After a Social Security disability claim is filed the question of an applicant’s daily activities will come up numerous times before the case is ultimately decided.
During the early stages of a case an applicant will receive a questionnaire known as a Function Report. This report will ask several questions about an applicant’s daily activities. Topics addressed in the Function Report include the applicant’s ability to manage personal care, cooking duties, household chores and leisure activities. In addition, every time an applicant receives a medical denial on a claim the question about daily activities appears again in all appeals filed on a claim.
Finally, if an applicant is denied on the initial application and first appeal, known as the Request for Reconsideration, another appeal is required asking for a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). More than likely the ALJ will also inquire about an applicant’s daily activities. The ALJ will want to know how an applicant spends a typical day, what activities they can complete and what their limitations are on a daily basis. This is an opportunity for the applicant to explain to the ALJ what it is like living with disabilities day after day and why these disabilities limit an applicant’s ability to work and maintain a job. It is important to be as detailed as possible so the ALJ has a clear understanding of the applicant’s daily life.
Obviously, if your daily activities directly conflict with what your claimed disabilities are the ALJ is likely to be skeptical about an applicant’s condition.
When informing Social Security about your daily activities, above all, you should be truthful. Do not claim that you participate in activities that you really are unable to because of your condition and do not exaggerate your condition and claim you are unable to participate in activities that you do in fact participate in.
For more information on testifying about daily activities click here.
