Q: What is the “definition of disability” for children filing for Supplemental Security Income (SSI)?
A child is disabled if he or she:

— Has a physical or mental condition (or a combination of conditions) that results in “marked and severe functional limitations.” This means that the condition very seriously limits the child’s activities; and

— The condition has lasted, or is expected to last, at least one year or is expected to result in death; and

— Is not working at a job that we consider to be substantial work.

To determine whether your child meets the definition of disability, we look at medical and other information (such as information from schools and from you) about the child’s condition. We also consider how the condition affects the child’s daily activities. We consider: what activities is your child not able to do, or is limited in doing; the type of extra help and how much extra help your child needs to perform age-appropriate activities — for example, special classes at school, medical equipment; and whether the treatment interferes with your child’s day-to-day activities.

Remember that SSI is a needs-based program where family income and resources also play a role in determining eligibility for benefits. For more information, read Benefits For Children With Disabilities at www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10026.html. this link

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The Wall Street Journal reports that the market is flooded with qualified workers and employers can afford to be picky. As a result, workers with minor disabilities are facing increased adversity in their job search, according the Wall Street Journal.

One employee, with minor hearing problems, was unable to find employment after almost a year of searching. Jobs remained elusive even after becoming less selective and considering positions well below her skill set and abilities. With no job on the horizon and unemployment benefits ending, she applied for Social Security Disability Benefits.

This progression from unemployment to social security disability benefits is becoming more common, as confirmed through a recent study by the White House.

a href=”http://uspolitics.einnews.com/247pr/258377″> See full story here:

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Social Security says:

Q: Is there a time limit on Social Security disability benefits?

A: Your disability benefits will continue as long as your medical condition has not improved and you cannot work. Social Security will periodically review your case to determine whether you continue to be eligible. If you are still receiving disability benefits when you reach your full retirement age, your disability benefits will automatically be converted to retirement benefits.

Some disabilities are reviewed more regularly. If there is a condition that seems irreversible – a stage four metastasized cancer – there will be fewer reviews. A younger person with a psychiatric disability, for example, might be reviewed more regularly. The goal is to review a case eery three years, but current workloads and budget constraints have made that difficult.

If you have a review, get a letter from your doctor saying your condition has not improved. That should be the end of it. href=”www.socialsecurity.gov/disability.”>www.socialsecurity.gov/disability.Learn more about disability benefits here:

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Many are unaware of this fact: after one is found eligible for Social Security disability payments, there is a wait of 25 months until Medicare coverage begins. Sometimes the wait is fatal.

Sue Sherman, the subject of a June 2010 story in The Oregonian about her quiet effort to raise awareness about the Medicare waiting period for Social Security disability recipients, died Tuesday of pancreatic cancer. She qualified quickly under compassionate allowances for Social Security Disability Income in 2009, then learned of the two-year wait to enroll in Medicare — a gap instituted in 1972 to keep costs down, avoid overlaps with private insurance and to preserve Medicare for those with severe, long-lasting disabilities.

At least 15,000 Oregonians are among the 1.8 million Americans who must wait two years after obtaining Social Security disability to become eligible for Medicare. The only exceptions to the Medicare wait are for people in end-state renal failure or with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. SHe became eligible for Medicare in October 2012.

Through 2009 and 2010, Sherman contacted politicians and policymakers to point out that many disabled people spend their savings on the medical care necessary just to reach a diagnosis and can no longer get private health insurance.

For at least the past two sessions of Congress, a proposal has come forward to phase out the waiting period over 10 years. But the Congressional Budget Office calculated the measure would cost an average of $10 billion a year, and the proposal went nowhere. See article here:

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