SSDI disability application

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Maybe this will be long.....we'll see how do. I'm not a good speller, sorry if that is annoying.

I'm 53. I've been self employed almost my whole life with the exception of 2 jobs when I was late teens early 20's.

I work long hours and really hard. I'm an artistisan and I'm able to make stuff and sell my work. I'm having a really hard time tho and I'm getting worn out from trying. I have to do some social stuff like going to shows and galleries to sell my work. My work is my special interest so basically it's all I do. No matter how much time I put in or how many new ideas I have my income has always been low. Extra low he past 2 years since I was admited to a psyc ward after a melt down. Being older has made my aspie anxiety stuff more difficult to deal with. Almost like being a teen again.

so my income after my expenses isbelow the gainfull amount that social security requires. But, I know they consider how much time you spend on your bz not just the profit. since it's mostly all that I do I'm afraid I'll be disqualified. Just because I'm able to put lots o time in doesn'tmean I'm producing quanity or even quality. I make somany mistakes that I drive myself nuts. For example, today I was doing tax stuff and entering figures and closed the screen before I ved so I lost everything and had to start over. Basically this is the story of my life and I could never work anywhere "regular" because of it.

I am constantly pushing myself to go places and do things that are uncomfortable and stressful and it's wearing me out.

I have a good psychiatrist that understands but haven't yet found a counselor that gets it. They spend most of thier time trying to get me to look at them or learn polite social stuff. what they don't get is that when I have to I can be a great acctress and pretend to be normal. But boy does it ever take it's toll. after a show I need 2 days alone to recover. Or counselors seem to think my marriage is my problem. Believe me, I know my hubby is not perfect but I am so hard to live with because there is so much that I freek out over. and there are many days I can't even talk to him, or anyone.

I do think aspergers is a gift as far as my talents and special interests go but the social stuff is so hard, not fitting in, and not b able to make a good income is really hard.

anyway....does anyone have ny experience with SSDI?

Thank you!

I believe you can only qualify for SSDI if you are determined to be totally incapable of working due to a disability, a hard thing to prove and usually denied. Having any income from working no matter how low it is is a disqualifier.

Having investigated I'm sure that is not the case. I had thought that myself but it is not so.

Having investigated I'm sure that is not the case. I had thought that myself but it is not so.

From the social security web site.

http://www.ssa.gov/oact/cola/sga.html

Wow and here I thought I was unique. I am 45 with late diagnosis ASD and an artist as well. I stress and fumble with getting my art to specially shows. But I have been job hopping for 27 years. 42 different jobs that I leave due to conflict, stress/anxiety attacks, just not fitting in etc.. always roll back to art in between jobs. Which is a routine now. Going through process for SSDI right now. Things are just getting harder and harder to tolerate, sensory wise as well as working with people. If I get denied I am 100% getting an attorney because my case is weird but very strong.

As I have said in previous threads concerning applying for SSDI, or even SSI, you’re better off hiring an attorney versed both in SSA and disability law. Make sure that they will represent you on a contingency basis. Let the attorney handle the entire process, from application to appeal.

You can work part time or earn up to a certain amount of money while on SSD before it would impact the income. I forget the exact numbers, there might be a variation from state to state though. How much you get is based upon how much you've earned/paid in over your working history OR on the national average if that's higher (700 something) typically.

When applying you have to fill out a few pages of paperwork; it's best to be as thorough as possible with describing your difficulties and include any medical paperwork you might have to support what you're saying. They'll also ask for various healthcare provider information and will send inquires to them for their assessment of you.

Denial is common, but you can do an appeal. If you get SSDI every 3-4 years they may send you the paperwork again to fill out as a means to check that you are still disabled under their guidelines. Besides being a pain (I recommend photocopying your applications) it's not a big deal unless you've improved substantially.

There is an exception to this procedure: once you have been granted SSDI, and you apply for Ticket to Work, SSA will not bother you every 3-4 years for a review, even if you are unable to use that ticket to gain employment. I’ve never been able to gain employment on Ticketto Work, since my experience with most employment networks and state vocational rehab counselors have been dismal, at best. I’ve found the Emplyment network personnel and Vocational Rehab Counselors are extremely incompetent, as they have little or no experience with people with mental or developmental disorders, ESPECIALLY if ou’re over 50!

What's SSDI stand for?

social security disability insurance

i would get a lawyer and make sure they only get paid if you win.the process will take up to 2 years likely to resolve.in that time you cant more than about $800 per month i believe or at least thats what it is in Massachusetts

that is a long time to not make very much money.it is harder to win a case today then it used to be and its harder to get a lawyer to take your case these days too.

what is most important is getting all your doctors agreeing in your favor.yes i did win a case myself so i have experience

Ah I forgot about the ticket to work, thanks. I could swear I was sent a review within that time frame while on the program though *chin scratch* In any case it ended up canceled or whatever because I wasn't actually doing anything with the place I'd signed it to. Unfortunately it seems more generic vocational places don't know how to handle people with disabilities real well and the more specific ones (like for the blind and visually impaired) don't know how to help someone with more things going on than just their specialty. Then you add in that unless it's specially geared for older individuals they tend to default to children and young adults.

Oh they can help the older disabled, as long as it’s a physical or neurological disability. Here in PA, they’ll move heaven and earth for those types of disability, such as alcoholism, loss of limb, heart disease, stroke, Down’s syndrome, intellectual disability, etc. Mental and developmental disabilities are a whole different story. Autism training for those caseworkers is next to non-existant. What little training they get regarding autism is so out of date that it’s laughable. I even had to clue in a former housemate, who was fresh out of the PA State Police Academy on autism, before he was reassigned.

It got so bad with DVR I finally gave up. PA disability rights law office is so overwhelmed that they were unable to help. And my brothers consider me to be a lazy Sonofab!tch?

I had a review while under that program too but that's cuz I had been on SSI before I started working & while I was working. After I quit working & started working with Louisiana Rehab Services again & they had taken my ticket. Social Security realized during that time that I was no longer working & had paid enough into Social Security to be eligible for Social Security Disability but I had to apply for it which meant doing the whole application process again. My LRS counselor did jack-sh!t to help me. she only did an assessment on me & after a couple years called me & told me she was canceling my case. I was seeing LRS for physical disabilities rather than mental. I have a rare low vision disorder along with other disabilities & my counselor was born completely blind & had a personal assistant. I feel my counselor resented me & felt I was alot more capable than she was since I could see some. I have a lot of other disabilities too that my counselor didn't focus on. I NEVER had the resources my counselor had cuz my conditions were not diagnosed till my senior year of high-skewl. Anyways shortly after my case was canceled, I had a review from Social Security. I generally had a review every 3 years & it had been about 3 years since I did the paperwork to switch my SSI to SSDI so I had just assumed it was my annual 3 year review that I would of had even if I was still working with LRS.

I applied and got it on initial application with no lawyer for my autism. I say just be honest and start the process. It took me 2.5 months to hear i was approved after I applied.