I just want to share with all of you that I am now a Board Certified Social Security Disability Specialist by the National Board of Social Security Disability Advocacy.  I have been practicing in this field for many years and when I found out that board certification for this field existed I new it was something I wanted to do.  I want to take this opportunity to thank the clients of mine who allowed me to use some of the work I did on their cases to help get this certification.  I am very proud of this accomplishment and also want to thank the board for approving me.  This website is seen nationally so I want to note that not all states recognize this title and I will post the states that do over the next couple of days. 

I expect that the Social Security Administration will start getting more hearings scheduled and decisions out soon.  I am saying this from my experience in the past and the rate at which my hearings are being scheduled for the upcoming months.  Usually when you get past the holidays and get into the new year SSA's pace picks up quickly and this can be one of the most active times of year for SSDI and SSI claims.  I am already scheduled for almost every day in January and February and new hearing dates are popping up every day.  So if you have been waiting a long time and were hoping you would hear something before the holidays you can take hope that many of you may will hear something soon.  Besides the fact that we are almost done with the holidays there was also a push this year to get the really aged cases through.  Most of the really old cases were heard this year and hopefully SSA is close to being back on track for the new year.  I also think SSA implementing of the Attorney adviser program again will help get some cases at the hearing stage decided before a hearing.  At the end of this year I had many of my cases at the hearing level decided favorably without a hearing.  I expect this trend to continue.  One last reason I think cases decided will pick up is that more of the files are in the electric format now than ever before.  I hope my prediction is true as I expect this to be a very good year for the Social Security Administration in terms of speeding up hearings and decisions. 

I just want to wish you all a happy holiday season.  I hope many of you have received favorable Social Security Disability decision.  This time of year can be particularly hard for those who are under the stress and hardships associated with applying for SSDI, SSI and Veterans benefits.  I hope that everyone reading this has won their benefits and is able to enjoy there holiday without the worry of a pending decision on their disability.  The reality is however, that most people reading this are still waiting for a decision.  This can be a very slow time for decisions to get out.  If you are still waiting try not to worry to much and try and enjoy the holiday season the best you can.  I know this is easier said than done.  For some a way to relief the stress is to just not think about your claim for a while.  For others you may find some relief in learning more about your claim by reading up on disability and how to win.  My sincere hope is that no matter what your circumstances are you can find time to put your claim and difficulties dealing with your disability behind you for a little while to enjoy the holidays.