Can You Get Disability for Autism?
Social Security Disability Insurance benefits are available to adults with a disabling condition who have worked long enough and paid sufficient payroll taxes over their careers. If you have autism that prevents you from working, you may qualify for disability benefits for the condition.
Children are not eligible to receive SSDI benefits. However, if they meet certain requirements, parents of children with autism may be eligible to receive Supplemental Security Income benefits, or SSI, on their behalf.
Is Autism a Permanent Disability?
Autism is considered a permanent disability. It is one of the many conditions the Social Security Administration, or SSA, lists in its Blue Book of qualifying conditions for federal disability benefits.
The SSA recognizes that autism symptoms may significantly interfere with a person’s ability to work and maintain a full-time job. Problems with interpersonal communication, sensory processing, concentration, task management, and certain types of comprehension can make holding a full-time job as an autistic adult difficult or impossible. Disability benefits provide eligible autistic adults a financial alternative to employment, enabling them to live independently.
SSDI Eligibility Requirements for Adults With Autism
Autism is a spectrum disorder with a wide range of possible symptoms. An autism diagnosis on its own does not automatically qualify someone for SSDI benefits. To be eligible for SSDI with autism, the SSA’s Blue Book specifies that an adult applicant must be able to prove both of the following factors:
Medical documentation of both the following:
- Qualitative deficits in verbal communication, nonverbal communication, and social interaction; and
- Significantly restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities
AND
Extreme limitation of one, or marked limitation of two, of the following areas of mental functioning
- Understand, remember, or apply information
- Interact with others
- Concentrate, persist, or maintain pace
- Adapt or manage oneself
To qualify for SSDI, the applicant must have worked long enough in their lifetime and accrued a minimum number of “work credits” to be “insured” by the program. Workers accrue work credits by paying payroll taxes, which are typically deducted from their paychecks.
In 2025, workers accrue one work credit for every $1,810 earned at jobs that deduct Social Security taxes. Generally, workers over 30 must have worked at least five of the 10 years immediately before their disabling condition arose, earning a minimum of 20 work credits.
However, one key exception provides benefits to adults with autism whose parents are eligible to receive SSDI. A Social Security disability attorney can help you learn more about accessing SSDI benefits through your parents’ earning record as an adult.
SSI Eligibility Requirements for Children With Autism
Because SSDI benefits are linked to work history, children with autism are not eligible to receive them. However, depending on the severity of their condition and their family’s income, they may be eligible for Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, benefits.
Children ages 3 to 18 with autism must meet the same Blue Book eligibility criteria requirements as adults must meet for either SSDI or SSI.
What Are the Income Limits for SSI Benefits for Children With Autism?
SSI is a needs-based program. Applicants must have limited income and resources. Therefore, families of children with autism must show that their income and assets fall below specific thresholds. The limitations may vary depending on the number of parents in the household, the number of ineligible children in the household, and the amount of family income that is earned vs. unearned. The SSA hosts a “deemed income” chart on its website listing monthly limits for different family configurations and types of income.
The monthly income limit for a two-parent household with no ineligible children in which all income is earned is $4,841. The monthly income limit for a single-parent household with the same circumstances is $3,897.
Alternatives to SSDI for Autism
SSDI is generally considered the best available compensation option for adults with autism. However, SSDI is linked to qualifying work history, and many autistic adults have never been employed or have not worked enough to earn sufficient work credits for SSDI.
If you don’t qualify for SSDI benefits, you may still be eligible to receive SSI benefits.
Getting SSI for Autism
The eligibility criteria for SSI for autistic adults are the same as those for SSDI. Adult applicants for SSI must demonstrate medical documentation of both qualitative deficits in communication and significantly restrictive behavior patterns, as well as marked limitation in two fields or extreme limitation of one field of mental functioning according to the lists above.
The key difference between SSI and SSDI is that SSI is a needs-based program that is not linked to work history. As such, an autistic adult does not need to have worked a certain amount of time to be eligible for SSI. However, to be eligible for SSI, your autism must prevent you from completing substantial gainful activity, or SGA, to earn income.
The SSA defines SGA as any income-earning activity that pays more than $1,620 monthly in 2025. Single adult SSI recipients also cannot have more than $2,000 in assets. Married adult SSI recipients’ combined assets cannot exceed $3,000.
How Much Is an SSDI Check for Autism?
The SSA does not provide a guaranteed flat rate of monthly disability benefits based on a qualifying condition. Instead, your individual disability compensation depends on a variety of factors.
First, you must be eligible to receive SSDI, meaning that you meet all of the following criteria:
- Have earned sufficient work credits through your employment history
- Are currently between the ages of 18 and 67
- Earn less than the SSA’s income threshold of $1,620 per month
The SSA calculates your SSDI benefit using a formula based on your highest 35 years of earnings. If you worked fewer than 35 years before becoming disabled, the SSA uses your entire work history to determine this average. The number, known as your average indexed monthly earnings or AIME, is adjusted for inflation and rounded down to the nearest dollar.
The SSA uses your AIME to calculate your primary insurance amount, or PIA, which determines your monthly SSDI compensation and is equivalent to your full retirement benefit. As of 2025, the maximum possible SSDI payment is $4,018 monthly. However, maximum compensation is rare and reserved for individuals with high lifetime earnings and extensive work histories. The average SSDI payment in 2024 was $1,537 monthly.
How To Apply for Disability Benefits for Autism
If you believe your autism diagnosis qualifies you for disability benefits, the next step is to submit your application for SSDI or SSI benefits to the SSA. You can apply for SSDI online, over the phone, or in person at your local SSA office, and you can begin an application for SSI over the phone at 800-772-1213. You will need to provide identifying information, tax documents, medical records, and similar documentation of your disability, work history, and current working capacity when applying.
Monitor your application in case the SSA requests you attend a special medical examination. Most communications from the SSA come through the mail, so be sure to read and keep copies of anything you receive. You also can track your application online using the SSA website.
The process of applying for SSDI and SSI benefits is overwhelming, and most initial applications for benefits are denied. Disability Advice can connect you with an experienced Social Security disability attorney. An attorney can help you through the entire application process, handling the heavy lifting and giving you the best chance at winning benefits.
- Free case evaluation
- Assist with denied claims
- Ensure you have all documents
- Make the process easy for you
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