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Tools to Use When Filing for SSDI
Navigating the SSDI process is complicated. Review some of our resource suggestions below to help you understand what’s involved, and then give one of our Long Island offices a call to speak with an experienced SSDI attorney.
Our Social Security Disability Law Firm Suggests Claimants Complete a Social Security Disability Activities Questionnaire
It is often difficult for Social Security disability claimants to articulate comprehensively how their injury or illness affects their life. If this applies to you, please use this form to evaluate the severity of your symptoms. It asks a series of questions about your ability to engage in day-to-day activities, such as driving, cooking and eating, cleaning and straightening up the house, yard work, shopping, handling finances, reading, exercising, and sleeping, among others. For each category, you will describe how you do these things differently than you did before your illness or injury. A comprehensive record like this can jog your memory and help you present a more compelling story at your Social Security hearing. For assistance with Social Security hearings, please contact a Social Security disability law firm.
Social Security Disability Employment Questionnaire
When determining whether a claimant qualifies for Social Security disability benefits, the SSA evaluates the claimant’s employment history for evidence of his or her ability to work. Evidence that the claimant attempted unsuccessfully to work or received special accommodations in order to perform his or her work duties can strengthen the claimant’s case. If you have worked or attempted to work at any point during your disability, send this questionnaire to your employers/former employers so that they can provide a record of your performance. It asks several questions, including whether you were granted special accommodations, whether you had trouble relating to co-workers or to the public, and whether you had trouble following directions. For more information about working while receiving disability benefits, please contact a Social Security disability law firm. (See also, our monthly wage form.)
Social Security Monthly Headache Diary
It is important when applying for Social Security disability benefits that you keep a record of your disability. When paired with medical evidence from your healthcare team, this record can provide the Social Security Administration (SSA) with the most comprehensive picture of your condition as possible, which is what they are looking for. You can keep a record of all sorts of impacts of from your disability, including physical pain, medical bills, and lost wages. If your disability causes you to suffer headaches frequently, you may find it helpful to keep a headache diary. Personal record keeping of this nature is particularly useful to document headaches, as the pain from headaches is often severe enough to impact your daily life and activities, but not severe enough to seek medical treatment. As a result, many chronic headache sufferers find themselves with no record of the extent of their pain.
Your headache diary should contain the following information for each entry:
- The date and time it occurred
- How long it lasted
- Its severity
- The triggering event
- Anything you did to alleviate it (e.g., medication, exercise, sleep, etc.)
- Which of your daily activities it negatively affected
- Whether it compromised your ability to work
- Whether it was severe enough to seek medical treatment
You can then use this headache diary to prove the nature and extent of your chronic headaches to the SSA.
For more information about documenting your disability to the SSA, including headaches, please contact the Social Security disability law firm of Turley Redmond & Rosasco by using our online form or calling us at 516-745-5666 (Garden City), 631-582-3700 (Ronkonkoma), or 631-399-0400 (Shirley).
