At a Social Security disability hearing, the way in which the administrative law judge might phrase his or her questions could be misleading. In the case of questions about your sitting and standing limitations, it is important that you understand just what the judge means by a particular question. Your Social Security disability representative will be able to explain and guide you both before and during a hearing.
There is an inherent problem with questions about how far you can walk, how much you are able to lift, and how long you can stand. Questions will be asked in a straightforward and singular way, such as “How long are you able to stand?” You could misinterpret this question to mean “How long are you able to stand before you cannot stand anymore and must go home to rest?” If you interpret the question in that way and respond without explaining what your answer means, the judge may think that you can stand for a far greater period of time than you actually are able. What the judge is actually asking is what he or she needs to know in order to make the determination: how long you are able to stand in a work environment during an eight-hour workday?
Responding to such questions in more than one fashion is the best way to ensure that you are accurately testifying as to your abilities. You could offer an example to the judge to give context for how long you can stand before you tire so much that you have to rest. You could mention that strenuous situations make it likely that you will not be able to stand long, or that if you stand for a while and then sit, the time period in which you would be able to stand again would be shorter than the initial standing period.
Questions about sitting are the same. If you have been sitting for a long time at the Social Security hearing without any issues and you tell the judge that you can only sit for a shorter period of time, the judge could conclude that you are not telling the truth. The judge is not asking how long you need to sit between standing periods, but what is the longest you can sit. Again, more information and context goes a long way to helping a judge understand what you mean by your answers.
As an overall rule at your Social Security hearing, you should mention all of the aspects of your disabling condition which make it harder for you to work. You are your best witness at a hearing because you are the individual who has the most in-depth knowledge of why you are qualified for Social Security disability benefits.