SSI for ADHD

The Social Security Administration, or SSA, pays Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, for children and adults who meet specific guidelines, including income and resource limits and disability. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, is a considered enough to potentially lead to disability.

Symptoms

• ADHD falls into three types: inattentive, hyperactive-impulsive, and combined. Each includes specific symptoms that last at least six months, impairing social, occupational and other areas of functioning.

  Inattentive type includes at least six of the following symptoms: often failing to give close attention to detail and/or making careless mistakes, poor sustained attention span, appearing to not listen when spoken to directly, poor follow-through with instructions and/or neglecting to finish tasks, difficulty organizing tasks, avoidance or reluctance to engage in activities requiring sustained attention, forgetfulness, frequently losing things and distractibility.

  Hyperactive-impulsive type includes at least six of these: frequent fidgeting, difficulty remaining seated, running and climbing around in situations where this behavior is inappropriate, difficulty remaining quiet, appearance of being "driven by a motor," excessive talking, difficulty waiting for turn, frequently interrupting others, and blurting out answers before questions are finished.

Definition of Disability

• For adults, symptoms of ADHD must be severe enough to prevent significant gainful employment and must be expected to last longer than one year. For children, symptoms of ADHD must cause marked and severe functional limitations, such as inability to complete schoolwork, resulting in failing grades; and it must be expected to last for more than one year. The child must also not be working at a job that is considered substantial work.

Disabled Before Age 22

• ADHD typically emerges during the childhood years, so in cases of ADHD severe enough to cause disability, symptoms began well before age 22. Adults who become disabled before 22, whose parents are collecting Social Security benefits, may collect off of their parents' Social Security claim. If the parent is receiving only SSI, the child may not collect off of this. Contact SSA at 800-772-1213 or visit your local SSA office to inquire about your eligibility for this benefit.

Medicaid and SSI

• Some states, including California and Oregon, automatically award Medicaid to individuals who receive SSI. Other states, including Indiana and Kentucky, do not take SSI into consideration when determining Medicaid eligibility on the basis of disability.

Ticket to Work

• Adults receiving SSI can receive assistance with obtaining and maintaining employment through the Ticket to Work program,. This program provides tickets that can be used to access supported employment services. These services can help disabled individuals with ADHD return to work by advocating for the client to receive accommodations on the job, including being allowed to take small breaks from work tasks and to get up and walk around.