Guide hub · 5 guides · about 52 min of reading
Work, disability benefits and vocational rehab
Going back to work, changing work, or needing to stop for a while each run through a different system: your employer under the ADA, your state vocational rehabilitation agency, or Social Security. They overlap less than people expect.
These guides explain how each system works and where it stops. They are not legal or benefits advice. A benefits counselor, VR counselor or attorney can apply them to your case.
Start here · 12 min readThe ADA and workplace accommodation: what the law requires, how the process works, and where it stopsThe Americans with Disabilities Act creates defined obligations for most employers when an employee with limb loss asks for a workplace accommodation. Understanding what the law actually requires, and what it doesn't, is practical information before the conversation happens.Read the guide Then keep going
- State vocational rehabilitation programs: what they fund and how to use themState VR programs can pay for prosthetic devices, job training, and workplace accommodations when insurance falls short, but the system has rules, a waiting list in some states, and an employment goal attached to every benefit. An orientation to how it works.10 min read
- SSDI and SSI with limb loss: how Social Security evaluates amputation and what the process looks likeA plain-language guide to Social Security disability benefits for amputees: how SSA defines 'loss of use,' what the application process involves, and how Medicare timing connects to SSDI eligibility.11 min read
- Prosthetics without insurance: what's actually available and how to access itLimb loss without health coverage is not a dead end, but the paths are slower and less obvious. A practical map of programs, advocacy options, and realistic timelines for people who don't have Medicare, Medicaid, or private insurance.10 min read
- Getting back behind the wheel: adaptive driving after limb lossMost people with a limb amputation can drive. The path runs through a driver rehabilitation evaluation, possible vehicle modifications, and state licensing paperwork, not through guessing, and not through giving up the keys.9 min read
Other subjects
- The first year after amputation
- Insurance, Medicare and paying for a prosthesis
- Socket fit, skin and residual limb care
- Prosthetic types, control systems and surgical options
- Pain, whole-body health and mental health after limb loss
- Travel, driving, sport and getting out
- Children, congenital limb difference and families
- Search every guide
General information, not personal medical, legal, benefits or insurance advice. Your clinical team, insurer or advocate can apply it to your situation.