What does he mean by that? We haven't heard anything from Social Security in months. My disability advocate is still working on my case in Boise. It's been coming up on 10 months since I've had my Social Security. To me it feels longer sometimes. I'm doing my best at being patient. If I had a job it'll be a great distraction for me during this time. I'm tempted to call my advocate in a few days for a update. Why would my TBM dad be "disillusioned" by this mess for? Or could his grief of my mom's passing be showing again?

It probably just seems like a very long time to your dad, SII. Hang in there. The wheels of government sometimes grind very slowly.

I meant that in all seriousness, but also in all seriousness, YOU have my sympathy for the hoops through which you're having to jump and for all the red tape the sSA is throwing your way. hang in there!

I should know the difference between sSI and SDI, but I'm unclear on it at this point. All I know is that I have parents of children who are my patients who have mild asthma who have managed to finagle benefits for their children. It's not in the form of vouchers, and there's no accountability as to how the money is spent. It's just a fat check every month. Some of the parents don't work and drive better cars than my wife, who is an attorney and wife of a doctor, does.

When my wife taught to help put us through law school and medical school, she had a child who couldn't articulate his /r/ sound and one with ADHD who were getting Social Security benefits. Again, not vouchers for services that would benefit the child, and no accountability required for how the money was spent - just a check each month.

I do not understand this. If a child has a particular disability requiring a service that a school district cannot provide, I'm all for the state issuo]ing a voucher for that. I also understand why the state would pay for a given number of hours (usually 20 or so month) for respite care for the parents, as some highly disabled children can be extremely high maintenance, and parents experience burn-out, If a parent has to work before a child of of school age and daycare is more expensive for the child, Yhe state should help with the difference between the normal costs associated with daycare and those associated with specialized daycare. Specialized wheelchairs and other assistive devices should also be covered.

However, when a parent gives birth to a child or participates in the conception, that parent should be expecting to support the child until adulthood anyway. It doesn't cost more to clothe a child with a lisp or an inability to produce the /r/ sound than it does to clothe any other child. The same is true with regard to putting roofs over their heads or feeding them.

Too much Social Security money is being paid out to the parents of minors, many with disabilities that could only be classified as minor. I'm not saying that no parent of a minor child with a disability is deserving of financial supplementation; I am saying that it is being abused in a big way. some parents even adopt large numbers of disabled kids primarily for the financial benefits. Some of them are exemplary parents to these children, but others are quite neglectful and use the financial windfall for their own gain.

Parent of adult children with disabilities are the ones who deserve help. When we produce a child, the assumption is that at some point that child will be independent, financially and otherwise. That is, unfortunately, not a reality for some parents. But for the grace of God or sheer luck, it could be any one of us. We as a society owe it to the parents of adult offspring with disabilities to provide financial assistance.

A friend of a friend was disabled in an accident and applied for SS. She had to go through so much to even be considered, then was denied and had to go even further with all the hoopla. In the meantime, she was unable to work and ended up totally homeless, sleeping on couches and even camping in a tent, eating in soup kitchens. Her friends helped her as much as possible. She had been a hard working and responsible woman until all this happened and she eventually was denied again. She ended up dying from her injuries as she couldn't get good medical care.

So yeah, the SS mess is real and hopefully they'll eventually have good news for you. I do know that they take forever and it's a disgrace to the supposed American safety net for those who need help.

Welcome to the American Dream.

Don't you mean the American Nightmare instead??

to express the frustration

in which he is powerless except to wait; and the necessary check is so powerful in its life impact- on both his life and you-
but having seen the lawyer, filled out all forms, being cooperative and courteous- there is nothing more he can
do....

it is frustrating. however, you have to expect the logical consequences, the consequences of filling out the form and the consequences of seeing the advocate and the consequences of seeing the lawyer will bring logical outcomes.

Some logical consequences occur rapidly, which seems the opposite of this waiting you are doing. For instance,
this is so different than feeding a dog a treat and they are happy or they sit or wag their tail- calling them and they come. This is so different than watering tomatoes and then they grow. this is so different than pouring good cereal and then you can eat. there are so many many easy things you can do with logical outcomes you like very much.

You have filled out the forms, you have gotten help from the lawyer advocate, you have also seen the employment specialist. You return letters and phone calls. The logical outcome of these acts will occur.

My brother came to live with me a year ago. It was not supposed to be for long, or so I stupidly thought. But he was applying for disability because he could no longer work. He has COPD, diabetes, heart disease, sleep apnea and I don't know what else, except he got diagnosed with renal failure early in the summer and is now on dialysis.
I had to kick his butt into applying for disability. We had moved him out of his 2nd storey apartment because he could no longer take the stairs, and he would not do anything about getting a first floor apartment. So he ended up with me and our sister took in his cat and bird.
We basically carried him for several months as he went through the application process. Because of me, he's had a roof over his head, and heat and lights, and can take hot shower and power his computer, C-PAP and oxygen generator. My utilities have gone up. Sis paid for cat food and litter, and bird food.
I was sick during a lot of this time, and working and keeping up with bills was not easy, and I was often behind. I have got the world's best landlord.
Bro finally got approved for disability late February or March. He caught me up on rent and utilities, using his "back pay". He also started buying cat food and litter (the bird died) for my sister and recently got a second litter box because his cat was not a good tenant.
Finally he is moving out in the next week or so. Better not be or so, because I am tired of this. I had to light a fire under his butt to do that.
I say all this because I imagine SII's dad is overwhelmed at carrying SII. He's paying for SII's food and keep, and for his current dog's keep. Never mind his own stuff.
I think the poor guy is tired, and once this all gets settled and the SSI kicks in, along with the back pay, he will feel much better.
I hope he gets his carpet.

Other Susan

Having spent a 30-year career with Social Security, and working with both regular Social Security and SSI, I can only say that the workers are not deliberately trying to mess anybody up or delay things.

They get as much done as they can, given the fact that they have CONSTANT interruptions with people coming in and answering phone calls. We often worked Saturday overtime, just because we could get stuff done without interruptions.

From what I hear (having retired the day after I was eligible), things have only gotten worse. More people are applying for benefits all the time, with the economy in such a mess, and staff allocations are getting tighter. When people retire, they are not being replaced. So more work has to be done by fewer people.

I sometimes do advocacy work for various people, and every time I go into the office, the stuff I hear from former co-workers makes me VERY grateful that I am no longer part of that rat-race.

SII, I can completely sympathize with your father's frustration. But imagine for a moment, if you can, the worker who is trying to handle not only your case, but innumerable others. The worker may have a free moment, tries to pick up the oldest pending case, opens it, tries to re-immerse himself/herself in the case, reviews what has been done and plans what still needs to be done, and before they can start to take needed action, WHAM - another warm body at the desk, wanting to file yet another new claim.

It sometimes feels like trying to hold back a tsunami with a thimble.

I have worked in offices all around the country, and I don't remember ANYBODY being completely caught up, ever.

Well from what we've been told our local office in Twin Falls is undermanned and unstaffed as well.

Meant to say understaffed as well.