Is the US ruthless with aspies?

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I'm in the appeal stage right now, and if DSHS and my friend hadn't been helping me out with the whole process, I probably wouldn't have filled out the paperwork to begin with. My friend's mother works in assisted living for the disabled, and she suggested that I talk to someone in the company about becoming one of their clients. I ended up talking to the director, and she said that I would be a very good fit and that I needed to apply for disability in order to start the application process.

The psychological exam I went to was the most frustrating experience of my life. I sat in the waiting room with my headphones on and stimming like crazy because there were a bunch of people waiting around me that were very loud and intrusive. The doctor I ended up seeing walked past me about three times and saw how I was. When he finally brought me back for the exam (15 minutes late,) I was so anxious that I cried the whole time. I answered his questions, but not to the extent that I wanted to due to being so scattered. The whole thing lasted maybe 15-20 minutes, and then he sent me on my way, saying "I have all of the information I need on you."

My initial denial came as a crushing blow to my person; I couldn't understand how I would be denied when, on paper, I clearly stated the extent of my conditions and had proof that I have been unable to work (I was forced to leave my job in January 2012 because I started having seizures and worked with children.) I wanted to give up on the whole thing, but I was pushed to appeal and now I'm starting to look into lawyers that I could work with in case I get denied again, with the help of my friend.

I've heard that people can get denied several times before finally being accepted, but it definitely was hard to read the denial letter, stating that they "believe I am capable of obtaining gainful employment" after reading my case. I had a point I was going to make with all of this, but I've forgotten it.

In that case, you should see my judge's decision. He dismissed every opinion that supported the fact that I can't work, declared that I convinced myself I had a chronic condition that I in fact do have, and then cited the opinion of one person I saw once in 1996 for reasons that had nothing to do with my ability to work in order to prove that I was able to work. This kind of thing happens more often than you think, and I think more often than it did even a few years ago.

I've already noticed that if you had a mental disability, you can't sign up for the Army, Navy, Airforce or Marines. I know this since I did sign up to be recruited, and they didn't allow me due to that.

Can you reapply or appeals the judges ruling?

I am waiting for the appeals council's response to my appeal of the judge's ruling. My attorney says that if I don't get approved, we should just start over and reapply, hopefully - if it goes that far - getting a different judge. If the appeals council approves the appeal, any number of things can happen, including seeing the same judge again.

Hope it goes well.

Thank you. Me too.

Average time to approval for mental illness is 3.5 years, I think, and I am currently at 2.33 years. It's frustrating, but could be a lot worse.

...after reading all these experiences I suppose I can safely conclude that the US is indeed ruthless with aspies, or even people in general. O.o

Money can never make one happy, I believe, but in modern society *some* is obviously crucial, for the most basic necessity...

By the way, does SSDI/SSI cover housing?

Not necessarily, but there are housing benefits in some areas. In my state it's possible to get housing that costs 30% of one's income in rent. There's usually waiting lists for it, but it's nice to have. Other states probably have different programs..

No the experience and data shows you were wrong. Around 1/3 of people on disability are on it for mental health reasons, around 2 to 3 million for depression and anxiety alone. This contradicts your original claim.

So you know once you are approved you get back money from time of the disability up to 1 years from when you first applied. So if Verdandi is approved she will get over 3.5 years of back money. The lawyer will take their share though.

There people who had to wait 4 or 5 years to get approved, SSI ended up having to pay them 10s of thousands of dollars. The one problem with SSI is back pay is limited to $2000 in each 6 month period. So it takes a long time to get all of it.

The lawyer in my case is taking ~30%, and the state is taking ~$200/month starting with December 2010 to repay state benefits.

Even with that, I'll probably end up with something reasonable if I get approved.

Sucks that you need to even hire a lawyer, who will take money that should be yours.

IF you don't mind answering are you applying for SSDI or SSI.

SSDI is much better if you can get it since it doesn't have all of these archaic restrictions and saving even the tinniest bit of money.

So you know the percentage of disabled people in the U.S who get government assistance is about the same as the U.K. We are no more or less ruthless than the U.K.

Back in 2002 I sought to apply in Texas, after the interview with the state appointed psychologist he told me he would not give the go ahead unless I agreed to spent no less than three months in a state institution. I declined that offer and that was that.

I had typed out my long story in a post on here.