Social Security Benefits For Children With Celiac?

[katdw]

Hi, I am a mom of a daughter who is 10 years old newly diagnosed with celiac. We are at the beginning of this long road. I have been so worried on how I am going to do this. My situation is like this, my husband is disabled(diabetes type1 with severe complications) I do not work as I have 3 other children to attend to not including the 10 year old. We barely make ends meet and my husband alone needs a special diet, now with my daughter diagnosed with celiac I am worried how I will afford her special diet and I am worried on how this will effect her all together. So, basically I wanted to know if this disease is considered a disablity and if I could receive benefits for my daughter?? Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated.

[Phyllis28]

Celiac is considered a disablity under the ADA (American Disabilities Act). I suggest you go ahead and apply for Social Security benefits. The worst result is they tell you "No". It is my understanding that "No" is generally the first response for Social Security. You will then need to decide if you want to pursue the issue further.

[Lisa]

Celiac Disease is covered under the Americans With Disability Act Open Original Shared Link , specifically in regards to discrimination and equal rights for the employed.

You may deduct a portion of your gluten free spending, but it is cumbersome in it's paperwork and realizes minimum relief: https://www.celiac.com/categories/Celiac-Di...Deduction-Info/

It is not considered a non- functioning disability because of it's "cure" is strictly dietary. Therefore, Celiac Disease is not subject to disability benefits.

The diet does not have to be expensive and the good people here can show you how to work it.

[ptkds]

So has your husband been tested for Celiac? Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder, and so is Celiac. They often go together in people. If your husband goes gluten-free, some if his problems may get better.

I'm no help with the diability. I do know that you cannot get an increase in Food Stamps because of it, at least in Tx. I already tried that since 3 of my dd's and myself all have Celiac.

[happygirl]

Lots of normal foods are naturally gluten free - meats/poultry, vegetables, fruits, lunchmeats, rice, beans, corn tortillas, etc. The gluten free "specialty" items are not a requirement. Many people who are on the gluten free diet eat predominantly naturally occuring gluten free items.

You may want to contact the owner of Better Batter Flours - she does a great presentation on budgeting and saving money on a gluten-free diet and speaks about it to Celiac Support Groups. I'm sure she'd be happy to share some of her thoughts with you. Open Original Shared Link

Good luck and hang in there. Let us know what we can do to help.

[lovegrov]

Because your daughter can function perfectly well with celiac, i can't imagine you can get any kind of benefits. In addition, the diet need not be expensive if you avoid the gluten-free substitutes or make your own from scratch. If you feed her food that's naturally gluten-free, it won't cost any more. I realize that with some things that might be easier said than done with a 10-year-old, but it sounds like you might not have a choice.

Also, as you get into it, you can find less expensive ways to do some things. There are very good gluten-free cookies you can make from scratch. For pizza, I bake a corn tortilla some, put on regular pizza toppings and then heat some more. I actually like it better than gluten-free pizza crust, and it's a heck of a lot cheaper. I also roll meat and toppings into corn tortillas like a wrap. For treats, you'll find that many regular ice creams and candies are gluten-free, so that doesn't cost any more.

good luck

richard

[katdw]

thank you all for your advice and tips. i did go ahead and called the social security administration though and she thought that I definatlly should apply. the worse that can happen is they deny her the first time, but again any help would be great. I am going to keep researching for cost effective ways to do this gluten free diet and talk with my sister for some pointers as her daughter was just diagnosed as well. again thank you all for your tips and advice. I will keep you posted.