I have worked with a number of people who have gone back to school while applying for Social Security disability benefits. This may be going to (or back to) college, trade school, or just getting more training. Generally, Social Security wants to see people getting on with their lives and trying to find a way to make a living. Going back to school is a common part of this.

However, it can sometimes cause problems in a disability case. Social Security cases can be summed up as, “do your conditions keep you from being able to do some kind of work?” That is a bit of a simplification since the standard is whether an individual can engage is a “substantial gainful activity,” but it is a good question to start with.

I’m not trying to work, I’m just going to school. Is this going to be a problem?

That depends on several factors:

Is going to school consistent with your disability?

If you have PTSD, social anxiety disorder, or another condition, how are you managing with the social requirements of going to school?

This is not an insurmountable question, but Social Security will consider it, and you need to have an answer.

I have known people who go back to school, but they take night or online classes to minimize social interaction. I have had other clients with anxiety disorders who have permission from the school and the instructors allowing them to leave the classroom without any penalty if they feel an anxiety attack coming on.

Social Security often looks to the specific accommodations provided by the school to decide this is consistent with the disability.

Is the school activity comparable to work?

If classes, labs, homework and studying take up around 30 to 40 hours per week going to school may be viewed by Social Security as close enough to what is required in the workplace to suggest that the individual is capable to engaging in a substantial gainful activity (aka working).  Put another way, if you can put in 40 hours a week at something which is as hard as work, Social Security may think you can work. And, if you can work, your case may be denied.

So is your going to school similar to going to work? It all depends on the circumstances.

• How many classes are you taking? Are you going full time, half time, quarter time?
• How are you scheduling your classes? Some people with chronic fatigue disorder have gone to college half time or less, and set up their schedules to limit time in school to only a few hours a day. Or, have several hours between classes for rest periods.
• How many hours are you devoting to school? This is the big question. When you add up all the time between classes, studying, homework, labs, etc, how many hours are you devoting to being in school? Is it close to a 40 hour work-week?

Is the degree inconsistent with the disability?

Ask yourself, “what jobs can I do with my degree?” If the jobs are inconsistent with your current disability, how are you going to explain to Social Security why you are pursuing training in that area?

For example, if you have a seizure disorder and are training to be an electrician, Social Security may wonder how you are planning to deal with the possibility of losing consciousness while working around live wires? The result may be that Social Security may infer that the seizure disorder may not be disabling considering your educational goals, and deny your case.

Of course, not every degree program or retraining is inconsistent with a disability claim. For example, I have had several clients go back to school to become therapists and counselors with the goal of working on their own, in an environment where they can set their own schedules, thereby allowing them to manage their disabilities.

Going to school while pursing a Social Security disability case brings a unique set of potential pitfalls for the unwary. Whether this keeps you from winning your case often depends on how well you understand the potential risks and the documentation you have prepared to resolve potential problems.

Sadly, Social Security is not increasing SSI benefits for 2010. SSI benefits are staying at $674 for individuals and $1,011 for couples.

This is the first year in a decade that SSI benefits have stayed the same for two years in a row!

When a disabled individual receives Social Security disability insurance benefits (also known as DIB, SSDI or Title 2 benefits), their spouse or minor children may also be eligible to receive Social Security benefits. These benefits paid to the spouse or minor child are called “auxiliary benefits.”

Wait a minute, I’m on SSI, but my kids didn’t get any Social Security benefits.

Whether a spouse or children receive Social Security benefits depends on which Social Security benefits the spouse or parent is receiving. There are two kinds of Social Security disability benefits: Social Security disability insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

Note: Even though only “Social Security Disability Insurance” uses the word “disability,” both programs provide Social Security benefits for disabled individuals. However, only Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) has auxiliary benefits.

This means you have to be receiving SSDI for your spouse or children to receive auxiliary benefits. If you are on SSI, you are the only person who can receive benefits because there are not auxiliary benefits for SSI.

See my other articles on auxiliary benefits are other types of Social Security benefits you may not be aware of.

Even though you live with your pain every day, the Social Security technician or the disability examiner doesn’t know what you are going through, and they won’t know, unless you can tell them. You may feel like yelling,

You don’t know what I go through every day!

And you would be right. No one really knows what it is like to be in another person’s skin. But, when you are applying for Social Security benefits, you have to do your best to communicate the quality of your pain.

Here are some areas to describe:

Nature of the Pain: What is the pain like? Is it sharp? Dull? Aching? Shooting? Throbbing? Electric? Burning? Is it a constant ache that turns into spams as it gets worse?

