There are two portions to the Social Security Disability Initial Application. The first portion is called the Adult Disability Report (ADR) and the second portion is the Benefit Application.
The ADR asks questions regarding your medical conditions, medical treatment, work background and education level. It is important to have a list prepared of all of your physical and mental health conditions that limit your ability to work.
It is also helpful to prepare a list of the hospitals and clinics where you have been treated for these conditions. Social Security is most interested in your recent medical treatment. At Greeman Toomey, we ask our clients to prepare a list of places where they have received treatment in the past 12 months. We need the name and contact information of the facility, dates of treatment, and the name of the doctor that treated you. The ADR will also ask if you have had any medical tests performed at these facilities, and if you are being prescribed any medications.
There may be other places that have additional medical records. These include public welfare offices, prisons or jails, other attorney’s offices, vocational rehabilitation centers, workers compensation, etc. If any of these sources are applicable to you, please collect the relevant contact information.
The ADR asks for information regarding the applicant’s work background. The report asks about the jobs held in the past 15 years, or the five most recent jobs. Please prepare a list of your past employment. For each job, the reports asks for your job title, the type of business, start/end date, hours worked per week, and rate of pay. The ADR does not ask for much detail regarding each job, but you will later receive a Work History Report from the SSA Disability Determination Services office.
The final questions on the ADR ask about your education history. Specifically, the highest level of schooling you’ve completed, along with any job or vocational training. Dates of completion for each level of education will also be requested. The ADR also asks if you have ever attended special education classes.
The Benefit Application is typically the easier portion to complete and requires less advanced preparation. It goes into detail regarding your personal information. It asks what city and state you were born in, in addition to information about your children and spouses.
The Benefit Application also asks about earnings in the current and previous year. This includes the names of employers and any self-employment income.
Your case manager will be contacting you to complete the initial application either over the phone or in our office. To make the appointment go smoothly please prepare the required information. If you have any questions please do no hesitate to call our office at (612) 332-3252 or toll-free at (877) 332-3252.
