Disability Terms and Definitions

DHU Disability Hearings Unit. A unit in each DDD regional office that conducts in person hearings with disabled beneficiaries who appeal a DDD decision that the individual is no longer disabled. CDB Childhood Disability Benefits. Title II benefit category for disabled adult children of deceased, retired or disabled parents. Disability must have begun prior to age 22. Augmentative or alternative communication (AAC) device An electronic device that talks for a person who cannot speak. The device usually has a recorded or electronic voice and can say words or sentences the user chooses. Impairment-Related Work Expenses (IRWE) The provision that permits the exclusion from earnings of the costs of items and services which are needed in order for a disabled individual to work, which are paid for by the individual, and which are necessarily incurred by that individual because of a physical or mental impairment. Partial Conservatorship This type of Conservatorship/Guardianship generally applies to the developmentally disabled and restricts the areas in which the Conservator/Guardian may act on behalf of the individual. Supplemental Security Income (SSI): A cash benefit authorized by Title 16 of the federal Social Security Act. Eligibility and benefits are administered by the federal Social Security Administration at field offices throughout each state. Indexing Indexing is designed to provide some protection against inflation. After the first year of disability, a disabled employee's pre-disability earnings are usually increased (or indexed) by a certain percentage on an annual basis. DHO Disability Hearing Officer. Conducts in person hearings. Next appeal is to a federal Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). Cost-of-living adjustments Each January, your benefits will increase automatically if the cost of living has gone up. For example, if the cost of living has increased by 2 percent, your benefits also will increase by 2 percent. SSI State Supplement A cash benefit authorized by Ch. 49.77 and 49.775, Wis. Stats. This benefit is intended to supplement the federal SSI benefit payment. Eligibility is based on current receipt of federal SSI benefits or special "grandfathered" status as a recipient of the state supplement only.

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	Did You Know?
	EPSDT stands for Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment Program A program mandated by law as part of the Medicaid program. The law requires that all states have in effect a program for eligible children under age 21 to ascretain their physical or mental defects and to provide such health care treatments and other measures to correct or ameliorate defects and chronic conditions discovered. The state programs also have active outreach components to inform eligible persons of the benefits available to them, to provide screening, and if necessary, to assist in obtaining appropriate treatment.