Location: Where is the pain located? In your neck? Temple? Shoulder? Low back? Wrists? Is it in your buttocks with shooting pains down your legs and into your toes? Social Security won’t know if you can’t describe it.

Frequency & Duration: Is it painful all the time or just some of the time? How long does the pain last? Do you feel better in the morning, and then get worse over the course of the day?  Or, does it start bad in the morning and keep getting worse until you go to bed?

Triggers: Some pain happens no matter what an individual does. Other pains can be related to certain causes. Do you have an electric pain that doubles you over, but goes away when you lie down? Does the pain only happen when you walk a block or climb stairs? Does it get worse if you stand for more than ten minutes.

Effects of Pain: Does the pain affect how much you can lift or carry? How long you can sit, stand or walk? Does the pain affect your ability to read a book, or follow a tv show?

Effect of Medications: Do your medicines help? How? Do the pills (or shots, or other treatment) relieve all of the pain or just some of the pain? What do the medications help with? What do the medications not relieve? For example, do the medications help your muscles relax and stop spasming, but have no impact on the continual dull ache? Do the medications last until the next dose or is the pain back up before you can take another dose?

If you think that you could write a page or two describing your pain, your on the right track! Whether you are getting ready to apply or preparing for your hearing, being able to discuss your pain is an important part of building your case.

If your spouse dies leaving you to take care of his or her children under the age of 16, you may be entitled to Mother’s and Father’s benefits (commonly called parent’s benefits) under Social Security.

These are separate from the benefits the children may be entitled to based on the death of their parent.

20 CFR 404.339 deals sets out the requirements for a parent to receive Mother’s or Father’s benefits:

You may be entitled as the widow or widower to mother’s or father’s benefits on the earnings record of someone who was fully or currently insured when he or she died. You are entitled to these benefits if—

(a) You are the widow or widower of the insured and meet the conditions described in §404.335(a);

(b) You apply for these benefits; or you were entitled to wife’s benefits for the month before the insured died;

(c) You are unmarried;

(d) You are not entitled to widow’s or widower’s benefits, or to an old-age benefit that is equal to or larger than the full mother’s or father’s benefit; and

(e) You have in your care the insured’s child who is entitled to child’s benefits and he or she is under 16 years old or is disabled. Sections 404.348 and 404.349 describe when a child is in your care.

You need to keep in mind that unlike benefits paid to children when a parent dies (which are often paid until age 18), mother’s and father’s benefits stop at age 16. There are also a number of other ways these benefits can stop.

Here are some things you should discuss:

• Let your doctor know that you are applying for Social Security disability benefits.
• Ask your doctor if he or she feels that you are disabled? Does your doctor think you would be able to do some type of full-time work?
• Is the doctor willing to write a statement to Social Security, or fill out a form from your lawyer, about your limitations?
• Even if not, ask your doctor would be willing to help out in some other way. The doctor may have a suggestion that might help your case.

Keep in mind that depending on your age you may not need to prove that you cannot perform any kind of work to qualify for Social Security disability benefits. That can definitely work to your advantage! Even if your doctor thinks you can still do some type of work, or part time work, it may be worthwhile to get a supporting statement from the doctor.

However, it all depends on which age group you fall into. Your lawyer can help you figure that out.

Sometimes however, your doctor may tell you:

I do not believe in Social Security disability.

I don’t think anyone is disabled.

You look fine to me.

Even if you don’t get the answer you want to hear when you talk to your doctor,  it is still valuable to know if your doctor does not believe in you or your disability. If you get one of these answers, it may be time to find a new doctor.

But, you will not know if your doctor will support you, or not, unless you  have this discussion. So, get to it and start talking!

Under Social Security regulations low birth weight babies may qualify for Social Security disability (Supplemental Security Income – SSI) benefits.

It is important to note that Social Security does not specifically consider whether the child is premature or not. Social Security considers the birth weight of the child:

“Low birth weight” is defined as a birth weight under 1,200 grams (2 pounds 10 ounces) or under 2,000 grams and small for gestational age.

Social Security does provide SSI disability benefits to certain low birth weight infants, whether or not they are premature. A child who weighs less than 1200 grams (about 2 pounds, 10 ounces) at birth can qualify for SSI on the basis of low birth weight, if otherwise eligible. A child who weighs between 1200 and 2000 grams at birth (about 4 pounds 6 ounces) AND who is considered small for his or her gestational age may also qualify. For this second category of low birth weight infants, the following chart shows the gestational age at birth and corresponding birth weight that satisfies our “small for gestational age” criterion.

