What to Know for Turning 18 and Young Adults: Legal and Government Issues
18 Means Reaching the Age of Majority
In most states, 18 years old is considered the age of majority when your teen is considered an adult. If you are not pursuing guardianship, your teen needs to give permission for you as parents to participate in meetings and receive any communication about them. This affects everything from school to their healthcare.
For their healthcare you will need your teen’s permission to access their medical information and make doctors appointments depending on the practice. Many healthcare practices have a form your teen can sign to give you permission typically for a one-year period.
If you still have access to your teen’s online patient portal, by 18 years old that access will end. Regulations about adolescent and parent access to patient portals vary by state, but often at age 18 your teen can sign up for access to their own patient portal and can request that you have access to it (this is called proxy access).
Also bear in mind that some doctors and dentists will transition patients at 18 years old to adult medical care and receive services from adult providers. It can vary by provider.
Apply for Guardianship if needed, but you must wait until your teen actually turns 18 to apply. The Milestones Guardianship Tool Kit provides information including the process and various levels of guardianship options as well as alternatives to guardianship.
The Milestones free autism Helpdesk is here to support you and connect you with resources.
Applying for Benefits at 18 and Financial Issues
You may want to explore if your young adult qualifies for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which is a federal program that provides financial help for children and adults with disabilities who have low incomes and resources.
SSI is available for individuals over the age of 18 who meet the Social Security Administration’s definition of disability for an adult. In addition to meeting the disability criteria, the person must have low income and resources that do not exceed $2,000. There are some exemptions to the resource requirement in that a house and car are exempt as an example. Once a child with disabilities turn 18, the parents’ income and resources are not counted toward the adult child with disabilites’ eligibility for SSI.
Start by contacting the Social Security Administration because the process is paperwork driven. Provide them with documentation such as medical materials, and your teen will need to sign permission to allow Social Security to speak with your teen’s medical providers.
If they receive SSI, you may want to create a rental agreement for your loved one that states how much rent they pay. If your adult child with disabilities lives with you and does not pay his/her fair share of rent, then the SSI benefit will be reduced by one-third because the child is receiving “in kind support and maintenance.”
Note that there is an ongoing evaluation to re-determine that your loved one still qualifies every certain number of years. This often requires you to go to a doctor or medical professional you don’t know as they select who they want you to see.
When your teen turns 18 years old they can apply for Medicaid and your family income is not counted in qualifying. Medicaid is a need-based federal program that provides health coverage for people with disabilities and low-income adults and children. If your adult child with disabilities qualifies for SSI, they will automatically be enrolled in Medicaid.
Important Financial Information
If your young adult receives or might receive government benefits based on income limits, bear in mind that your teen cannot have more than $2,000 in assets or cash in their name (always check the current status for yourself).
Open an ABLE account, which is a special saving account for people with disabilities that does not affect needs-based benefits such as Medicaid or SSI. It may have different names in different states, for example in Ohio it's called a STABLE account. This Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence (OCALI) workshop video gives information about STABLE accounts and special needs trusts.
Education Decisions
Decide if your teen is graduating and exiting high school, or doing a social graduation and remaining at school for more transition based services, or not doing the social graduation and just continuing Individualized Education Program (IEP) programming. If you feel that your teen could still benefit from services at school, you must demonstrate that your teen has not met all IEP goals and could benefit from more educational training.
If your student will be applying for financial aid for attending a community college or university, they need to apply for FAFSA which is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid program. They will need your help because it asks for information they may not know and your signature if they are still a dependent on your taxes.
Other Steps to Take When Your Loved One Turns 18
- Register to vote.
- Your male teen must register for the draft. They will be excused due to their disability, but they still must register.
- If your teen does not have a driver’s license or bus ID, apply for a state identification card to ensure they have a form of government identification.
- Your teen should learn their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
- Be aware that at 18 years old your teen can get a credit card and bank account. So you want to know if your teen does so and ensure they do not run up debt without your knowing. They need to learn basic financial information. For example, do they understand what debt and a loan is, that when you charge something on a credit card you are borrowing and must pay at least the minimum balance and that the card charges interest till you pay it off. On the other hand, It might be good for teens to have a credit card to establish credit history that they may need for future loans. You'll find more information and tips in the Money Management Skills for Young Adults article in the Milestones Autism Planning (MAP) Tool.
At Age 19
- Individuals with autism need to be in charge of managing all of their own benefits, including handling if their benefit such as SSI requires them to send in pay stubs and other needed documentation.
- If something goes wrong with any of their benefits, know who you or your teen can go to for help.