Legitimate Work at Home Jobs for the Disabled

You can work while on disability. You can also attempt to go back to work full time (even if you are not 100% sure that you can) without compromising your social security disability status. I know because I was on disability, and went back to work unsuccessfully several times.

The process of returning to work after disability is both scary and confusing. There is a lot of conflicting information out there.

Going back to work with a disability can be confusing, and there isn't always a clear path on how to proceed.

However it can be done, and the money you make can be offset by the expenses you have in order to get to work (whether that be in the form of medication, gas and mileage to get to work, another form of transportation, or other needs for your disability).

People often find this webpage searching for answers to questions like: Can someone drawing social security disability still work, can I have a hobby and still get social security disability benefits, can I do volunteer work and still be on social security disability, can I start a home business and still draw social security disability benefits, do i have to live close to my work if I'm disabled, and are there programs to help diabled people get back to work?

I will do my best to answer the questions I can, and point you to the right resources for the information I do not have.

Social Security has a program set up to assist the disabled in getting back to work (if and when it's possible). Each disabled person has a ticket that they can give to an employer network (or take back and give to another employer network) to get training, rehabilitation, assistance and job placement. It is never required that you use your Ticket to Work - but if you are interested in trying to work again you should!

Look below for a link directly to a search engine for the Ticket to Work program that will help you find employer network's that serve your area.

One Brain Tumor Survivor's Story

I was diagnosed with a brain tumor about the size of a lemon in 2006. While the tumor wasn't much fun, eventually (after seven craniotomies) the tumor was gone. But what came next was even harder. After my last surgery I became mentally disabled. To this day, no doctor is exactly sure what happened. Some attribute my mental illness to stress or a chemical imbalance, others say it was an undiagnosed bipolar condition that wasn't obvious until then, and others still think that something happened during surgery. It doesn't really matter.

But I found myself incapable of working (or even functioning as an independent adult) for several years. I was approved for social security disability and was thankful for that. On the days when I was well enough to make sense of what my life had become the prospect of sitting at home and not working the rest of my life scared me. I couldn't help but feel incredibly GUILTY that I was drawing social security disability income to live. I knew I wanted to rejoin the workforce and contribute SOMETHING (anything really) even if it was a simple job, or working out of my home.

I wasn't sure that I was capable of working again. Even if I had a good week, or a good month I was even less sure how long it would last. At some point the good days, weeks and months started outweighing the bad ones - but I was scared to return to work, not knowing if the additional work (or stress) would trigger my mental disability to come back.

So when I started working from home, I stared by doing "my own thing." I had a background in web design and IT, so I had my father help me start my own business (which was really more of a hobby than work - because I don't think I made a dime). But I was able to get myself some updated skills learning online, and kept searching for online work at home jobs I could do. Every time I found a great opportunity, it would work out for a while but then I'd have a relapse and have to stop working.

What I can say is that I did end up with a LOT of information on work from home jobs and opportunities. That's why I'm sharing it here.

I started working outside my home again by doing volunteer work at a hospital gift shop. That gave me something to get out for, and responsibilities that I knew wouldn't be too hard for me to handle. Volunteer work made is so that I didn't have to worry about having an income (and losing my disability check) or feeling too guilty if I needed to call in for a sick day. The best part was I stopped feeling SO GUILTY for not working. The confidence I gained by volunteering for a half a year gave me the extra push I needed to start applying for real full time jobs.

Eventually, I returned to work outside my home full time. It was VERY SCARY to do this, because I did not know what would happen with my social security benefits, or how to protect my disabled status. I always got different answers when I spoke to different people at the social security administration. However they do have programs in place to help the disabled re-enter the work force, without having to loose your disability benefits. I even had a 12 month trial period where I was able to draw social security benefits while working. This protected me since I wasn't sure if full time work outside the home was even possible for me, or if I would have a relapse.

And relapse I did. And I was lucky to be able to fall back on my disability benefits until I could start working at home in an nontraditional way that allowed me to work at my own speed, and not get sick again. You can read how I am working to get off social security disability here.

Do you know of any other work at home jobs, or programs or resources to help other disabled people re-enter the work force?