However, even newborns over 1,200 grams may qualify for SSI depending on their gestational age. Listed below are the gestational ages and birth weights that may qualify a child for Supplemental Security Income benefits (re-formated from the Social Security website for easier viewing):

37-40 weeks — Less than 2000 grams (4 pounds, 6 ounces)

36 weeks — 1875 grams or less (4 pounds, 2 ounces)

35 weeks — 1700 grams or less (3 pounds, 12 ounces)

34 weeks — 1500 grams or less (3 pounds, 5 ounces)

33 weeks — 1325 grams or less (2 pounds, 15 ounces)

If the newborn weight is equal to, or less than, the specified amount, based on the newborn’s gestational age, the newborn may be able to qualify for SSI benefits. For more information, check out the Social Security FAQ.

Yes. Under some circumstances, Social Security can immediately start Social Security disability benefits, and continue to pay benefits for up to six months, while the state agency component of Social Security makes a formal decision of whether the child is disabled. These are called “Presumptive Disability” cases.

Basically, Social Security is saying that the child is probably disabled, and as such will pay benefits, while it reviews the case to confirm the presumed disability.

Here are the conditions that may qualify:

• HIV infection;
• Total blindness;
• Total deafness;
• Cerebral palsy;
• Down syndrome;
• Muscular dystrophy;
• Severe mental retardation (child age 7 or older); and
• Birth weight below 2 pounds, 10 ounces.

According to Social Security (POMS DI 11055.230):

The presumptive disability/blindness payments end the earliest of:

• The month in which the Disability Determination Services (DDS) makes a formal finding on whether the claimant is disabled or blind;
• The month for which the claimant is paid the sixth monthly payment based on PD or PB; or
• The month in which the claimant no longer meets one of the other eligibility requirements for SSI (e.g., excess income/resources).

If the Social Security state agency decides that the condition is not severe enough for SSI, you do not have to pay the money back. And that is very good news.

However, (you knew there had to be a however, didn’t you?) payments on presumptive disability cases CAN be considered overpayments (which a parent/guardian may have to pay back) if:

• The claim is disallowed due to ineligibility based on non-medical factors; or
• Social Security subsequently determine that it computed the amount of payment in error.

Or, put in English, if the child is later denied for non-medical reason (for example, if the household makes too much money or has too much in assets) or if Social Security got the benefit amount wrong.

See Social Security publication for a general overview. See  DI 11055.230 Presumptive Disability (PD) and Presumptive Blindness (PB) Provisions for more information about the overpayment issue.

If you are looking at your Social Security exhibit file and you notice that all the exhibits are numbered with a letter in front, such as “B1A, B2A, B1B, B2B,” etc, this means that you are looking at the “B” file — a file for the second application for Social Security disability benefits.

In other words, the first time you file for benefits, Social Security creates an “A” file. Since this may be the only file you ever have, it is not referred to as the “A” file.  However, if you file a second application, the second file becomes the “B” file. The third application becomes part of the “C” file, and so on.

These letters are just a way to distinguish the file and quickly tell whether a file is an earlier file or a later file.

Note: this system does not always work. I have had clients with 5 or more applications and their file had either no letter or it may have only been the “B” file. So, the absence of a letter does not mean there isn’t a prior file, but if there is a letter, then there definitely is a prior file.

So, do you want it and how do you get it?

If there is Social Security information out there, I generally want it. There are exceptions of course. I do not necessarily want a file from 10 years ago, but a file that is only 2 years old may have some valuable evidence in it. It all comes down to the specific circumstances of the case. Sometimes a client tells me that a prior Social Security examiner gave the client a favorable report, or a prior hearing denial said the client was limited to light work and since the client is now 55 year old, that by itself my let the client be approved. Then, absolutely, I want to get my hands on that file!

This usually just means asking for it. I do this by addressing a request, a letter really, to the judge or the judge’s office. I request that the prior file be made available, or requested (if it is in storage) and I state my reasons for why the file may be important in the current case. I have never seen a judge refuse this request.

Then, follow up to make sure the file has been received, and either request a copy of the file on CD or schedule time to make a copy of the file the ODAR (Office of Disability Adjudication and Review) office.

My previous article discussed how Social Security makes it easier for people over 50 years old to receive disability benefits, even if they can still perform some kind of work.

I am 49 years old! I am about to turn 50. Isn’t that close enough?

It might be. If you are within a few months of an age when the Social Security rules change (50, 55, 60),  you might have a “borderline age” case.

