Is there any federal help for disabilities

[Blue_Roses]

such as ADHD? My mother and I were talking about this last night and she said that we should check in to searching federal assistance. I know any assistance would help right now. It's hard to imagine any help coming from this administration though:eyes:

I know the disabilities act covers compensation for physical disabilities, but does any of that include mental illness?

[Droopy]

1. Yes

There is something called social security disability insurance. It pays when you become disabled and that includes when you become disabled due to mental health issues. I know several people who are on SSDI. But I think you must have paid social security tax to qualify for it and I hear it is a very long process and there is no guarantee that you will get the reward. Your state should also have a program that helps the disabled. I think it's called SSI, but I don't know what that stands for.

Hopefully somebody more knowledgeable will come along and help you out with some more information.

[Ladyhawk]

8. Yes indeed. Droopy speaks the truth.

I am on disability. Because of my current physical problems, most people assume physical problems are my main disability. Not so. Well, maybe physical problems are the cause. There are definitely physical components to Depression, OCD and PTSD, the diagnoses that led to my getting Social Security Disability Insurance. Tack on diabetes and degenerative disc disease with mucho pain and I am really, really disabled. :) I'm hoping my recent operation will fix the physical pain, but I'm worried about the outcome...I've had some weird symptoms lately.

SSI Disability doesn't pay very much. In fact, I learned that with my hefty credit card bills, I can't afford to live on what I get each month. :( I still need outside help, which is frustrating as hell.

My counselor helped me through the process and told me, "They ALWAYS reject you the first time around." But that wasn't the case for me. I had a background that verily screamed I was telling the truth about my afflictions. I was approved on the first go-around.

The lesson in that is this: If you are not approved the first time, apply, apply again. Good luck! Oh, also: see if you can find an advocate that will help you through the process. Red tape is a maze. Things change so quickly that what was true last month may not be this month. Slowly but surely I've learned what works. While trying to get IHSS for help after surgery, I went into the office in person and asked them for a physical copy of my rejection so my lawyer could file an appeal. I don't have a lawyer, but I got an in-home appointment and was later approved. It's a damn good thing, too, because I had no one to help me at the time.

Unfortunately, IHSS wasn't enough and I had to allow toxic family back into my life. :( That hurts, but I always have the option of trying to limit contact at some point, or throwing them out of my life completely. That hurts, too. Toxic family is a conundrum. You love 'em; you hate 'em. It hurts like hell.

[rockedthevoteinMA]

2. Hey Blue_Roses, there's a du group especially for disabilities and

activism: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=250
They should be able to help you with answers and things like that.

[Blue_Roses]

3. thanks

:)

[shrike]

4. I just found out that ADHD is considered a disability

Which means I have a g-ddamn disability. Which really, really sucks. Blows my whole image of myself.

[hedgehog]

5. Why should it blow your image?

There are a lot of us disabled folk out here. I think giving a label to my condition is a help. It reminds me of my limits and of the steps I need to take to work around them. It also keeps me from criticizing myself for not being as perfect as "normal" people. My daughter has rheumatic arthritis which means that some days she's disabled and other days she's not. She uses handicapped parking only when she has a flare, but she'd be foolish not to use the parking when she has a flare.

[shrike]

7. That was actually a bit of a joke

Since I function fairly well, am not hampered physically in anyway, I find it hard to think of myself as disabled.

I know a fellow who is on disability. No one in this country should begrudge him a penny he gets (and it's not much). His condition is degenerative and it's truly sad to see.

[Ladyhawk]

9. Ouch...but please don't give up on yourself.

I have several disabilities at this point: Depression, OCD, PTSD, Degenerative Disc Disease with chronic pain. It does assault my self-esteem, but I have come to realize that this is a by-product of the whole Republican "pull-yourself-up-by-your-own-bootstraps" mentality.

Those of us with disabilities have a damn hard time doing that. We don't have much money and in this society money is power. Still, I'm learning to find other ways of being in power. It's hard. I was a very active kid, so it's hard to think that I may never be quite right again.

But, hey, let's try to ditch that bad feeling. It's a result of societal brainwashing, not a real reflection of who we are as human beings.

Got it? :D

[shrike]

11. Hi, Ladyhawk

I meant to post in a rather jovial way -- kind of like, 'how 'bout that, I've got a disability!' Apparently ADHD is covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act, which surprised me to no end -- I've always considered my ADHD a problem, but not a disability.

So I'm not giving up on myself, no. You have my utmost respect for carrying on despite your troubles. And I suffer from depression, too; so, been there, done that. It ain't no picnic.

[NMMNG]

6. This might help

SSI (Supplemental Security Income)is a Federal income supplement program funded by general tax revenues (not Social Security taxes):


It is designed to help aged, blind, and disabled people, who have little or no income; and

It provides cash to meet basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter.



http://www.ssa.gov/notices/supplemental-security-income/

[Ladyhawk]

10. OT: Love your screen name.

Ladyhawk has a special place of...loathing?...in her heart for fundies. :mad: