mood disorders, autism, and aspergers syndrome

[rebbecca]

hi everyone, my 8 year old son has mood disorder, autism, aspergers syndrome. i was told with in time it may get worse, and that he will be on meds all of his life. my question is can my son get ssi for his disability? we live in maryland and i wasnt very sure how it works.

[SueNYC]

I don't know.  I guess you need to talk to a lawyer.  Ours has never mentioned it to us - but who knows?

[MJIthewriter]

I don't think of autism as getting worse over time... It is something consistent and part of the person. In this case your son. Not a disease or something attached...

BTW we are in process of getting, or trying to get SSI...

It is a TOUGH struggle to get government support and the closer you or your child is on the aspergers end of the autism spectrum the harder it is to get the services needed. The public tends to think aspergers people or in my case PDDNOS are highly intelligent and able to "think" their way out of their anxiety and hang-ups...

That isn't always true and the general population needs to learn this fast.  Even though I talk normally and a logical thinker, even creative and imaginative, I still deal with many of the same hang-ups and anxiety that someone at the other end of the autism spectrum suffers.

Only they are likely to get aid because they can't speak verbally in a "normal" language recognized by the population.

All you get is someone better able to explain their anxiety in a way people can relate, but not someone who can work their way through that anxiety.

Anyways, we went through the final court hearing and waiting on the final results... It was a tough battle. I even had to move out of state to continue with the fight!

So good luck and be prepared to be tough and forceful in some cases. You'll need to work very hard research and to dispel as many myths about autism that this society has against us.  Getting involved with other autistic people and parents of autistic children can really help.

Sorry I didn’t find this topic sooner, but hopefully it will be helpful for the people currently posting. I don’t lurk this community but I help lead the aspergers and autism community with my dad. If anyone has questions about autism feel free to post there.

[italianmom]

Just go to the social security website and apply. You need to meet the income eligibility and all...U have to qualify under their guidelines..they will request his medical records from the drs. You reallly dont need a lawyer unless you have been denied..even then u can ask for a reconsideration..and an appeal on your own. It just depends on how severe his case is...they take them all individually. Good Luck.

[MJIthewriter]

That's one way to start, but chances are, expect to be denied... Don't give up right there. Keep going adkeep sending in the appeals until they want a court hearing. This isn't a quick process. Expect to be busy with this for at least a year or more.  Most of the time spent is waiting...for the government to take its sweet time.

BTW I hate the website application... they have a time limit and I was not able to fill out the form before that limit expired and had to go back to ground 1...  Get the application in print. That way you don't waste time retyping every answer...

[MJIthewriter]

Sorry, I meant to gear the post for the general audience, not just italianmom.

[Kayzee]

I'm in the process of filing for disability and having an representative (usually a lawyer) is very helpful, especially if you're dealing with high levels of stress and anxiety due to the condition causing the disability in the first place.   The SSA interview process is surprisingly adversarial, and the promise that they will "help you get" necessary documents or will do the footwork to procure medical records is NOT something that can be relied on.  

A lawyer is not necessary, but they are paid out of a percentage of back benefits--what Social Security owes you already, not what they will pay in the future--and there is no cost if you're denied.  

It is a tough, stressful, maddening process snarled in red tape at every turn and I would NOT want to be doing this without the help of someone who actually knows how the system works.

An example: on my initial call to Social Security, they took a detailed history over the phone--I was next to my computer so I could give them doctor's names, phone numbers, fax numbers, addresses, dates of treatments, medication history, the whole thing.  Then they sent me a little green form listing information I would need to provide them....all of which had been covered in the initial phone call.  In the personal interview, the interviewer had the intake form from my phone call in front of her, but because I did not bring my current doctor's phone number with me (again, it was on the form in front of her) she told me that the SSA would consider me to be not seeking treatment at this time and would send me to one of their doctors for evaluation.  I was eventually able to give her the name and address of the practice as well as the doctor and she looked the phone number up on the internet, so the day was saved.  But the phone number was on her desk the entire time!  She acknowledged that, but she was not allowed to take information from that form for the interview or to allow me to refer to that from for the interview.....all information had to come from my mouth, under the risk of perjury.  Then, after taking much LESS information than in the phone session, she said they'd make a medical decision in four or five months, and there was nothing else I should do but wait.

See what I mean?  A quarter of back benefits is a small price to pay for keeping one's sanity.