Using the example above, if you are 49 years old and within a few months of your 50th birthday,  Social Security may apply the rules for 50-year-olds to your case. This might make the difference between being approved Social Security disability benefits, and being denied!

However, you need to be aware of the borderline age issue and bring it up to Social Security, or to the judge, if you are at the hearing level.

As part of my series on how to prove you are disabled and eligible for Social Security disability benefits, my latest article, “Winning Social Security Disability Benefits After Age 50” is now on Dallas Texas Social Security disability attorney Bob Kraft’s P.I.S.S.D. (Personal Injury Social Security Disability) website.

Click the link and check it out!

If you are between 18 years old and 50 years old, you are in the most difficult age range to get Social Security benefits.

Before you turn 18, Social Security uses the “child” standard for disability evaluations.

After you turn 18, though, Social Security uses the “adult” standard. You have to show that you are unable to do any type of work which exists in substantial numbers in the national economy. That bit of legalese basically means that you have to show that you can’t do any kind of work anywhere, anyhow so long as it is a substantial gainful activity (SGA).

Social Security can deny your benefits if you are able to perform work at any exertional level.

Some attorneys do not want such a case such where an individual is less than 50 years old. However it is possible to win a Social Security disability case if you’re under 50.  It is just harder, and the attorney has to work for it. But after all, that is why you are hiring a lawyer in the first place.

Now that I know the critical dates and the medical history I review the work history. Social Security reviews cases using the 5 step sequential evaluation process. At step 4, if you are still able to do any of the jobs you performed in the last 15 years before you became disabled, you can be denied benefits. There are a couple more wrinkles to this, such as the job has to be a substantial gainful activity, but the general idea is that if you can still do a job your over the last 15 years, you can be denied.

I often start with the “Disability History – Work Report” and the “Work Background Report.” These are forms you filled out for Social Security describing the type of work you did.

There may be jobs here that you have forgotten about and these documents may provide the beginning and ending dates for the various jobs.

However, you also have to check the earnings reports:

These provide your earnings reported by your employers and are another way to make sure you have not forgotten about a job. There have also been several instances where my clients and I found that someone in another state was using their Social Security number to work because those earnings were also showing up in these reports. Going over each employer is a way of making sure that you have not forgotten any work. This goes a long way to avoiding any surprises at your hearing.

The last report also describes any unemployment benefits you received. Read the linked article for more information about how unemployment can affect your case.

What’s the next thing to review in the Social Security exhibit file after the medical records?Check these critical dates: Alleged Onset Date (AOD) & Date Last Insured (DLI)!

The E section usually contains for two documents that provide this information:

• “Disability Report – Field Office”
• “Disability Report – Appeal”

These reports also tells you whether Social Security thinks there should be a later (or earlier) alleged onset date and Social Security also discussed whether work after the alleged onset day was an unsuccessful work activity or not a substantial gainful activity.

I have been in a number of hearings where being able to point out that Social Security previously noted a claimant’s past work as an unsuccessful work attempt made all the difference.

One of my colleagues in the fight to help disabled individuals get their Social Security disability benefits, attorney Johnathon Ginsberg, tackles whether you have to submit unfavorable medical evidence to Social Security.

I see this frequently in cases where there was a workers’ compensation case. “Company doctors” often minimize symptoms and generate records indicating that a claimant has the capacity to return to work. Other times I see unhelpful records in cases where my client just did not “click” with his or her physician or psychiatrist.

…

I do not believe that a claimant or a claimants attorney has any obligation to submit unhelpful medical records.   This issue periodically comes up on listservs that go to claimants lawyers and the general consensus among most attorneys seems to be that an attorneys obligation is to represent his clients zealously, meaning that there is no affirmative burden for that lawyer to submit unhelpful information.  I do know some lawyers, however, who take the opposite position, but it appears to me that they are in the minority.

Even Social Security judges encourage attorneys not to submit every scrap of paper when representing a claimant on a Social Security case. I have attended continuing legal education programs where administrative law judges suggest that attorneys do not submit evidence if it is not relevant.

But there is a crucial difference between not submitting irrelevant evidence,  and not submitting unfavorable evidence.

If you are disabled because of a back problem, medical records discussing your asthma, mammogram studies, or toe fungus, are probably not relevant and will only clog up your Social Security file, and make it harder to find the relevant evidence.

