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How To Act On Behalf Of A Mentally Ill Family Member's Social Security Claim

17 August 2016

Tracy Roberts

Social security is available for those who are unfit or too ill to work in some manner. This counts for those who have mental illnesses as well as physical. Sometimes it can be difficult to prove that a mental illness qualifies for social security, especially in an otherwise capable adult. If you have a family member who is mentally ill, you can help them to fulfill the legitimacy of their claim by helping them. The first thing that you need to do is hire a social security attorney. Here are some other methods.

Gather together historic evidence

If there is evidence of your family member's mental illness, even just symptoms, from many years ago it is best to collect these. Showing that your family member has had these issues during their development or had these long term, can help to substantiate the claim that it may impair their ability to function. Some places to look for old evidence for claims are school records with counselors and psychologists and older medical records by doctors. Hand these over to the attorney to help with the claim. 

Keep a journal and log of symptoms and issues

If you have a symptom log or journal that can be submitted to a doctor, this can help with a social security claim. Keeping a log of your family member's behaviors each day can give the doctors an idea of what the person may have and if the diagnosis is appropriate. For instance, adults with bipolar may go through a few weeks of acting excited and erratic, then a few weeks later may be in a depressive state and not want to leave their home. Keeping a log of each day's activities can help doctors and social security attorneys know what evidence to submit. 

Collect letters from old bosses or coworkers

Receiving social security based on a mental illness causing work to be difficult or nearly impossible is best substantiated with the help of people your family member has worked with. If your family member who suffers from a mental illness has worked previously, you can collect statements from their co-workers or their boss that corroborates the issues that their mental illness causes them. If the bosses and coworkers can support their claims that it was the illness or illness based behavior that caused difficulty and not other problems, a social security attorney like Gieg Law Offices may be able to add these to the evidentiary pile for a social security claim. 

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