Autism and Student Debt

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My sister has a less mild form of autism and is borderline mentally ret*d. Her therapist told my mom about how she has had patients with autism get their loans forgiven. It is possible. I called up my lender/overlords and verified this but I don't know how to fill out the form.

Does anyone have any further information about how to get diagnosed formally as an adult especially since the criteria has changed? Does anyone have links to how the debt is forgiven? I'll take any advice I can get as I am tired of racking up interest while working part-time at minimum wage while in my late twenties.

First, I think the only loans that get forgiven due to a disability are the federally guaranteed student loans. A private loan directly with a bank, not under the federal student loan program, probably doesn't qualify. A loan that the parent took out in their own name to fund the child's education is also not forgiven.

You should NOT head into college with the idea that you can get the loans forgiven later. But if you do find you are unable to maintain gainful employment, after racking up student loans (federally guaranteed), and if you have this certified as a disability, you can get the entire loan forgiven. The best and surest way to "prove" you are disabled for the loan forgiveness is to have a Social Security disability - whether you are on SSI or SSDI. That's because Soc. Sec. is a pretty tough bar to pass, and other agencies recognize this. If you have not had the disability certified by Soc. Sec., you still might be able to demonstrate the inability to maintain employment, but it's less of a sure thing.

I don't recall the agency to contact about this. The simple thing to do would be to just ask your student financial aid office.

If there are other good reasons for you to pursue a formal diagnosis, then you should do so. But getting a diagnosis just so you can try to discharge your loans may not be worth the effort. An Autism diagnosis alone is not sufficient for erasing the debt. The physician must also certify that you are totally and permanently disabled by the Autism or another condition. This is generally considered to be a difficult standard to meet. Based on what you wrote, it doesn’t sound like you would be considered “totally and permanently disabled” because you work.

If you are legitimately unable to hold down a job, then it would be fair to claim the loan discharge benefit. But in that case, you would be going through the potentially costly process of trying to get the diagnosis while not having any income. And there is no guarantee that you ultimately would get the loans discharged even after all the effort and expense.

This website from the Department of Education explains the option for discharging loans based on total and permanent disability: https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loan ... -discharge

RIP your credit.

Thanks for the information!