However, holding back relevant, but unfavorable, evidence can get you into trouble. Attorneys have an ethical duty of candor to the tribunal, which basically means we have to be honest with the judge.  Social Security cases are not adversarial proceedings: there is no attorney for Social Security on the other side to balance a claimant’s attorney’s “zealous advocacy.”  It is just you, your attorney, and the judge working together to try to figure out whether you are disabled.

Beyond the ethical issues, the simple truth is you rarely have everything you need in a Social Security case. You may have all of the available evidence, but the doctor may be unwilling to fill out a statement of limitations, or you cannot afford to have an MRI, CT scan,  or other tests done that would shed light on the case.  There is almost always an element of interpolating a person’s limitations from the limited evidence available.

So what happens if the judge thinks the attorney is holding back on  relevant evidence? The judge may be less likely to make a favorable inference  about your disability.

But, how does it help my case if the attorney  submits unfavorable evidence?

Believe me, I have seen it all: records which say that my client is  faking, drug seeking, a malingerer, a liar.   Things that I do not believe about my client  and I did not want the judge to see. However, I will still submit those records to help my client’s case.

In law school, they teach the theory of, “embrace the thorns.”  You cannot hide from bad evidence.  Because if you try to, and the judge finds the evidence later, it becomes a “smoking gun.”

Present the unfavorable evidence outright and explain it.

If I submit the evidence that says that my client is a liar, I diffuse its power. I can explain it. I can explain the context in which that statement was made. And I can provide an argument why the judge should not accept the doctor’s opinion.

Let’s talk a little bit about what evidence may be relevant. This is not a simple question and there are no absolutes in this. Even when the records of a primary care provider are not strictly relevant, I usually submit all the primary’s records because Social Security expects if your condition is disabling, you will at least mention your disability to your primary care doctor. If your primary care doctor’s records have no discussion of your disability, that in itself may be relevant!

Of course, there are exceptions: a primary care provider may completely hand-off your pain management to a specialist. In that case, the fact that the primary care provider’s medical records make no mention of ongoing pain may not be relevant. It all depends on the individual circumstances of each case.

via Are Claimants Required to Submit Unhelpful Medical Records.

Let’s say you are reviewing your Social Security exhibit file before your disability hearing and you discover that some of your doctor’s (or other records) are not there. I have mentioned before that it is not unusual for the medical records in a Social Security file to be a year or more out of date.

What can you do if the records are not complete?

You can ask Social Security to update the records. If you do not have a lawyer Social Security has a higher responsibility to make sure that your hearing is fair, which includes helping you obtain sufficient records to review your case.

Be clear with your request. If you are missing records from a particular doctor, say,

Dr. Smith’s records are missing. Dr. Smith treated me for my back problem from 2001 to 2009 and performed my back surgery. Can Social Security request these records.

If Social Security only has a partial set of records, tell them:

I see you have Dr. Jones records from April 4, 2006 through September 2008, but you are missing her records after September 2008. These records are important because …. Can Social Security request these records?

It is important to tell Social Security why the missing records are important. Social Security does not require every single piece of medical evidence to decide your case. If you want Social Security to get your records, help them understand why those records are critical.

There’s one more thing: even though Social Security has an greater obligation to unrepresented claimant’s (that’s you), it is not Social Security’s duty to obtain evidence. You have the duty to provide evidence to prove your disability.

So, don’t go demanding that Social Security get this or get that, or get all your records for the last 30 years. It won’t get you anywhere.

Be respectful, explain why the records are critical in a fair evaluation of your case and ask for help.

How do you begin to review your Social Security exhibit file? Here is a quick guide to finding the really important parts.

Start with the “F” section to review the medical records.

If you do not review anything else in the file, you need to know what medical records are there (and what records are missing).

Here is what I look for:

• Are all the doctors and hospitals listed? If the doctor or hospital is not listed, it is a safe bet that those records are not in the file. There are some exceptions to this. Occasionally, records are commingled, with more than one doctor’s records in one exhibit, but that is usually straightened out as the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR) gets your exhibit file ready for the hearing.
• Are all all the dates of service complete? In the image above the records cover August 19, 2003 through November 13, 2003. If you know you treated with that doctor in 2004, you know the records are not complete.
• Do the number of pages look right? If you were treating with the same doctor for years and years, but Social Security only shows 12 pages, the records are probably not complete.

Then, start to review the actual records. While a review of the exhibit list can help you quickly spot missing records or other problems, you really have to examine the records to find out what Social Security has (and what might be missing).

The F section of the file also has all the reports from any doctors Social Security sent you to. If you want to see what the consultative examiner had to say, now is your chance to find out!

