Social Security Disability Benefits and Angelman Syndrome
Angelman Syndrome( AS) is a complex genetic disorder characterized by developmental delays and neurological problems. Children with AS often require around-the-clock care for their entire lives.
Parents of children who have AS often dedicate extra time, energy, and even money to provide a high quality of life for their child. Assistive technology, supportive care, and specialty medical treatments rack up expenses quickly. Parents may even find it necessary to take time away from work to be with their child. The resulting loss of income and lack of medical insurances can be financially devastating.
If your child has been diagnosed with Angelman Syndrome, he or she may qualify for financial assistance in the form of Social Security Disability( SSD) benefits. SSD payments can be used to cover your child’ s expenses— including anything from food to supportive services to medical bills.
The following article will give you a basic overview of the options available to your family and will provide you with the information needed to begin the SSD application process.
Compassionate Allowances and Angelman Syndrome Typically, the SSD application process can take months or even years to complete. Fortunately, the SSA recognizes that individuals with severely disabling conditions may not be able to wait that long to receive disability benefits. For this reason, the SSA offers Compassionate Allowances( CAL) processing to individuals with certain disabilities. Applicants who have been diagnosed with conditions covered by the CAL program can receive SSD benefits in as little as 10 days. Angelman Syndrome is one of approximately 200 conditions that qualify for CAL processing. You will not need to fill out additional paperwork or request to receive CAL processing. The SSA will evaluate your child’ s claim and expedite it accordingly.
Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income The SSA offers disability benefits through two separate programs— SSDI and SSI. Each of these programs has very specific technical eligibility requirements.
SSDI stands for Social Security Disability Insurance and provides benefits to disabled workers. Eligibility for SSDI is dependent on an applicant’ s employment history as well as the amount of taxes he or she has paid into the system. Children and young adults don’ t often qualify for SSDI on their own record because they haven’ t had the chance to work and pay into the program.
It is important to note, that if the child’ s parent is qualified for SSDI or retirement benefits, the child may qualify for dependent benefits based on a parent or guardian’ s earnings record. If your child is technically an adult, but was diagnosed with Angelman Syndrome before age 22, he or she is considered to be an adult child. Adult children may also qualify for a child’ s dependent benefits.
SSI stands for Supplemental Security Income. SSI is a needs-based program that provides financial assistance to elderly or disabled individuals who earn very little income. Eligibility for SSI is based on financial need, not employment history. To qualify, applicants cannot exceed specific financial limitations set in place by the SSA
In the case of a child, a portion of his or her parent’ s income will be“ deemed”. This means that the SSA will evaluate the deemed income to determine whether or not the child meets the SSI financial eligibility requirements. Deeming occurs for children who are under the age of 18, unmarried, and still live with a parent or guardian. Parents’ earned income, unearned income, and financial resources will all be taken into consideration.
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