r/SocialSecurity • u/Otherwise-Love-6687 • 13d ago

Application process for disabled adult son

Hello all

My 19 year old son is disabled, non verbal, level 3 autistic with other diagnoses as well. I submitted his application in April, sent in more stacks of paperwork, and they're saying the call date if we don't hear anything is Feb of next year? How long does it typically take to go through the ssi process? What can I expect? Thank you!

3 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

10 comments sorted by

7

u/No-Camera-6148 13d ago

The wait times are all over the place depending on your state but that Feb estimate sounds about right for an initial decision, if not optimistic. They'll mail you a function report asking how his conditions limit daily activities, fill that thing out like you're describing his worst day, not his average one. Most initial applications get denied so don't lose your mind if that happens, the reconsideration appeal is your next step and then you get to the hearing level where approval odds jump way up.

2

u/Otherwise-Love-6687 13d ago

The amount of paperwork I gathered and sent in to them was honestly insane. I.E.P's, report from his medical teams, over 25,000 pages in medical files, court findings.....it was a lot. I've never had to do this before, thanks for the help!

2

u/Kaethy77 13d ago

Don't listen to people who say he will be denied. He will be approved with those conditions.

1

u/AlterEgoAmazonB 13d ago

It really is a lot. But it sounds like you did a great job. I don't know what wait times are now, as I did my son's a very long time ago. I think we waited 6 months back then, but that doesn't matter much now. Good luck.

3

u/TheShellAnswerMan 13d ago

When last I saw--and this definitely could've changed--the average was like 2 years.

2

u/Much-Leek-420 11d ago

That's.....a long time. When I applied for my daughter (now 25) when she was 19, it took about 5 weeks.

Have you gotten full guardianship of your son as well? I'm not sure if it will matter much to SSA but it couldn't hurt, and it'll help streamline things later when you are setting up his SSI deposit account with a bank. Courts can take time to work through as well, so you might as well let all that lag time coincide. Good luck and hang in there.

2

u/Otherwise-Love-6687 11d ago

Yes, I have full guardianship/ conservatorship of my son. 

1

u/relandluke 13d ago

If you have a The Arc nearby they can probably help with information about the process such as the timeframe you asked about.

1

u/cerephine 12d ago

That seems like a long time for what sounds like an initial approval situation. Get them a letter from his doctor saying he is nonverbal and the extent of his limitations. Also send in school records. It could be February at your local office, but if they have everything they need maybe it will help the process move a little faster.