new to forum, have question pls | Autism PDD

I am really sorry that you think SSI is such a pain. But I am pretty sure if you really feel that way SSI would gladly accept the money back. Get a reality check, you live in a apartment without a stove, which under MIneeapolis housing ordinances would be considered illegal. The house is on the lake, you have access to a car. Oh yeah you get child support too. And it seems to me you have support from your family. Alot of us don't. Some of us don't even have a car. And some of us are not fortunate enough to live in a house by the lake. And alot of us also don't get any child support at all.

SSI doesn't do yearly reviews. They send out a simple form to be filed out every six months. Economic assistance is the one that does the yearly reviews. And they call them recertifications.

tabitha38550.7128935185i currently live in southern Minnesota. social services has been to my house many times and they have seen exactly where and how i live. it was actually my case manager's idea to call our basement an "apartment" and set it up as a seperate address with a seperate telephone, which i did. my address is considered "#2" along with the house address, and i got a cell phone for my primary telephone line. my mom and i wrote up a lease agreement regarding rent, and sent a copy of it to social security. the "apartment" i live in has a seperate entrance/exit. two bedrooms, full bathroom, living room, play area, kitchen area with refrigerator and microwave.

i do not work because of how high-maintenance my child is. i have no income other than child support and SSI. my daughter's father has NOTHING to do with her other than a check every month. i'm sure social security took into account the fact that i live with my mother. they think she's fully supporting me, and have told me so. the first year i was getting SSI, i was getting significantly less than what i'm getting now. when i got my paperwork for my yearly review, it stated that i was living RENT FREE in my mother's home. I WAS SO ANGRY! so i called the lady at social security to tell her i had been paying rent for five years, and that we had a lease agreement. SHE DIDNT BELIEVE ME. it took two weeks to get it all straightened out, and even then they barely gave me enough to scrape by each month. i honestly dont know how i survived financially up until that point.

the savings bonds have my daughter's name and my name on them. i cannot change them, and i have them locked away in a safe and have no access to them. but yeah, SSI took all that into consideration too. my case manager told me that i could own one vehicle without being penalized for it, but SSI tells me different. on my last review, every other question was "do you own a vehicle? what kind of vehicle do you own? what is the value of your vehicle?" even after i sent the review in and called the lady on the phone, she grilled me about my vehicle! i got really upset and yelled "HAVE YOU NOT READ MY PAPERWORK? I DO NOT OWN A VEHICLE!!!" it is so, so frustrating.

please dont think i'm jumping on you guys. i'm just venting right now because i really do not like SSI. if i could get a job, i would. it would be easier, i wouldnt have to deal with SSI, and i'd have a lot more money than i have now!!! i just have a lot of pent up anger regarding all of this, and sometimes we all need to vent. *whew*

i have to admit, my mom and stepdad have been great. they help out as much as possible. they treat my daughter like an angel. but it just really sucks having to live with my parents at this age. and i feel horrible every time i have to ASK my mother if i can go someplace, because i need her car. at age 15 i was coming and going from the house with no curfew. at age 27, i have to ASK to go somewhere, and i have to be home by whatever time my mother tells me. how messed up is that?

ANYWAYS. my point of all this is, SSI sucks.

Could be ssi took into to account the savings bonds the child had and you maxed out your assets. What you should had done before you applied was taken them out of your name. If you do that now SSI will want to know how much you got for them. You said you live in a basement apartment of your mother's home. I know here most basement apartments are illegal. They might also be that way there, don't know. Check with your state and the city you live in to be sure on that. For example Minneapolis outlawed mother in law apartments years ago. And if it doesn't have the proper egress windows it is not considered an apartment. Also Minneapolis made it mandatory where basement apartments have to have their own entrance and exit. I know recently Minneapolis passed a new ordinance that made it illegal in apartment buildings for one to have all efficency apartments.

SSI probably took into account the property value of the house too. It is on a lake so of course the property value is higher. Plus you live with your mother and not on your own. So they probably took that into account too. You said you get child support. SSI counted that also. And depending upon how much you get and whether or not it is sent directly to you or the state depends on how much they deducted. Now as far as the vehicle goes I know recently they went up on the amoutn here Now I can have a car that has a value of up to ,000. But I am also a single parent, cannot work, and have no income myself.

Tammy

Unless SSI rules are different in each state and have changed since 1998 / 1999, SSI will "write off" the value of 1 vehicle (the primary vehicle) that is used for work or caring for the child such as therapy or dr appointments in places that do not have mass transit.

As far as the bonds.. whos's name(s) are on them? In my case my grandparents had bought a few bonds for my kids but it was my child's name and my grandparent's name and SSN.

I dont know how much you are talking in bonds and if they have seen the bonds already or not BUT if the bonds are in your childs name and a grandparents name I would hand the bonds back to the grandparent and ask for a letter from them stating the bonds are being held by them FOR THE GRANDCHILD and that YOU have NO ACCESS to spending them. If they are in your name I would (again depending on the amount) cash them in a few hundred a month and ask the grandparent to purchase bonds in the child and grandparents name.

Do you have a county Metropolatain Housing Authourity? Section 8 assistance you can apply for? That would help you in being able to get assistance in paying rent so you and your child could have your own apartment to live in. Many places have extremely long wait lists (I know our county is currently no longer taking applications) but it would be worth checking into Here they go on a "point basis" being homeless is worth so many points, having a disability is worth so many points, etc. Maybe you can check into it.

