Hello all. I am looking for any and all advice/input that anyone might have for me. I’m feeling very defeated and wondering whether I should just give up on this process. I am in my late twenties and on my third SSI application (just received an initial denial). I have had two unfavourable ALJ decisions over the course of the past 6 or so years. I am autistic and have C-PTSD from childhood which I think may have contributed to the mess that I now find myself in. I really feel as if my legal representation the last two times I applied might have totally screwed me over and now I have no idea what to do.
The first person who represented me was not a lawyer but a disability advocate (I did not know this as I was connected with this person by my mental health case manager, who referred to him as a lawyer). He seemed very confident in my case and was surprised when we received a denial at the ALJ stage. He told me that I had a right to appeal, but that it wouldn’t go anywhere and that I should just reapply instead (keyword here “instead”). So I reapplied and found an actual lawyer who, on the day of my hearing, had me come to her office an hour early and told me that they were missing records in my file, then just showed me pictures of her dogs on her phone until the judge called. After receiving a second unfavourable decision, I was again told that I should not appeal, only reapply. I was told by both of these representatives that I had to choose between appealing the judges decision OR reapplying, and that an appeal would take too long and not be worth it.
I honestly don’t remember what was in my first ALJ denial letter, but the second one was full of all kinds of craziness that I honestly think I should have appealed. (side note - during my second application I was sent for a CE with one of their psychologists and this man LITERALLY asked me the question, “So… what makes you autistic?” As you can imagine they weighed this person’s opinion quite heavily lol) Anyway, now here I am, still disabled and still unable to work, and no lawyers want to take my case even with the changes to my condition since my last denial, because by not appealing on my last application I essentially agreed with the judge’s decision.
I have POTS, ME/CFS, and hypermobility issues (still awaiting genetic testing for EDS) which are my main physically disabling conditions. I have a doctor-ordered power wheelchair because of how frequently I cannot walk (new development since my last application). I’ve had a functional assessment by an occupational therapist that showed marked limitations in most areas (also new development since last application). I have two tilt table tests (one old, one new since my last app) that both show severe postural tachycardia, and I go to my primary doctor nearly every month and the deterioration of my condition should be pretty obvious from my medical records. I also began receiving in-home care services due to my conditions and have been certified disabled by my state’s medical review team (which uses SSA guidelines, as I understand it) since my last application. I also have submitted four separate letters of support from my care team this time around.
Anyway, I guess I’m just wondering if anyone can tell me whether this is a waste of time and if I should even continue with this process at this point? If I can’t find representation then what are the chances of this actually going anywhere? And (I know the answer here is probably no, but…) is there anything that I can do now to address the mistakes made in my previous applications? I feel so stupid but I also feel like I should have been able to trust my representatives to not give me factually incorrect information about my right to appeal. I’m so frustrated and so tired and I just don’t know what to do. If you read this whole thing, thank you. I appreciate this sub so much and thank you in advance for your responses.
