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?

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