SSDI Question

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I am trying to figure out if anyone else had the same problem with SSA and getting SSDI.

I was diagnosed in 1994 with Aspergers Syndrome, ADHD, Epilepsy and Tic Disorder NOS, and SSA denied me in 1994 when I was 6, because they didn't recognize it.

I have had social issues ever since i was a kid and jobs haven't been the best going for me.

I've had the following jobs (6 months or less): Hotel Night Auditor, Desk Clerk, Payroll, Cruise Ship Restaurant Staff, Hotel Manager, State Transportation Employee and none of these jobs ever work out. I had one job that I took to the EEOC and won my case for discrimination!

Long story short....... I applied to SSA in August and they sent me off to a Psychiatrist for eval, and on November 24, 2011 I got a denial on the initial claim and they claim the following:

'We have determined that your condition is not severe enough to keep you from working. The medical evidence indicates you do have some limitations however your impairments do not meet the severity criteria under SS regulations. We have determined you have the ability to return to work doing data entry'.

I have challenged their decision and filed for reconsideration with the fact that I don't like being around people because they are always 'up to something', and a dyspraxia issue.

So my question is has anyone faced this before and if so what did you have to do.

I will be obtaining my medical records they have, and hopefully I will have an additional dx of BPD or something close to it.

Now since I was originally denied in 1994 when I was 6 would I get backpay to 1994?

No, you couldn't backpay to 1994. However, you can use those medical records to show you were disabled before you turned 22, which might make you eligible for other benefits.

I'm in the process of applying for SSI, and my paperwork referred to me as having "limited social functioning" but said they had determined I could do "repetitive work." I'm currently waiting for my appeal date.

Incidentally, your avatar is really distracting and annoying. I adblocked it, but I doubt I'll be the last to mention this here.

So, you have discovered that the ramblings of many politically oriented groups about lazy people and illegal immigrants getting social security are rather baseless, as it's actually very difficult to get SSI/SSDI

Most people have to get a lawyer to represent them.

Sorry, my Technicolor Llama, was on drugs!

Oh, yes, I completely forgot the attorney - you definitely should try to get an attorney who specializes in disability cases if you get as far as appeal, and odds are very good that you will. Most reconsiderations are refused. The vast majority, that is.

Also, it is extremely easy to get the function report wrong, which is what I think is responsible for a lot of refusals. Another thing is that the people who review the applications are fairly biased toward denial. Most cases - but not the vast majority - that reach appeal are approved, though. After an average of 1.5 - 2.5 years waiting.

No worries, it's up to you to keep it or not, I just wanted to mention.

Well, what are the odds, I can get it approved during reconsideration without having a lawyer, and how long does a reconsideration take?

Reconsideration is usually fairly quick - I think within a month? I think something like 10% of requests for reconsideration fail, because it's basically resubmitting the same application all over again.

Really, it's a redundant step that barely does anyone any good. Not enough evaluation is done with the first application, and applicants are not involved enough in the process beyond filling out the paperwork and submitting. Appeals take far too long, and reconsideration is often a pointless waste of time.

Now as far as reconsideration goes, would they set me up for another appointment with a doc or not to see if anything changed?

Like the new avatar.

Anyway, I don't think they'll give you a second appointment with a doctor. I think it's possible they might if you go for appeal (I've heard of this happening from others), but I really doubt it would happen with reconsideration.

I got through the steps pretty fast and I was approved the first time without representation but I was 22 and without a work history at all. What other benefits were you speaking of, Verdandi?

I forget what it's called. You get SSDI-like benefits based on your parents' social security payments. The person I spoke to at SSA said it was like SSDI, but anbuend told me it had a different name.

The first application is almost always denied. The first appeal is also usually denied. I found an attorney after the first denial because I just couldn't deal with it afterwards. Attorneys can't take more than 25% of the back pay as their fee. If you were disabled before the age of 22 that does count as a developmental disability. I was approved after the second denial quite quickly because the attorney found some mistakes in my medical records and discovered some things that the evaluator left out. A rather harsh letter followed and lo and behold I was approved. That was for depression. The 3k or so that the attorney received was well worth it because I don't know that I could have coped with the rest. It took close to a year to get through the whole process. I received back payments from the time I was considered disabled or the time of the first app, I forget which.

Upshot, yes, you can do it on your own, but it's a bad idea to try it because if you do, then you probably don't need SSDI.

I am actually kind of frustrated with my attorney, who says that claiming the "disabled before 22" thing is problematic due to lack of medical records. And I asked him if, since I am diagnosed with two developmental disabilities, and had such a terrible performance in school, why this was the case. Apparently, my lack of medical records means that I wasn't disabled until recently. Even though I've been dealing with this my entire life.

I tried the online application but they sent me a letter to call them and I couldn't and gave up. I also wonder if there is any point since I have no diagnosis. Without help I don't know if I could do it and my having trouble talking to psychologists would make it harder to get a diagnosis.

I've had problems going back to childhood and was in many special classes and schools and even was going to school at a mental hospital for several months but as far as my mother and myself know they never gave me an actual diagnosis. The only psychobabble terms I remember frequently popping up in their reports was "passive-aggressive" and "flat affect".

I haven't worked in over a decade and only worked a total of about seven weeks in my entire life, neither of the two short jobs I had were full time and didn't really involve customers or coworkers.

I think I need my mother to help me apply and get a lawyer if I get denied but I don't know think she would. She is going to help me go and get a new id soon. My id expired 8 years ago and I think she realized that on my own I will never go and get a new one.

Last edited by hanyo on 05 Dec 2011, 9:57 am, edited 1 time in total.