applying for ssi/medicaid benefits

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Hello,
Has anyone had the experience of applying for these benefits for their adult child on the spectrum. I am finding it quite confusing. Can you tell me how your process went and what documentation etc went into the process. We are currently in the process of guardianship as well and are finding it all quite overwhelming.
Thanks
Anthony

To recieve SSI he has to have less than $2,000 in assets.

Your states Social Security website would have a page listing the documentation he needs. Some basics are birth certificate, bank statements or a bank books, social security ID, diagnostic report.

Most often people are rejected the first time they apply.

When that happens people often hire a disability lawyer. They do not get paid unless your son is awarded benefits.

Get a lawyer. Be sure you find one who works on contingency basis, meaning you pay noting if you lose.

But be prepared for a long wait. They tend to be slow and intentionally dubious.

Also, keep all forms you receive in a special folder. Even keep the envelopes. The state Disability Determination Service may send you time sensitive documents, but they may send them late, giving you only a few days to reply. If this happens, make copies of the envelopes.

Also, expect the state DDS and SSA to ask the same stupid questions over and over again. The state DDS may even send you to one of their so-called "doctors." (Their job is to look for every reason to deny you) There's not much you can do about. Just play along, no matter how asinine and annoying it is.

But like I said, expect a long wait.

I've applied for SSD and SSI and it's taking forever. I've been denied twice. I'm now waiting to have a hearing before a judge. They say it will take 18-20 months to schedule a hearing. Then I'll have to wait another three months to get a decision.

SSI is a federal program. Unless your son has worked at a paying job for some time, he is not eligible for SSDI. People tend to get these mixed up.

For SSI, you have to go into Social Security office and bring lots of documents with you. Although time consuming, it is not difficult to get if you have proof of the disability. (SSDI otoh, is difficult, requires many tries and maybe an attorney.) You don't need an attorney for SSI. If your child also has intellectual disability it will be even easier.

Medicaid programs are administered by individual states. in some states if you get SSI, you automatically get Medicaid. A Google search will help you out there.

Guardianship is state specific.

I applied for SSI for both my daughter and my niece, and got approved on the first try in both cases.

SSI is all a person can get if they have not worked enough to have paid into the system sufficiently, or at all. But I believe the criteria for being considered disabled are the same for both SSI and SSDI. The "disability determination" is done at the state level (by a local person working cooperatively with Social Security) even though the funding is still federal.

In filling out the application, be very thorough with dates, locations, providers, etc. I did it as a table and just wrote "see attached table" because it made it easier to compile and present the information. You can do this with a word processing or spreadsheet program on a computer.

They send you a questionnaire about your lifestyle, activities of daily living, limits (such as lifting or standing) you may have, etc. The more concrete and detailed your answers, the better; instead of "noisy environments are hard for me," say "I was in an open floor plan office at my last job and when too many people were talking, I got upset, yelled, and threw my telephone across the room, which got me fired."

I actually never went in to the Social Security office with either of these applications. They had a telephone interview instead. You can request that if going in person is a hardship.

Anyway, it isn't a necessity to get a lawyer unless you are having some trouble. Of course I had previously helped a couple clients with their applications so I "knew the ropes" a bit.

Yes, it does take a long time to get approved, so get started and try to figure out how to survive in the meantime. Good luck.

What everyone before me has said is true. It can be--can be, but not necessarily always--a very long process to get benefits. Get a lawyer; I can't stress that enough. It helped me to get my SSI the second time I went up for the hearing.