<p>There are exceptions to the $2,000 limit.</p>
<p>You are allowed to own a home.</p>
<p>Page 6.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/11000.pdf[/url]”>http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/11000.pdf</a></p>
<p>A special needs trust…</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.nsnn.com/frequently.htm[/url]”>Welcome Home! - The National Special Needs Network, Inc.;
<p>Oh, thanks dstark. That makes sense.</p>
<p>I want to add my $.02 to the discussion about 504 plans and special education at school.</p>
<p>My son has ADHD. I always knew he was a bit different from other kids because when other kids played with toys, he would be running around for hours. He never played with toys either. And he was never interested in me reading to him. Although he did like Blues Clues. Because I was born in another country, I’ve never heard of ADHD in my life. I thought my son was intelligent enough, and his hyperactivity was something the I could deal with.</p>
<p>When he started Kindergarten, the school told me that I had to sign him up for Title I and I had to officially diagnose with ADHD to get him in 504 plan. They told me that he will fail. However, my philosophy is that no one will accommodate him because of ADHD when he grows up. ADA is such a crock. If necessary his future employer would find a reason to lay him off. </p>
<p>I thought the school on their insistence to provide accommodations for him. I also did my part - I after schooled him for many years. I taught him how to read and I taught him math. Eventually he was scoring very high on MAP tests (once scoring the highest in math in that school ever) and he medalled in math competitions. Yet, the school continued to insist that I put him on 504 plan, because then it would be easier for them to deal with him. </p>
<p>I eventually pulled him out of our home school district and open enrolled him in another district. He is now in high school and it was a lot of learning for both him and I regarding how to cope with his problems. I used to check his grades every night and the school homework website, all meanwhile reminding him to do the same. He eventually learned to do it on his own. He is finally doing great at school on his own, while taking honors and AP classes.</p>
<p>My morale of my long (sorry) story is that in my experience the school wanted to have kids that are different to be in special ed, because it is easier for them. I question the benefit of special ed for kids like my son. I believe that if I gave in into my son’s school’s demands, he would not be independent and successful now. However, it was A LOT of work on my part to get him where he is right now. I suspect poor families, with too many other pressures in their lives, are unable to invest so much time in their kids and thus rely on schools to educate their kids. If the school tells them to put their kid on 504, they do it. And then the kid grows up with no organizational skills and sub-par education.</p>
<p>Lerkin, I like your post. Thanks for your .02. </p>
<p>Somewhere in your post are arguments that I make. That includes the last paragraph.</p>
<p>We agree more than you think we do. Do you think a socialist, commie, left wing nut from Calif, or whatever I am supposed to be would start an investment, speculation, gambling thread? Think about it.</p>
<p>Anyway, great post. Life is full of struggles. Isn’t it? I did not realize that when I was 30. I did not need to find that out. Lol</p>
<p>I wish your son the best.</p>
<p>And sometimes the 504 is shorthand for Please stop telling him his handwriting would improve if he took his time, tried harder, practiced every night, wanted it too, and move on to what does he know, not how does he form his letters. Because that’s a conversation we had with every teacher until finally, finally we got a 504 and he was allowed to type instead.</p>
<p>The problem with many of these social service programs is that they were implemented as a means to help those who truly need help, but have evolved into welfare money grab machines. In that evolution, those that truly need financial help because disability prevents them from earning a living wage are pushed aside by the welfare system scammers.
Most working class people I know do not know their way around the “system”. So, when they are denied benefits they try to find another way to compensate. They try a different line of employment that they can do with their disability or they rely on help from family.
The scammers know how to work the system and have nothing better to do than appeal after appeal until their disability goes through.
I work in a medical office and we get SSI paperwork all the time on kids that are not disabled, but the parents are on medicaid and other public assistance. We write, “no disability noted” and send the forms back.
