpage.shtml

The age 25 business you mention does not exist. Look at this url

http://ssa.gov/dibplan/dqualify10.htm

The following comes from the page just mentioned:

Note: An adult may become eligible for a disabled child's benefit from Social Security later in life.

"For example, a worker starts collecting Social Security retirement benefits at age 62. He has a 38-year old son who has had cerebral palsy since birth. The son will start collecting a disabled "child's" benefit on his father's Social Security record."

In other words, the child will not be eligible for benefits on parents' account unless the parent is receiving benefits or is deceased.

Basically, the child must be disabled prior to age 22 to meet one of the qualifying elements for benefits on a parent account. The other critical element is that the parent must be receiving benefits or be deceased and had sufficient quarters of coverage to qualify for benefits at the time of death.

Please feel free to pm me or email me if you so desire.

I would suggest going to SSA.gov and reading thru that section rather than going thru the posts on this thread.
You will find it very well organized, with hot links, and all the public info pamphlets available to you online.

 

[geoand]

sorry about so much typing

This url should clear up the issues about disabled adult child.

http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/156

from the url:

Do disabled children qualify for benefits?
There are two Social Security disability programs children can qualify for:

1. The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program

This program provides monthly payments to children from birth to age 18 based on disability or blindness if the child's:

a. Impairment or combination of impairments meet the definition of disability for children; and

b. Income and resources of the parents and the child are within the allowed limits.

2. The Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program.

This program provides monthly benefits to an adult child (a person age 18 or older) based on disability or blindness if the adult child's:

a. Impairment or combination of impairments meet the definition of disability for adults;

b. Disability began before age 22; and

c. Parent(s) worked long enough to be insured under Social Security and is receiving retirement or disability benefits or is deceased.

Under both programs, the child must not be doing any substantial work and must have a medical condition that has lasted or is expected to last for at least 12 months or to result in death.

 

[DeniseM09]

[It appears that you sell disability insurance - posting a link to your company is not permitted here. - DeniseM Moderator]