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Originally Posted by sbkovash
I was diagnosed with bp at 13. I was recently denied for social security disability. I haven' received the letter yet but was told over the phone I've been denied. I immediately contacted an attorney to make an appointment for a consultation. At the consultation, the attorney basically told me I was too intelligent, too well spoken, and too attractive to convince a judge that I'm unable to work. My symptoms are occasionally subsided enough to upkeep myself. Most of the time, I don't shower for days. I do, however, for appointments with say, an attorney or court, style my hair, wear a little makeup, brush my teeth, and show up on time. I feel like that is discrimination. Apparently, bipolar applicants are only approved if we look like bums. Any others out there have a similar experience?
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I got approved for SSDI a year and a half ago. I used one of those nationwide disability law firms. I got approved on my first try, within a matter of a few months after calling the law firm to take my case. Nobody at the law firm has ever seen me. (I did everything with them over the phone.) No judge has ever seen me. None of these people has any idea what in the heck I look like.
On a good day, I'm as attractive, intelligent and well-spoken as most anybody you'ld meet. A case manager told be I'ld never get SSDI because I had "too much education." Well, she was talking out of her butt. None of that has anything to do with anything.
SSA turned you down because you didn't make a compelling case for why you can not work. It's that simple. The lawyer turned you down because he doesn't think he can get you approved. He turned you down because he doesn't think he can make any money off you. It's that simple.
Before filing, I talked to several lawyers on the phone. None of them asked me what I looked like. They all wanted to know the following: Are you under the care of a doctor? Does the doctor think you should apply for disability? What meds are you on and for how long? How long has this disability been going on? What is your history of treatment for this disability? Were you ever hospitalized for your diagnosis?
Those are the answers that lawyers are interested in. The lawyer that you saw was screwin' with your head. (Plus, he just flat out didn't see potential in your case.) Call a few of those numbers you see advertized on TV. Someone, usually a paralegal, will call you back real quick. You'll be asked the stuff I mentioned above. Then, you'll get a second call back from the law firm, and they will tall you if they are interested. If you've been on enough medication for a long enough time, they will be interested - even if you are a genius who looks like a runway model.
Since you got diagnosed at age 13, I am going to guess that you have had significant problems. It's unfortunate that you applied without the help of a law firm, IMHO, because the law firm is great at collecting all your medical history from all the places where you got treated and getting that in to the SSA. If you filled out all those questionnaires that the SSA sent you, you probably didn't put down answers that helped your case. They like to see that you tried to work, but failed miserably. Or that your daily life is such a huge challenge, that going to work is just beyond you. If you can document a history of not getting along with people, that is extremely helpful.
It costs nothing to call one of these disability law firms. If they think you have an 85% chance of success, they will take you. They base it on the stuff I listed above . . . nothing to do with how you look or how well you sound.
I really didn't think I had a good case, myself . . . especially as I present very well and am high functioning. However, I did have a very long, well-documented history of being treated for depression, and they seemed to think that was golden . . . plus that I was on a number of psych meds. I spoke to several law firms, and they all had the same assessment of my chances. I think they tend to be excellent judges of how far you will get.