You will also find the forms from the Social Security technicians describing what limitations they think you have. Social Security often uses this information in deciding your case, so you need to know what they are saying.

Just before your Social Security hearing, you will be given a cd and pointed at a computer. If you ask, someone may help you load up the disk and get you to a screen that looks like this:

Ok, now what?

What is all this stuff and what do I do with it?

Social Security uses electronic case files. The image above is the “Exhibit List Index” which may automatically come up when you insert the disk into the computer (if it does not, you may have to browse to your cd and double click “index.html” If in doubt, just ask your kids.

The Exhibit List Index is a “table of contents” for the documents in the file.

In the above image, you can see there are 4 exhibits in the “B” part of the file.  The first one, 1B is a request for hearing and that document is 5 pages long. By clicking on any link (blue underlined text) you will be taken to that exhibit.

I know how to move around in the exhibit file, but I don’t know what I am looking at!

Ok. The file is divided into different sections, labeled A through F. Here is what you can find inside each section.

• Section “A” contains the transmittal sheets, which provide a quick overview of your case. These are pretty cryptic if you are not familiar with them. However, they do provide one critical piece of information: right at the top to the left of your Social Security Number there is a block for your “Filing Date.”  This is your Protected Filing Date.
• Section “B” covers the decisions on the case, or more importantly the denials. If you need to find the official documents in the case (denials, requests for hearing, fee agreements, appointment of representative forms, notice of hearings etc) this is where they are.
• Section “D” covers most of the forms that your filled out for Social Security and the non-medical evidence. This includes all the forms Social Security has you fill out, and your earnings records. This also includes school records such as grades, IEPs, 504 plans, teacher questionnaires, and all other school records.
• Section “F” has all of the medical records in your case. This includes the reports of the doctors Social Security sent you to (you really need to review this) and the reports from any technicians who completed forms describing what you can and cannot do.

What do you do with all of this … stuff? Well, you read it. Personally, I like to do a cover-to-cover review of the file.

However, if you have never read a file before, you may give up before you get to the critical stuff (like the medical records all the way in the back of the file). My next series of articles will deal with how to review a Social Security exhibit file.

Keep in mind that there are some regional differences in how Social Security organizes the files. I have seen files from other states that had records in different places. Some states try to speed up the processing of cases by putting all the medical records into just one “F” exhibit. You end up with just a single description, “1F Medical Records 608 pages.” This is fairly useless and requires going through the exhibit and figuring out exactly what records are there.

There is a new Social Security blog written by a 34 year veteran of the Social Security Administration.

One of his recent articles talks about the pros and cons of Social Security debit cards

… paying benefits digitally rather than by paper is a big savings to SSA. It cost about $1.00 to mail a paper check and only 10 to 12 cents to do it by automated transfer. With the 500,000 people already signed up for the debit card, it is saving the SSA about $440,000 each month. And SSA needs every one of those dollars!

So far so good. A more efficient Social Security benefits everyone. However, there are costs associated with using the debit cards. Click through to Social Security Debit Cards | Social Security Insider Secrets for the details.

I was asked to address some of the issues parents should consider when deciding whether to start an application for Social Security disability benefits (typically children’s Supplemental Security Income – SSI – benefits) for their disabled child.

Many parents worry that if their child receives Social Security disability benefits, they will be labeled as “disabled,” and carry that for the rest of their lives. Even beyond being on disability, the child may be diagnosed with a socially stigmatizing condition such as mental retardation.

I want my child to have a normal life.  I want my child to overcome this. Will being “disabled” make my child stop trying?

I believe that disability can largely remain a private matter. It is possible for a child to be on Social Security disability benefits and not have other students, their parents, or even the school know. Of course, this depends on the nature of the disability and medical practicalities. In many cases, the school should be aware of disabling medical conditions to allow the child to have access to medications at school and to let the school take appropriate action in case of a medical emergency. Also, you may want the school to know so an appropriate Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) or 504 Plan can be put into place.

Parents should consider what receiving Social Security benefits might provide and weigh that against the potential negatives. Children’s Social Security benefits usually consist of a monthly benefit amount plus Medicaid benefits. Medical benefits provided by Medicaid are often the main reasons parents apply for their children. Medicaid helps many parents getting out of the local clinic, and opens new treatment possibilities such as seeing a specialist, and obtaining speech, occupational, physical, and cognitive therapies.

Ultimately, I believe it comes down to this, if you feel that the treatment options possible under Medicaid can help your child, it may be time to consider applying for Social Security benefits.