Getting Social Security Benefits for Your Children
Raising a child with a disability is a huge challenge. If you lack the financial resources to provide for the child’s special needs, it’s heartbreaking. But you can apply for child disability benefits to make sure your child gets what he or she needs, if your income fits within Social Security’s guidelines.
Maybe you applied once already and were denied. Don’t let that discourage you. In Ohio, only a small percent of first-time applicants get approved for government benefits.
Our disability law firm, Smith & Godios Inc., began handling Social Security Disability Benefits in 1997. It’s what we do best. Our lawyers have a reputation for getting results. And if we are not able to obtain benefits for your child, you don’t pay us.
Contact us online or call 877-230-5500 for a free consultation.
SSI Benefits for Children
Technically, child disability benefits are considered a form of Supplemental Security Income (SSI). That’s because they are benefits based on disability and financial need, and they are paid without regard to one’s work history. A child is eligible for child disability payments (or SSI) only if his or her parent or guardian’s income doesn’t exceed a certain limit.
Of course, the child also has to be considered legally disabled. This requires an official finding that your child’s impairment (or combination of impairments) meets or medically equals one of the listings for children. Failing that, your child can still qualify for benefits if the SSA finds that his or her impairment (or combination of impairments) functionally equals a listing.
To functionally equal a listing a child must have a marked impairment in two of the following categories.
- Acquiring and using information (learning)
- Social interactions (getting along)
- Focus and follow through (concentrating, completing tasks)
- Physical movement (mobility and motor skills)
- Self-care (e.g., bathing and brushing teeth at the appropriate age)
- General health and well-being
These days, more and more mental disabilities are being diagnosed. And the government is more likely to recognize illnesses like ADHD, oppositional defiant disorder, anxiety and depression as disabilities. Before, these kids may have had problems getting the help they needed. Now they can get that help.
For a free consultation with an attorney at Smith & Godios Inc., call 877-230-5500 or contact us online.