How to Testify About Your Activities of Daily Living

Why will the Social Security disability judge ask you about your activities of daily living at your SSDI or SSI hearing? Shouldn't the judge focus mainly on your medical impairments.

Disability judges use hearings to evaluate your credibility - is your testimony believable. As I discuss in this video, your judge will ask you about what you do during the day in order to decide if you can be believed.

In this video I reveal the activities of daily living that seem to be most important to to judges and how to answer the ALJ's questions clearly, accurately and credibly.

Most of the time, your testimony alone will not win your case, but poorly prepared and presented testimony can result in an unfavorable decision.

If you have questions about how disability hearings work and how to prepare for your hearing, please let me know if I can be of help to you.

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[PrettyPressha_]

I have my hearing in the morning. December 6 2023 im diagnosed with Arthritis in ALL joints, Bipolar 1 disorder w Severe psychosis. Ive been denied over and over for 4 years. Now i have a attorney and were going in AGAIN ! For what im hoping to be the final time. With approval

[ElizabethF]

I won my case on 5-4-19, largely due to your videos. I testified that I could go to the grocery store, and go to the doctor, but then I have to come home and elevate my leg. We met a listing for severe cellulitis with MRSA infection in my lower left leg that hasn't healed in over two years. He actually asked to see my leg in the hearing! My attorney said the same thing about what NOT to say "I can't do anything at all." He told me it's all about what you can do with limitations, not what you can't do.. PS I just turned 60, so that helped, as I have worked all my life. Thank you so much for all you do for us, Mr. Ginsberg!

[worstHorse]

Thank you, thank you, thank you-Buffalo, NY

[shamanarian]

Thank you so very much Mr. Ginsberg. I am preparing for my appeal hearing and your numerous videos to help with this process have been as valuable to me as the f2f meetings with my disability attorney. If I lived in the ATL area, you would definitely be my choice for a disability attorney!!!

Also, your videos are the best I've found on YT about this topic. Kudos to you for providing such an exceptional aid to those of us struggling through this arduous process, obviously made as difficult as possible to discourage all but the strongest applicants, regardless of their need for disability assistance.

Sad to see the social umbrella of this once great nation gradually disintegrating, in the name of balancing the budget and limited government! By far the worst social umbrella of any developed nation and getting worse, no better than many countries considered in a lower stage of development. A nation that can't even assist those citizens most in need of help is doomed to decay financially, socially, and morally, and to lose its global reputation as a world leader. Keep fighting for those of us who need this help the most - my blessings to you for it!

[paulawilliams]

Thank You.
You have told me more than my appointed lawyer told me, Now i feel confident in knowing what answers to give to the judge. My lawyer called me two days before my Hearing and seemed frustrated over my questions to her, so I Pray I do well with my answers Today.
Thank You once again.

[burytheseoldghostsdwn_]

Just had my hearing yesterday, and to my surprise the judge didn't even ask about my daily living activities or my current medical treatment! I guess it could have been because (according to my lawyer) my medical evidence and the amount of drs notes in my file was overwhelming. 🤞🤞🤞

[marilyncruz]

I already say those statements when I’m talking to people so It will come naturally to me, thank you love your videos!

[GregHakes]

I choose to submit mine in writing prior to the hearing. My Lawyer sent me a full page of writing on how to speak of my daily troubles and to talk about as many of my issues as possible. I submitted it to her and she approved it without even telling me to edit anything. My ALJ never asked me one question about it during my hearing. I think trying to do this live at a hearing is very stressful for the claimant and leaves it open to too much discrepancy, that's why i passed and did it in writing prior to my hearing. Either way you have to choose your words properly.

[soniavalencia]

Excellent advice I have a hearing in March of 2020 I’m learning so much on your channel thank you Mr. Ginsberg.

[catherha]

My lawyer called me the day before my hearing, I'm being given a second hearing. Thank God. I hope that it's soon and I hope that I receive a favorable decision. I will not allow the judge to put words in my mouth either. I have to appear before the same one who omitted the ve testimony that there were no jobs available. I'll be ready

[e-spy]

I haven't worked in 2.5 years. I finally gave that up after getting covid in april 2020. Horrible daily headaches, can't keep a thought in my head long enough to act upon it, heart rate 250 just getting a cup of coffee in my kitchen. I had a heart attack, then stroke. Lost eye sight in my right eye. Now I get shots every 6 weeks. expensive and they really hurt. My heart has mild damage and my digestive system is screwed up as well as my liver and my blood pressure. It could be 90/60 or 185/125. I passed out because of it, sent my desk across the room when my head hit it when going down. Woke up 3 hours later feeling like I'd been struck by lightning. Urgent surgery needed, they said, or be a quad. Only they won't do it due to the erratic BP. I called uncle at work. I was the person who solved problems no one else could, and now I am an idiot. I can't even remember the problem, let alone solve it! My boss was willing to wait until I got back to normal. There isn't any normal here, not after covid. I wish. I miss me!

