Despite the several different ways of filling out an initial application for Social Security Disability and Supplemental Security Income (online, over the phone, in person at your local SSA office), there is no getting around the fact that the required Adult Disability Report makes it a long and arduous application. You will need to be able to recall every place you have sought medical treatment over the past 12 months: including every ER visit, every medical test, various outpatient appointments, every facility you have visited, all your medications you are taking, and the location of anywhere else that might have your medical records. You will also need to be able to recall all the jobs you have had for the past 15 years: including job title, company, hours worked per day, days worked per week, wage/salary and (in some cases) very specific duties. You will also need to recall the time period you graduated from your highest grade, and, where applicable, information regarding your most recent school in which you have had special education courses (including school name and dates of attendance).
If you are an adult thinking about filling out an initial application and just read the above paragraph, take deep breath and count to ten. It can be easier than it looks, with the right mindset and preparation.
Let’s start with understanding the reason why they ask for this information. In order to qualify for Social Security Disability Benefits and Supplemental Security Income, a person has to meet the medical requirements for being disabled. This is achieved through objective medical evidence, which is achieved most greatly through an applicant’s medical records. During the initial application process, it is up to the Social Security Administration to look for all the relevant medical records.
This is why the Adult Disability Report asks everywhere an applicant has sought recent medical treatment, and medical treatment further back if it’s relevant. It asks about the date range for oldest to most recent visits to know the date range for medical records to look for. It asks about medical tests and ER visits, so they know to pay special attention to those when they appear in the records. It asks about workers compensation claims, whether the applicant is on public welfare, whether the applicant has seen a doctor in a prison or jail, whether the applicant has attended vocational rehabilitation, and whether there are medical records at an attorney’s office, so the SSA knows that there are other places with relevant medical records. It also asks about medications, so the SSA knows to look for those in the records, and to know that the applicant is treating for the conditions he/she is alleging.
In addition, the work and education history becomes important here, as the applicant is alleging that the conditions prevent him/her from working 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. The SSA needs to know what kind of work the applicant has done in the past, to know how the conditions affect the applicant’s ability to do his/her job. The work and education history also show whether the applicant can perform other duties that their conditions don’t prevent them from doing. If an applicant spent his/her life as a standing assembly worker, loses their ability to stand for lengths of time, but can still sit, he/she may be still able do a sit down job, if the education and work history show skills necessary for sit down jobs.
A specific piece (or pieces in some cases) of work history becomes especially important to the SSA. The Adult Disability Report will want to know the specific date an applicant stopped working (if the applicant stopped). If the applicant stopped working for reasons other than the alleged conditions, the SSA will want to know the date the alleged conditions became so bad so as to keep the applicant from working independent of those other reasons. If the applicant had to make changes to your work to accommodate his/her conditions (like taking more frequent breaks, requesting more help, changing duties or modifying hours or days worked), the SSA will want to know the specific date the applicant started these changes. These dates can be estimated, but the best educated guess is necessary, because the SSA uses this data to help determine when the start date for benefits, should the applicant win his/her claim.
Essentially, the applicant’s job when filling out the Adult Disability Report is to point the SSA in the right direction to where the information is. At this stage, they will pull the records themselves, if they know what to look for, and where. The next step for the applicant is preparation. Look for that in Part II.