As much as I admire you for wanting to do it on your own also consider yourself lucky to have the support you do. There are many who are out there who do not have the support from their family by any means.... That raise several children on less than 00 a month income. Some families wont allow you to live with them because of the child's meltdows, because of the stress. Some families wont invite you over any more for family BBQ's or holiday gatherings. Some families wont babysit, Some wont lend you let alone borrow their car. But I know everyone wants independence and self worth. I hope you find a solution.

http://www.mphaonline.org/ Minneapolis Public Housing Authority

Heres a list of all states and SOME of their housing authorities http://www.phada.org/linkha.html

Also look in your phone book for your county's name followed by METROPOLATAIN HOUSING AUTHORITY

http://www.affordablehousingonline.com/housingauthority.asp? State=MN

Minnesota Housing Authorities

Apartments and Section 8

The following Minnesota Housing Authroities matched your search criteria.
A housing authority generally has two types of assistance available: Section 8 vouchers and affordable apartments. Apartment shopping? Search millions of apartments.
Housing Authority 1 -20 of 142 are listed Next Last

Housing Q & A Section 8 Q & A List Apartments Text Version Contact Us
Housing Authority Search Rent/Income Calculator Browse Apartments

social security has been a complete joke for me. they give me the bare minimum. i'm trying to raise an autistic daughter on less than ,000 a month, and that INCLUDES child support. after paying rent, bills, and buying groceries? i'm left with less than 0 for her. AND i do not own a car because the lady overseeing my social security benefits told me that a car counts against my assets, so if i were to actually own a vehicle, i would lose all benefits. JUST FOR OWNING A CAR!!! some family members have been trying to buy a car for me, and i said "oh, thats great! too bad i cant afford gas, insurance, maintenance, repairs..."

last xmas, my daughter's father sent an extra for a gift for my daughter. social security found out and deducted out of my next check. they penalized me!!! for a gift for my child!!!

i need to check out some of these links. i need to find a better place to live. i need a car. i need to try to live a somewhat normal life with my daughter.
Sunny i know with my ssi i can own a car up to 2,000 dallors value. As far as a better place to live where do you live that it's that bad? And you do have a normal life with your daughter it's just a diffrent kind of living. You will make it through it we all do we have no other choice but to take one day at a time!! So keep your chin up tomorrow will be better !!!yeah, they told me that about the value of the car. problem is, i have a bunch of savings bonds for my daughter that were given to her by family members when she was a baby, and they count against my assets too.

i dont really live in a bad, horrible place. i rent the basement apartment of my parents home. its set up like a normal apartment, but with no stove for safety reasons, and i pay rent every month. i also buy my own groceries and pay all my own bills. i drive my mother's vehicle since she rarely leaves the house. i dont pay for any part of the vehicle except gas. this is a really nice place to live, most people think i'm really spoiled. its a very large, beautiful house on a lake. but the fact is: i am a 27 year old mother and i live with MY mother. i dont want to be living with her anymore. i want to be on my own! i was talking to my mom today about possibly moving out but that i couldnt figure out a way to do it and i wanted her advice. she suggested i move in with my brother! UGH! i dont want to depend on family anymore, i want to depend on me. i just cannot figure out a practical way of doing it. :(
Oh sunny that is hard living with family and someetimes it happens. I lived with my dad for 3 years. No matter how wonderful your parents and the place they allow you to occupy is, it is hard. Everyone wants there own space and no one wants to depend on their parents as an adult. Hang in there I do belive things happen for a reason, you never know what will bve arround the bend. The positive in this is that your son has developed a close relationship with his grandparents. One I am sure all sides cherish.Have you tried Social security Disability??? We get it for our 3 yr old with PDDNOS. i am the mother of an almost 6 year year old with autism and language disorder. his main problems are violence and language and social skills. It has been a long couple years since we started dealing with this.

My question is please, does anyone know of any grants made available to families who have a child with a disability? In this case, we are desperate to move to the other coast of florida where the treatments and options and services are 100% better and in greater quantity than where we currently live. There is a special school that is recognized nationwide that i want to send my son to, along with doctors and others. does anyone know of any such fund/grant/loan system for parents with a child who needs help, specifically to relocate. Any info, thank you!

You can keep checking with the helping hand program. http://www.nationalautismassociation.org/helpinghand.php currently they are out of funds but hope to receive more funding soon.

I would also suggest contacting your local ASA to ask if they know of any grants and also call Unlocking Autism's National Hotline and see if they can refer you anywhere their number is listed on their website www.unlockingautism.org

To FIND YOUR LOCAL Autism Society of America Chapter Click Here http://209.200.89.252/search_site/index.cfm

There are also some State Specific Resources listed on Karjab30 (Karrie's) site check it out!

Just came across this info looking for somethign else maybe it will be helpful.....
http://www.patientcenters.com/autism/news/financial.html

Direct and Indirect Financial Support for Families

The following excerpt is taken from Chapter 11 of Pervasive Developmental Disorders: Finding a Diagnosis and Getting Help by Mitzi Waltz, copyright 1999 by O'Reilly & Associates, Inc. For book orders/information, call (800) 998-9938. Permission is granted to print and distribute this excerpt for noncommercial use as long as the above source is included. The information in this article is meant to educate and should not be used as an alternative for professional medical care.

Most people dealing with PDDs have plenty of practice when it comes to squeezing a buck. Some, however, are hard put to find a dollar to squeeze. Parents with challenging children and adults with serious difficulties can have trouble securing gainful employment.

There are some programs available that may provide you or your family with direct financial support. The checks will be small, but with careful planning they may allow you to give your child the gift of a home-based intensive program or allow you time to develop a career that meets your needs.

***** MORE THERE TO READ******