| Re: What to do now?
If you're getting SSDI, your son is already getting a portion. I think children under age 18 split 1/2 of whatever the parent received as benefits. For example, if the parent gets $1000 per month, the children as a whole would get $500, making a total of $1500 income per month. The $500 must be spent on the child(ren), and would go into a separate child's account.
I don't think children with disabilities receive any more than children without disabilities would. However, if your benefit is very low, he might qualify for SSI.
Once the child becomes 18, the children's portion from your SSDI would be discontinued, and he would have to prove disability for himself. (IThere are a few exceptions related to attending school full time.) He would have to be disabled to continue receiving any benefits, and it would be called "Disabled Adult Child" benefits at that time, and he would still receive it off your SSDI record.
To continue receiving DAC benefits off a parent's SSDI, the person must be able to prove they were disabled before age 22. Also, again at age 22, the benefits disappear, and the child has to once again prove they are disabled to continue receiving DAC.
So, keep in mind that Social Security splits the child's age into separate segments, with each segment having different rules - under age 18, between age 18-22, then age 22 and older. All ages can qualify for benefits from their parent's SSDI work record, but it has to be done new at each turning point in their age.
Autism (or Asperger's) by itself doesn't qualify one for disability - it has to interfere with daily life and getting/ holding a job to the extent that working isn't possible. Many people with Autism and Asperger's hold very complex, high-paying jobs, but many can't even handle simple minimum-wage jobs.
The only way to know about benefits for sure is to talk to a disability lawyer, or to your local SSA office. If you talk to SSA, I would recommend calling several different days and talking to several different people, since they all seem to give different answers.
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