Here we have SSI (for people so disabled they were never able to work) and SSDI for people who could work and became disabled.
I have cerebral palsy and I used to be on SSI. I managed to get a CS degree and get off disability, but in doing so I 'crossed the rubicon' and 'burned the ships' so to speak, on ever going back on disability. It was scary for sure, but it ultimately turned out well. The only way I can imagine being considered 'fully disabled' again is if, god forbid, I was struck with some sort of serious cognitive impairment. I suspect the same holds for your friend.
> I'm not sure if you or your friend are in the US.
We're not. We're in Netherland, but it sounds like the US system is not all that dissimilar from the Dutch one.
Personally I don't think there should be a Rubicon; if you're severely disabled and you still manage to work, I'd like to see that rewarded rather than punished. Keep the disability pay and have something extra. The fact that you then contribute to the tax base is enough for me. There's no need to create extra pitfalls for disabled people.
Yeah, losing disability was scary. When my friends were unemployed in '08, they could turn to trades and other physical work. I didn't have that option. If I failed, I was homeless.
That was pretty much the reason why I kept living like a poor grad student for the next decade until I didn't need to work to survive.
Cool experience. I always assumed my much less serious problems were too little to get any disability. I worked full time since high school but was not allowed to graduate due to anxiety. I stopped having money by 21 and things lasted that way for over a decade. The only work I did was for a few months.
I would have been screwed and homeless without my parents house for a decade. Luckily that’s not the case any more. I’m doing a tech interview bootcamp hoping to get a solid job and keep it. Don’t have CS degree nor experience for interviews but I would get a basic programing job if I can’t finish the bootcamp. I don’t know what the problem is but whatever it is, it’s crazy.
Here we have SSI (for people so disabled they were never able to work) and SSDI for people who could work and became disabled.
I have cerebral palsy and I used to be on SSI. I managed to get a CS degree and get off disability, but in doing so I 'crossed the rubicon' and 'burned the ships' so to speak, on ever going back on disability. It was scary for sure, but it ultimately turned out well. The only way I can imagine being considered 'fully disabled' again is if, god forbid, I was struck with some sort of serious cognitive impairment. I suspect the same holds for your friend.