Social Security Benefits for my Special Needs Child?

My son has autism (PDD-NOS) and Mental Retardation. My husband and I have come under the realizations that he will most likely be living with us until we can no longer physically care for him (when we get too old) and we need help setting up benefits for him to use on therapies now and for a bank account in his name for future care later. I was told by his pediatrician that he should qualify for social security benefits diagnosis wise but I am under the impression that it goes off of the parents income? So my questions:

1. Does it go off of the parents income? How does that work exactly? (Do they count dependents, cost of living and whatever else?) What are the income requirements if there are any?

2. What is the average cost of a social security attorney (I know they are out there, just have no idea what the official title is called and their costs?)Social Security Benefits for my Special Needs Child?
Yes it is income based. The allowable income depends on your # of dependents and your specific situation. Besides work income, they take into consideration assets (House, car, etc). The amount that a child gets is usually the same and does not go up or down depending on the severity of a child's needs. I would not begin with getting a lawyer, because if you do they would get much of the backpay that you would normally get if you applied yourself. It is best to apply yourself and then if your child gets denied, then get a lawyer. My son also has PDD-NOS and has been getting SSI for about 3 years now. You want to be careful in saving money for him though, because they would count it as an asset which would disqualify you for having too much money in the bank.Social Security Benefits for my Special Needs Child?
The first thing you do is call a lawyer. The system is set up to discourage people from asking for money, so chances are good your first request will be automatically denied. And then after that it's nearly impossible to get without a lawyer.

You should hire a lawyer that will work for a percentage of the lump sum you will be awarded. They usually work for 30% You should mistrust any lawyer that asks for money up front. It would be best if you can get a lawyer that someone else recommended to you by a satisfied client. My husband recently won SS, his first lawyer was referred to us by another lawyer and he was awful. The second one we got the name of from one of their clients, and they were wonderful.

The other questions you should ask the lawyer. I can't help there ... I only know how it works for disabled adults, not children.

If you want the name of the great lawyer we had, email me and I'll give it to you.

....

Our lawyer is located in a neighboring state. We communicated by mail and phone and she had no trouble coming up here for court dates. I don't know if they have to be licensed to practice in a particular state or not.Social Security Benefits for my Special Needs Child?
I get Supplemental Security Income (SSI) for my 3 year old son who also has PDD-NOS. Yes, it is income based...its not based on the severity of the disability so if your kid is more disabled than say another kid that does not mean you're going to get more money. They take into account the child's income and the income of all household members. I believe they count who you live with when taking into consideration how much you're going to get to. There are maximum payment amounts for different situations such as a "married person living with another individual" for example.