Sample Questions: Disability Benefits and Education
Background, Age, Education and Vocational Training
- Name, address, Social Security number.
- Date of birth, age today, age at onset of disability.
- Highest grade completed in school.
If you did not complete high school:
- Did you get a G.E.D.?
If you are not fluent in English:
- Where were you born?
- What language did you grow up speaking?
- Where were you educated?
- When did you come to the United States?
- What language is spoken at your home today?
- Who reads the mail at your house?
- Are you able to read in another language?
In mental retardation and similar cases:
- Did you attend regular classes or special education classes?
- How well did you do in school?
- If an 8th grade reading level is average, would you say that you’re at least an average reader?
If you are less than an average reader:
- Can you read and understand a newspaper?
- Can you “read or write a simple message such as instructions or inventory lists”?
If you are illiterate:
- Who does your reading for you?
- How have you handled job applications?
- How did you get a driver’s license?
- How have you managed to deal with SSA forms?
- Can you multiply and divide/add and subtract/make change?
- Describe any vocational training; was it completed? When?
- Describe any on-the-job training. When?
- Describe any training in the military. When?