I applied for Social Security Benefits for my child back in 1992. He was denied. I appealed and this time I became involved in the process. After speaking with the worker in charge of my son's case, I found out some very interesting things, the most appalling of which was that she did not believe in ADHD. She had had "some" training is pyschology and it was her opinion that ADHD didn't exist and that ADHD was a parenting issue.

She also filled me in on some of the "politics" that go on inside the Social Security Office. The more I talked to her, the more I felt that the chances of my son getting a fair and unbiased decision on his Social Security application were slim and none. So.... I wrote my congressman. Eventually, Jame's application was approved

• No Rhyme or Reason... is how I personally feel about how Social Security makes decisions. When I applied for my son back in 92, I knew other children who had ADHD to much lesser degrees than my son, yet they were being approved on the first application. When I spoke with the worker handling my appeal, she explained to me that when a claim first comes into the office and is assigned to a worker, that worker has X number of cases and they have X number of days once that case hits their desk to process it and move it off of their desk by either denying the case or approving it.

  Part of their evaluation for job performance is based on how effectively and timely cases pass through their hands. I found out that the worker who initially had my case denied it the day before he went on vacation. I concluded that the decision on my son's case was influenced by a worker, who in an attempt to clear their calendar before leaving on vacation, hurriedly and carelessly passed judgment on my son's disability in order to maintain their performance record. I recommend always appealing a denied first-time application.

• Did you know that school staff, doctors or anyone else that Social Security might contact in reference to your claim is under NO obligation to send records, information or fill out forms? There are no laws or guidelines that compel these agencies to comply with the requests of social security. If social security does not receive the information they request and need to decide your claim, they make their decision without it, which can greatly affect the outcome of your claim. I keep in close contact with the worker handling the case making sure that they are receiving the information they request. If they do not receive it, I run it down myself and get it to them.

• When filling out the original application be thorough. Don't feel that you have to stay within the confines of the forms they send you. I sent an additional 10 pages of attachments where I fully explained the answers to their questions. I also now send copies of everything I have in my possession which supports my case with the application. I don't trust anyone but myself to insure that Social Security has all the information they need to make an accurate assessment of my child.

• Keep close tabs on your application. I check with the doctors, school staff and other agencies I might have listed on the application to make sure that they have been contacted by social security and complied with any requests that social security might have made.

• I was told by a Social Security worker that after your application has been denied 2 or 3 times, you may want to wait out the waiting period and file a new claim instead of appealing the decision. The benefit of this is that your case starts the process over and is governed by a different set of guidelines and timelines. The downfall of this decision is that you give up your original filing date and any monies you might have coming if you had appealed and been approved, are gone.

• The Redetermination process. This became a part of the social security process when Clinton signed the1996 Welfare Reform Bill. Among other things, Clinton decided that social security needed to cut back on the amount of benefits they were paying to children. The criteria which social security uses to determine eligibility was redefined. Those children applying for benefits had a harder time qualifying and those already receiving benefits were re-evaluated under the new criteria. Some children began losing benefits.

  Treat this process as you would your original application and be sure you send in the most complete application that you can. I have a set of 6 files which outlines the new criteria for social security as of Oct. 1996. If you are interested in having these files, contact me by email and I will be glad to send them to you.

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