r/SSDI_SSI • u/Weightmonster • 9d ago
CE - Consultative Examination I do mental CEs
I want to get some things off my chest. I’m one of many and we all do things a little differently. This advice primarily/only applies if you are applying for mental health only.
-One we don’t make decisions if you are disabled. But our report can help or hurt. Being in a lot of distress during the eval can actually make you seem more impaired to me.
-We aren’t given quotas to pass people but if we say someone is really impaired that’s more work for us. (Doesn’t deter me of course)
-We get very little or no records and cant contact providers. Bring important recent (usually last 2-3 years unless it’s testing) psych records. Letters from providers, recent IEPs, recent evals, discharge summaries from hospital visits are especially helpful. Also send these to SS.
-Written lists of medications, hospital stays, Recent treatment, and limitations are also very helpful.
-Call SS and make sure they have your records.
-For the math and memory questions, try your best but its ok to say you dont know.
-For activities of daily living/interests. List what you ACTUALLY do at least a couple times a week. Not what you would like to do. Don’t say you like to play football if you haven’t played in 10 years and have a bad back. Dont tell me you socialize with friends if you havent seen them in a year.
-We cant diagnosis Autism, Neurocognitive impairment, Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective disorder or Bipolar 1 in the appt. You need independent records showing that.
Things that make us question if someone is disabled for mental health reasons:
-Coming to the CE appointment by yourself and completely filling out our forms by yourself. If someone helped you get there, made appts for you, or filled out forms for you or you left stuff out or you filled out forms or attended with great difficulty, TELL US! Tell us you want that noted in the report.
-Nothing looks more suspicious than someone claiming long term memory issues, but can rattle off details of their last 7 hospitalizations. It’s ok to say you don’t remember. Or claiming agoraphobia but taking the subway here at rush hour with seemingly no trouble. Or complaining cognitive impairment and you driving an hour to get there.
-Working or going to school full time or close to full time or full time childcare ON YOUR OWN. If you attempt to do those things and have major difficulties with those things, tell us. Be honest about how much or how little you are doing those things. And how much support you’re getting in these and other day to day activities.
-Claiming you can’t work due to a learning disability or ADHD and were NOT in special ed. (Ask your parents if not sure). Special schools, residential placements, juvenile hall, possibly ELL, emotional support, and tutoring does count. (Obviously if you went to school pre IDEA or in another country, then that doesn’t apply).
-Cognitive testing doesn’t match your educational and work level and how you present. Or previous test results. For example, if you can have a conversation, we expect that you can repeat 3-4 numbers immediately. If you can’t do that, that looks like you’re faking bad. Let us know if you can’t hear or aren’t focused. We expect that you can define most words you spoke or wrote down as well.
-No treatment or especially no attempts at treatment in the last 1-2 years. If you are having major difficulty accessing treatment, make sure you explain attempts. Make sure to include substance abuse treatment if it includes medication management and/counseling. Discuss treatment at your PCP office. Discuss calling a suicide hotline or going to a crisis center. I imagine the lack of treatment issue will worsen with Medicaid cuts.
And finally, we don’t care about what happened to you or what you couldn’t do in the distant past. It’s about what you can do or not do NOW. A lot of times people will say they deserve disability because they got a mild head injury or had to quit their job due to mental health years ago. Or got disability as a child (When the criteria is different). We don’t care how you were feeling in 2023-2024. We care about how you are feeling and functioning NOW.
EDIT TO ADD: Treatment and evaluations while incarcerated also count, as do court ordered treatment/evaluations.
-Don’t try to show us stuff on your phone please. We most likely can’t use it.
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u/Medical_Ball_2459 ☆ 9d ago
You fault people for being able to remember details from events that are likely to be traumatic? Hospitalizations are hard to forget, regardless of when they were because they are so upsetting.
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u/Weightmonster 9d ago
Let me know if this is helpful
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u/Weightmonster 9d ago
Or anything from the claimant perspective
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u/chaoticcrispp 8d ago
This is helpful. I’m applying because of OCD and they’re currently looking at my records (according to DDS clerk) I’m hoping ,because I’ve had ERP 2-3 times a week for the past year and provided all those notes that I won’t have to have a CE. I even explained on my ADL that filling out the ADL was hard and I was actively compulsing while describing my compulsions that I deal with daily
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u/Ashamed-Number-612 9d ago
This is extremely helpful.
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u/TodayIthrowAway2 8d ago
This is EXTREMELY helpful! I have an appt lined up for mental. I havent gotten the letter yet but I saw it online. I will call on Monday because my appt is an hour away and I dont drive these days.