If we could somehow figure out a way to get rid of the fraud in the system, imagine how much money there would be for those who really need it.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>You want to see this in real time - head on over to the Financial Aid forum. It’s hard to count the number of questions about hiding assets in order to get a higher financial aid award. There are scammers wherever there is a dime of government money at stake and they do take money that is needed more by others. Sometimes catching the scammers is more expensive than the scam.</p>
<p>Dkitty21, you help stop the scammers by doing what you are doing and you hope others do the same thing as you.</p>
<p>One small part of this film concerns how most of the extended family was able to use SSI as a lifestyle.</p>
<p>[The</a> Wild And Wonderful Whites of West Virginia: Official Site](<a href=“Data SGP 2021: Pengeluaran SGP, Togel Singapore, Keluaran SGP Hari Ini”>http://www.wildandwonderfulwhites.com/)</p>
<p>“I really don’t see why rational controls and not hostile controls can’t be put in place. Putting the claimant and the administrator in adversarial positions seems counterproductive, to me. Cooperation AND oversight”</p>
<p>This post and dkittys seem reasonable. There is a huge chasm between thinking that everyone who gets SSI is just avoiding work, and let’s just give it to anyone, forever.</p>
<p>lerkin, your post #123 is very insightful. You had two options, and you decided to make your own choices as to what was best for your son, and created option #3. Most people wouldn’t have extended such an effort, but it’s obvious that has paid off for your son.</p>
<p>A friend of mine found herself in a situation, where I wish she would have created option #3 like you did. Her child has Down’s syndrome, and the school wanted her daughter to be in special ed classes. Seems reasonable enough, as her ability probably was (and still is) stopped at a three year old level. But the special ed classes apparently only had the kids who were severely mentally disabled, completely incapacitated. So she took the other option, which was insisting that her daughter be mainstreamed with her grade level, every single year. She was a fierce advocate and threatened lawsuits. The school district (who had little money), had to hire a full time aide in class, just for her daughter. The child, while very sweet, was loud, physical, and disruptive, and I’m sure the kids and teacher were unhappy that the distractions she caused were always present. What a tough situation for all, year after year, after year.</p>
<p>Now my friend fully acknowledged that this situation was screwing everyone. The teachers, the students, the school district. But she didn’t care, her daughter’s needs were foremost. It seems to me that she could have created option #3, which might have involved moving to a major city, home schooling, group schooling with other Down’s syndrome kids. But that would have been a major effort, and not everyone is willing to do that. I can’t imagine her daughter was better off in a situation where everyone resented her.</p>
<p>Wellspring, sorry to read your frustrations. I hope things are working out better now.</p>
<p>“Sometimes catching the scammers is more expensive than the scam.”</p>
<p>That is a big issue…</p>
<p>A child with an IEP is protected under IDEA, as a child with a 504 is not.
An IEP makes the student eligible for federal money so they can have an aide in the classroom.
There are also state safety net funds that the district can apply for in the instance the federal money is not enough.
However in order to qualify for safety net funding the district has to present documentation to support asking for more money, and since some districts are fairly sloppy with their spending, many don’t apply for safety net money.
The tricky thing about money meant to provide FAPE for students with IEps is that if you don’t use it, it then goes into the general fund.
Not sure how it is in all states, that’s how it is in Wa.</p>
<p>Emeraldkity4, thanks for that post. </p>
<p>[ADHD:</a> Attention Deficit Disorder & Social Security Disability | Disability Secrets](<a href=“http://www.disabilitysecrets.com/adhd-attention-deficit-social-security-disability.html]ADHD:”>ADHD in Children: Getting Social Security Disability or SSI Benefits for Attention Deficit Disorder | DisabilitySecrets)</p>
<p>[A</a> Generational Shift in Understanding Life With Down Syndrome - Atlantic Mobile](<a href=“http://m.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/03/a-generational-shift-in-understanding-life-with-down-syndrome/274050/]A”>A Generational Shift in Understanding Life With Down Syndrome - The Atlantic)</p>
<p>A friend had a daughter who was eligible for self contained classroom and up to age 21.( I think)
She is a year or so older than my youngest.
