| Re: New hearing scheduled
Seeing a counselor will definitely help. I didn't hire an atty until 2/07, literally the week before my orig hearing date. They got the hearing rescheduled to 6/20 and sent me forms to take to my drs.
When I approached my PCP, I explained that I hated asking for disability but I honestly could not work a full time job but if disability was approved, then I could look into rehab and retraining programs through places like Goodwill Industries. At every visit I stressed what I was trying to do on a daily basis, such as housework. But I was always honest about activities that caused me pain or ones I wasn't even able to do and had to get help from hubby and friends to do those jobs.
Since you don't have an atty, you have the right to get copies of info in your own file. Just make an appt and tell them you want to look at your file. The office should also have a copier that you can use free to make copies of anything in your file that you want to. Take full advantage of this and make copies. If SSD sent you to drs, then they evals from them will be in your file. At my hearing, the ALJ pretty much ignored the evals from the drs they sent me to because my treating drs considered me disabled and I see them on a reg basis. I only saw the SSD drs 1X and they even said I was restricted but naturally they said I could do some kind of work.
If you have evals like that, sit down with Microsoft Word and type out blank forms, make sure they match what SSD has on the forms. Then maybe you can apporach your drs about filing them out. It did take a few tries to get my PCP to complete the forms. ANd I finally had to print out the standards for SSDI, basically the requirements that you be able to work 40 hrs/wk day in and day out and that even if I could work if my earngins were under $X (currently $640) then it was not SGA and I was still disabled. Even if you need some income, it's best to have it be very little. In my case, it was under $200 per month but most of that is gone now so I currently make less than $100 per month which is far from SGA.
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