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To consolidate and clarify the policies and criteria it uses to determine disability status in young adults, the SSA has released an official ruling, known a SSR 11-2p. This document contains answers to questions about how the SSA determines if a young adult, ages 18-25, qualifies for SSDI or SSI and how they will continue to be evaluated once they are receiving benefits. The following is a detail of what the ruling covers regarding young adults and disability.

The Cost of Living Adjustment, otherwise known as a COLA, scheduled to take effect in 2012, will result in a much-needed and long-anticipated pay increase to those receiving regular retirement, survivors, widows, disability, and SSI benefits through the Social Security Administration as well as government retirees.

In keeping with efforts of the Senate to address budget concerns and debt reduction, this month the Finance Committee Republicans submitted a 21-page recommendation of reforms for the areas under their authority to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (Joint Committee). This list of recommendations addresses taxation reform, Medicaid, Medicare, International Trade, welfare reform, repealing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and of course, Social Security.

“I don’t want to grow up” holds true for ‘adult baby’ Stanley Thornton. The 30-year old California resident has been living most of his adult life as if he were a baby – wearing baby clothes, diapers, and being fed out of a bottle. Although this is an example of a well-documented psychiatric syndrome known as paraphilic infantilism, Thornton’s case drew particular attention when he was featured on a National Geographic reality television show earlier this year.

Disabled citizens will soon be better accommodated at Taco Bell restaurant franchise locations across California, due to a recent class-action lawsuit ruling in their favor.

The first week of October, 2011, the presiding judge in a controversial class-action lawsuit case filed in 2002 against Taco Bell, a restaurant chain owned by Yum Brands, Inc. based out of Louisville, Kentucky, determined Taco Bell restaurants were guilty of violating both federal and California state laws which protect disabled citizens from discrimination and unequal opportunity.

As difficult as it still is to be approved for Social Security Disability benefits in a timely manner, there is no doubt the SSA has dramatically improved its efficiency at processing SSDI claims since the implementation of Compassionate Allowances in 2007.

The original Combating Autism Act was enacted in 2006, allowing for millions of dollars in funding for the cause of autism treatment, development and research. Over the last five years, the CAA succeeded in doing just that. One example of the funding was the support of 17 advanced Autism Treatment Networks across the United States through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

Delores Holton, a 60 year old resident of Fairview Heights in Southwestern Illinois, recently pled guilty to a single count of concealing material from the Social Security Administration. Ms. Holton, who had been receiving Social Security Disability benefits from 2002 through 2008, was using two separate Social Security numbers in order to conceal relevant information from the SSA. She faces sentencing in January of 2013 and could face up to five years in prison in addition to being required to pay back six years’ worth of disability benefits.

For millions who are waiting for months, or is some cases even years, to have their Social Security disability claims processed, it may come as a bit of a bitter pill to hear recent reports of disability claim processing being stalled to increase next year’s bonuses (often, quite substantial bonuses) to managers at the Disability Determination Services (DDS).

October is National Lupus Awareness Month, a yearly effort to support those affected by lupus, provide awareness of the disease and its effects, and fund research for better treatment for current and future sufferers of the disease.

It is believed that at least 1.5 million people currently suffer with lupus, a statistic which increases by about 16,000 new cases annually. World-wide the estimated number of people with lupus is about 5 million.