Question:
help! I want a baby and I'm disabled.?
anonymous
1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
help! I want a baby and I'm disabled.?
Six answers:
anonymous
2008-12-19 19:29:26 UTC
I am concerned that you appear only worried about benefits.



I would be more worried about whether I could care for a baby properly, put her through college, feed her proper nutrition, keep her clean and on a healthy schedule, teach her what she needs to know for school and how to succeed in society, how to be a contributing person to her community, and provide her with a comfortable lifestyle without expecting more money from tax payers.
anonymous
2008-12-19 21:44:37 UTC
Regardless of your disability and living arrangements, you seem to be pretty functional, perhaps if you show your case workers, guardians, etc that you could handle a mature relationship with your boyfriend maybe they'll vouch for you to be legally married and becoming a mother.
anonymous
2008-12-19 20:41:31 UTC
If you can take care of a baby and can have one without any problems. I would say go for it. You can look for communities that accept children. Ask your case worker. I would like you to think about something. If you have a baby, will you pass on yours or your husbands disabilities to the baby? If you can, do you really want to bring a baby into the world with disabilities that may have an affect on his/her quality of life?
anonymous
2008-12-19 07:18:47 UTC
Do you have a case worker? Talk to them. Please be aware too that if your disabilities are significant enough to impair parenting ability that the child welfare system could step in if you have a baby.



There is welfare for the baby if you qualify, but unless the baby is also disabled there aren't any financial benefits for them. Survivors benefits are for kids who have a deceased parent who paid in from their income while they were alive.



Yes, its possible to get married, assuming neither of you have a guardian who would need to consent. Be aware that what social security allows for married disabled couples is far less than what you get as single people. Its better financially not to get married unless you have another source of income.



It is possible that there may be too many barriers here for you to be able to have housing, have enough money, have the support of those who provide services to you, and have a baby. Sometimes we don't always get to have what we dream about, and if that becomes true for you, I would encourage you to seek out a source of support - your family, friends, church, or others to help you cope.





Edit to respond to your additional details: So both of you receive RSDI - that stands for Retirement, Survivors, and Disability Insurance. It's confusing when you call it survivors benefits since there has been no death. But you are correct that it is the same source of money - it just applies to a variety of circumstances. In a future child's case if they are eligible, the basis of eligibility would be disability. Not retirement, not survivor. It's less confusing to just say they would get social security benefits.
JA10
2008-12-19 23:34:03 UTC
thats why they invented test tubes
anonymous
2008-12-18 21:03:41 UTC
Yes, it is possible, but you need to do a lot of planning.



First you need to move to a community that does allow children or get them to change the rules. Don't have a baby before you do this.



Next you need to find out how your benefits will change if you get married. If you both get SSI you will get much less. If you both get SSDI it will be better, but still less. If one gets one and the other the other it gets very complicated. Most people who live on SSI cannot afford to get married and just live together.



Then contact a group called Through the Looking Glass and ask for help in Florida. http://www.lookingglass.org



ETA: Sounds like you have done some research already. What I would suggest you do is something I had to do in HighSchool. Make a list of all the things you would need for a baby for one year. Ask a friend who has recently had a baby to help you make the list or look her: . Than use the internet to find the prices of everything. Then look at the money you two get from SSDI and add up the expenses you two will have - and see if you can cope. If it looks like it is more than you can afford - than start to make a plan how you can. Start buying baby stuff now - go to Salvation Army, ask friends who have had babies for hand me downs. Start making your first year more affordable.





http://kidmoney.about.com/od/newbaby/ht/budgetnewbaby.htm



http://www.investopedia.com/articles/pf/08/budgeting-for-baby.asp



http://www.parents.com/getting-pregnant/considering-baby/financing-family/preparing-for-baby-financially/


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
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