She is bright( she read well before my youngest did), & I am not sure of her complete diagnosis- but she has pretty much zero impulse control. ( they were in the same private school for several years)
She could work but would really need someone to supervise her & get her back on track all the time.
The school district didn’t do much for her. Did you know that a sub doesn’t need to be certified in special Ed? Much of the time schools use substitutes who are considered subcontractors, not even employees of the district.
The teacher union when negotiating the contract allowed class size & ratio to be increased to save money. :rolleyes:
Also all students who warrant the same level of care are placed in same classroom.
You could have a teen boy who is 6’ and 180 lbs and autistic, in a classroom with someone who is confined to a wheelchair but is at grade level. Those kids might go to class alongside some one who has violent behavior issues.
No wonder it is hard to find and keep special education teachers and what an outrage that the districts attorney advised that it is cheaper to provide bare bones and to pay out a few lawsuits occasionally, than attempt to follow federal law.</p>
<p>I am aware of the challenges that families face with Down’s syndrome kids, and how attitudes have improved over the years. There are some Down’s kids that even end up being self sufficient. The friend that I was talking about, was my best friend of 30 years. But there were things that she could have done to make life better for herself and her daughter, though she just couldn’t be convinced of it at the time. Starting with leaving her abusive jerk of a husband, and moving out of a small town with little resources, to a place that provided more options and opportunities. In the end, it would have been easier for her and her daughter, and she had many offers of support, but just wasn’t willing to take that step. I’m sure she’ll regret it forever.</p>
<p>Elder & disability law attorney here chiming in. I will admit that I only read the first two pages of this thread (no time right now to read all of it altho it looks interesting), so if someone has already pointed this out, then sorry for being repetitive. But I wanted to note that there is a difference between SSI (which is supplemental income for the very poorest and disabled and no previous work history is required) and SSDI which is disability insurance based on one’s work history (or the work history of one’s parents in the case on someone, say developmentally disabled or otherwise physically or mentally ill, diagnosed before age 22). Since the SSI program has a $2000 asset limit and the monthly benefit amount is VERY low (like $500-600 or so low), life as an SSI recipient is no easy street. Sometimes the most valuable part of the benefit is the automatic Medicaid benefit that comes with SSI. In any case, the eligiblity rules and the interplay of these and other govt programs are really complex, and it is a real challenge to be approved in the first place, and then to maintain eligibility. While I am sure that there are some recipients who have managed to scam one way or another, in my experience working with a disabled population these programs are not easily accessed and life as a recipient is not a fun time.</p>
<p>MJSMom, I really appreciate your post. As a father of a daughter receiving ssi, what you wrote is what I experience. </p>
<p>This study people are referencing in this thread has many problems to it, but some people have to look at the negatives anyway.</p>
<p>Nothing is ever perfect. </p>
<p>One thing the study mentioned that you also mentioned is Ssi recipients are poor and when you take Ssi you are committing to being poor. Nobody on cc would choose to take Ssi over working. Nobody. It is awful.</p>
<p>The people I see that are capable want to work. They would give up their Ssi in a second for a job.</p>
<p>There wasn’t a program in the schools for my daughter in our town, but there was a county program and a couple of towns nearby had very good programs. We were not interested in the county program. My daughter went to school in the two towns that had very good programs. </p>
<p>My wife helped develop a special ed program in our town, but it was too late for our daughter. </p>
<p>Marin County has very good educational programs for young people after high school. The students learn life skills. How to take a bus. They get some work experience. There is a Round Table that works with these students. There is a shopping program at a Safeway.
The students learn how to use a computer and the internet.</p>
<p>The county is strapped when it comes to money for these young people. The private resources are strapped. The government agency that works to help train the special needs people is strapped. The schools are strapped. There is not a big contingency to help the people with special needs. That makes sense because most of the population has other
needs. Those that are involved though are amazing.</p>