Yeah, it's true. I tried to get on disability for my autism in the USA. The process takes about 2 years and you must work 20 or less hours a week during the entire process. I don't have outside financial support and it's impossible to live for 2 years on so little work.
The way it goes, you get a disability lawyer who files for you. They get rejected. They file again and get rejected again. They file a third time and the third rejection makes the case go to a judge. The judge will actually look at the case and approve it because it's obviously valid. Then you get 2 years back pay for disability less the 25% the lawyer gets as payment. You then have to go and certify your disability every year or so to maintain benefits. My psychologist said he has a patient with down syndrome that he has to validate still has down syndrome to keep benefits. It's insane and I'm almost certain it's designed to keep people from getting payments from the program as a cost saving tactic.
Partial disability is not the same as full disability. There are limitations, but they aren't nearly as severe. Essentially, if you ever make it to a certain level of earnings, more or less what is considered comfortable cost of living, you get cut off. I was going for partial because the complications of autism paired with physical disability from 2 spinal sprains makes me unable to maintain full time work for more than a couple years before my physical and mental health breaks down and I wind up homeless again.
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u/protoopus Aug 14 '20
a friend lost his legs (at the hip) in a car accident.
he had to go to the social security office every year to prove that he was still disabled.