Psychologist says I will probably be denied SSI.

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I recently got in contact with an old psychologist I had as a teen. He says they will say I'm able to function but they must place me somewhere. He says I must have more impairments. On the WAIS test I took at 16, my full scale IQ was 153. In addition, I have received A's on most of my college courses (perfect 4.0 college average in my new college for 2 years until one semester of nursing came along). However, I don't have the social abilities that others have. I also need some routine or at least a job in which taks are direct. I am also without a bachelor's and only have an associate of arts I received at 20. To this day, I don't know how to function without being too different for them to handle. People have been concerned with me acting socially inappropriate and it has limited my opportunities. For me, it's been much easier to talk to people when the conversation is planned vs spontaneous or if the topic is on my special interest or I am speaking to accepting people. I also have obsession issues in which I focus on a topic for hours upon hours on end without break. It often interferes with my life. Is there any way for me to get SSI?

My mom signed me up when I was 18. She sent in all my medical records, had my uncles and relatives write a letter to them telling them how much my anxiety impairs me, I let my shrink send them information about me. SSI contacted my old doctors they could find for medical information. My mom did all the work so I'm probably not much help here.

Lot of people get denied SSI the fist time. Some people even need a lawyer to get on it. It's ridiculous because people really do need it and they get denied.

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That's a good start. It helps if you were on it while a minor. Some people qualify for it while living with their parents, but don't qualify later on. It just depends on what kind of info is in the IEPs.
You would need to give your records to a lawyer. The more records you have, the easier it is to qualify. If you have any records from a hospital, that's supposed to help.

I don't know myself if I should try for SSI. I did get a small State Disability Check, but I don't know if it was easier to get than SSI or not. I heard it's really hard.

I think I'm on SSI. I get a disability payment through CentreLink and don't have to look for work. My doctor didn't think I'd get on disability nor did my mum and I. But apparently the psychiatrist I saw was the Tony Attwood of my region, so I did get on disability. I think I have achieved less than the OP though. Grades were average or poor, but the IQ test I did to get on disability I thought I did really well. I never have been to university too. My UAI wasn't high enough and I wanted to study social sciences.

I was placed on disability (SSI) when I was nineteen by a psychiatrist while I was still living at a group home for abused, neglected and abandoned children. When my father retired I became eligible under his social security because I was disabled while still considered a minor and then eligible at that time for Medicare, as well. I tried working a number of times but could never handle the overwhelming degree of stress involved and in most instance could only last a week or two. Only once I lasted four months working for the tax assessors office at City Hall researching land ownership deeds where I worked in a vault climbing up and down a latter lifting heavy books in order to collect the data. I reformatted the data sheet so it would read more comprehensively and my employer was very pleased with that. The job only paid a minimum wage and the task was so repetitious and monotonous I couldn't really bear it. Ultimately, I decide my time was better spent developing my artistic talents as opposed to staying in a dead end job and quit after four months. I was only able to maintain the job that long because I worked in a vault where most of the time I was alone. Sometimes the public did come in and during those times it felt quite stressful to me.

I think being highly intelligent can be a handicap at times, though I'm not entirely certain specifically why I believe this, as opposed to the average person. I think it may be related to sensitivity issues and probably other things like autism which may also be related. I haven't studied these things. It's just an instinctive sense of it in my way of thinking. I too have heard it's difficult to get SSI and an attorney and other doctors would probably be necessary. I also couldn't survive without the support of someone who cares for me because the income alone isn't enough really to survive on. I'm sorry as I'm sure none of this is of any real help to you. I wish you much luck and understand the dilemma and challenges involved.

Hi timeisdead,

I got my magna cum laude BS degree in business, was a candidate in outstanding scholar programs for federal employment with various agencies, and I was told my social skills disqualified me for everything. When I filed suit for discrimination through the EEOC, the story shifted to that I didn't have any motivation either, after I graduated in the top 3% of my university.

While trying to obtain medical documendation of my impairments, I had to exhaust my "administrative remedies" with Medicare/Medicaid, which required my applying for disability, both SSDI and SSI. Like a fool, I worked too much while getting my education, and disqualified myself from drawing on my parents Social Security, while I didn't work enough for sufficient points for my own Social Security. After a big Catch-22 technicality saturation (which many lawyers don't want to lose their time with), I got my SSI by giving back just as many Catch-22's as I received.

With more nebulous and abstract impairments, the "Total Limiting Effects" are more decisive that the type and degree of impairment itself. I discovered this in the land of "Code of Federal Regulations" and by reading relevant federal court cases at a law library.

The side-effects are usually just as impairing for many impairments, so the total limiting effects were alsovery important for many, along with who was responsible for assessing the problems:

20 CFR §416.945(e) TOTAL LIMITING EFFECTS:
When you have a severe impairments(s), but your symptoms, signs, and laboratory findings do not meet orequal those of a listed impairment in appendix 1 of subpart P of part 404 of this chapter, we will consider the limiting effects of all your impairment(s), even those that are not severe, in determining your residual functional capacity. Pain or other symptoms may cause a limitation....and 20 CFR §416.946 Responsibility for assessing your residual functional capacity.... at:

http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr/index.html and "Submit" 20 CFR 416 "in Quick Search," "and choose item #2" PDF

page 990 document, page 133 Adobe Reader. (Shorter versions with just each section are available too, but overall technicalities in remote sections often prove valuable in understanding and dealing with all the run-arounds).

The headaches, migraines, post-ictal, irritability, obsessiveness, etc. from many impairments frequently exceed the definition of disability on their own, without even considering the originating impairment.

I hope this helps (the internet downloads worked for me on January 07, 2010 so far) Researching Federal Court cases involving disability determinations is also a great source of information. Good Luck!

Tadzio

Is this a matter of survival? If so, apply now, don't worry about whether you're eligible (that's what the application process is for anyway). If you're not doing this just so you'll be able to eat, though, you have options other than SSI, and I strongly suggest going for those instead. In this state, for example, people with a diagnosed disability can get--and get pretty much for free--job training, career counseling, and other services related to getting employed. I'm not sure who would point you there; but most likely, if you call the same government office that handles disability benefits in your area, they will know who you can ask. I honestly think that most autistic people can work; that the barriers are more societal than matters of ability; and that, given the right training and the right environment, becoming self-supporting is not something you necessarily need to give up on.

If you're applying for SSI because you can't see any other way to survive, you can still try to go for employment (and yes, there are provisions for you to keep your disability income eligibility until you have been steadily employed for some time, so you don't have to re-apply). Being eligible for SSI is not actually a sign that you will never be able to work. Remember that people who are blind, paraplegic, or mentally challenged can easily get accepted for SSI--but many people with these disabilities, the ones that make disability pay very easy to get, can and do work. Usually it takes some doing to get a job with a disability, but it's possible.

Actually, come to think of it, there are examples of people with all three of the "obvious SSI candidate" examples I mentioned working at my university at the moment, so it's not like you even have to scrape for examples. There's even an Aspie woman heading one of the graduate programs. Seriously, it's possible. Disabled people are being employed more and more often; and the more of us get jobs, the more people realize we can work; the more people understand that disabled doesn't mean unemployable, the more people will hire us. Personally, I'm predicting exponential decrease in unemployment among the disabled. Things are going to get better. Not that it'll be easy, but they're definitely going to get better.

Maybe you can go to a Department of Rehabilitation office in your area. They deal with this type of issue. If you talked to someone there about lack of employment, they might be able to refer you to an agency, from there you can find a job.