[mb]

Congratulations on your "How To Testify About Your Activities Of Daily Living" inspirational thanks for sharing. Daily Living 13 & Mobility 10 from Citizens Advice Bureau. Judge Daily Living 9. 🤒

[TheLuftwolf]

Thank you once again for good, concise information on a specific subject. I just got a notice from my attorney about this and to expect this document in the mail. Your videos are great reference for me to understand the nature of these issues as I go through with my claim. Thanks again.
Bob/Okc

[ltrax]

My attorney didn't go thru all this with me. I had to go to court blindsided. I have severe back problems and I have good days along with bad days. Like I told the judge my good days I might cook but if I do I have to pull a chair by the stove just to cook and sometime my daughter has to take over. I tried to sweep a few months after my surgery and was in severe pain for days. So that's something I don't try to do. Laundry my daughters do along with cleaning so I don't hurt myself..I bought an adjustable bed and I have a tense machine (I think that's wat u call it) and a heating pad. That's where 90% of my time is spent.. I had to change my whole life because of this injury so all I had to do was tell the truth..

[yomilalgro]

Very much appreciate your input and advice, thank you

[debramorris]

Thanks for the tips. I enjoy all your videos!

[PhoenixRising]

Daily living...well, prior to COVID, I was attending college classes five days a week with the goal of getting a professional degree in a few years, because I thought that was my best chance to start a career and become independent from my....incredibly toxic family (I'd basically be homeless if I didn't live with my parents). I had to rely on public transit and paratransit to get to and from school, and I'd leave my house early and come back late in order to spend as little time at home as I could (not that this was easy with my chronic pain and hormonal issues). In March, when my state government issued a stay-at-home order, my mental health had gone into a tailspin and I was unable to resume my classes online without leaving early...so I ended up dropping them. Staying at home with my family has been rough (my dad is over 60, so he had to work from home, my mother is a teacher, so she had to adjust to virtual teaching, one of my younger brothers ended up quitting his restaurant job to reduce the chance that he'd spread the virus to our parents, and the baby of the family ended up having his high school graduation online). My mother would constantly nag us about pitching in with the chores, so I ended up picking some up, like walking the dogs in the morning (they're thankfully small dogs, so it's not as hard on my back, but I have to walk them without my cane or rollator, so I can't do it for very long) and washing dishes (I usually have to take a couple breaks to sit or lie down, since bending over the dishwasher is rough on my back and legs). I buy my own food because I get SNAP (Prime Pantry takes EBT, which is a godsend on days when I just can't make it out), mostly relying on easy sandwiches (PB&J, Tofurky, and sometimes chickpea salad if I made it ahead of time), instant oatmeal, protein or meal replacement shakes (like Evolve or Soylent), frozen meals, and occasionally takeout, when I can get cash from TDAP or if a friend is willing to help me out. When I do cook things that take a bit longer, I have to sit or lie down with a timer on so I don't burn anything. And since I don't want to hear it from my parents, I'll wash the dishes when I'm done cooking.

Most days are spent in the basement where I live. I'm often sore, achy, and tired, so I mostly lie in bed and watch TV. I'll often nap for 1-2 hours during this time, mostly because of soreness or because I have trouble sleeping at night. At most, I'll go out once a week for groceries (I'll make a second trip if I have a doctor's appointment that for some reason I can't do through virtual Telehealth), now relying solely on paratransit (I stopped using the bus and subway after COVID since I do live with two high-risk people, and because I may be high risk myself (I suspect I have POTS or a similar nervous system issue)). To maintain my sanity, I'll sometimes text my online friends and play games on my phone. It's feasible, but not ideal. As I said, I live in the basement, and the only showers in the house are on the second floor. Because of that, I end up bathing at the sink in the half-bath of the basement (including washing my hair...which is murder on my back) most days. And since the house is not built for someone using a wheeled mobility aid, I have to carry my rollator upstairs if I'm going out (if I'm shopping at a store that I know has motorized scooters, I'll just bring my cane and use one of them when I get there). Not only that, but I have to vacuum the carpet in the basement (one of my dogs sheds a lot), take my own trash out, and do my own laundry (which wouldn't be a problem if I weren't sharing the laundry room).

I write all of this because while I do a lot of chores, I only do them because I feel pressured to and don't have any help, and if I didn't live here, again, I'd likely be homeless and probably dead. It's a hellish situation, especially since all I really want is to get out of here and start life on my own terms. How can I say this to a judge without sounding melodramatic?

[DisabilityExams]

The good old "I can't do anything" statement. If you say that - you just proved you can talk, which is something, and is something that other folks CAN'T do.

[RashadSims-bhzz]

Thank u whenever I try to do the dishes my back hurts

[CanYouHearMeNow]

I thought after listening to this I had a pretty good handle on this but the ALJ still used the fact that I said I tried to help with folding the clothes, am only able to help with the housework by sometimes sweeping a small section of the floor from a chair and occasionally throwing a ball for the dogs against me. She also thought it was too much that I try to make it to church (which I didn't even say I did, when asked my hobbies, I like to sing and really dont have any so I said singing, she asked me where. Although I haven't attended in a while church is all I could think of) She did use that against me. It seems like she thought I should not be doing anything, ever.I don't understand. Once your claim is approved they allow you to work and earn a small amount of money. After having to prove that you are near death, that makes no sense to me at all.