Articles from prior issues of The Advocate

March/April 2001

The Who, What, When, Where and How of NADE
(What Does NADE Do For Me? How Can I Become a Member?)
by Jeff Price, NADE President-elect


NADE IS THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION of Disability Examiners. “Who” is NADE is very simple. NADE is you, or at least it can be if you desire. NADE is certainly your co-workers and many others who maintain a professional interest in disability adjudication. The name, perhaps, is somewhat confusing since the membership of NADE actually consists of many more persons than disability examiners. The membership of NADE also includes medical and psychological consultants, DDS support staff, supervisors and DDS administrators. In short, if you work in a state disability determination office, NADE is for you. But, NADE’s membership boundaries does not stop with the DDS. NADE also has members who are attorneys who specialize in representing disability claimants. NADE members are also physicians and medical specialists who conduct consultative examinations (CEs) for the DDSs. NADE members are vocational experts and SSA employees who work in the disability field. In fact, NADE has prided itself on the diversity of its membership and it is this diversity that enhances the organization’s presence.

“What” is NADE? That is also a simple question and it comes with a simple answer. NADE is your professional association. It is the only organization that can truly represent the disability professional or support professional in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. where the decisions are made that will determine how you will do your job in the DDS. NADE is your voice! It is the voice that expresses the DDS perspective in ongoing policy discussions and in testimony before Congress. That voice is important! No one else can speak for the people who do the work that so many are trying so hard to change.

The “When” of NADE is a little more confusing. NADE got its start in 1963 when a group of DDS Administrators and disability professionals decided they needed a professional organization to advocate for their interests. In the beginning, NADE was a part of the NRA – no, not the gun lobby – but the National Rehabilitation Association. However, as the years went by, NADE members began to distance themselves from the NRA and some of the positions the NRA was taking. When the NRA attempted to force NADE to abandon some of its expressed objectives and stated opinions, the membership of NADE decided to form their own organization and NADE was reborn as an independent professional association in 1978. Since that time, NADE has grown in influence and its ability to make an impact and effectuate change. The credibility of the Association is very high and our professional standing with the SSA Commissioner and other executives at SSA is also very high. The “Where” of NADE is also an easy question to answer. NADE is everywhere. NADE is in the office next door to you and it is most likely in the DDS Administrator’s office. It can be in your office if it is not already there. NADE is in the SSA Headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland and NADE is in the hearing rooms and congressional offices in Washington, D.C. NADE is in San Juan, Puerto Rico and NADE is in Anchorage, Alaska. NADE is in Portland, Maine and NADE is in Los Angeles, California. NADE has held training conferences in all these locations and at many points in between. NADE covers the nation and so can you as a NADE member.

“How” does NADE operate? NADE is a truly independent professional association. It does not take money from SSA or other organizations. NADE prides itself on being able to represent the professional interests of the disability professional and support professional in the DDS, on being able to represent the professional interests of the physician who performs CEs for the DDS and the professional interests of the attorney who represents claimants at the hearing level. NADE is able to represent these diverse groups because we all have one common goal – to see that the claimant receives a fair and timely decision on his or her claim for disability benefits. NADE is able to achieve this objective because it pays its own way. NADE membership dues comprise ninety percent of the Association’s revenue. Profits from conference registration fees and sale of NADE merchandise also help support the Association. The important thing for NADE members, or anyone considering membership in NADE, should remember is this: NADE represents its members because they are the ones who pay the Association’s expenses. NADE representatives who gather at the policy tables in the conference rooms at SSA know that they are there because the membership wants them there, the membership is paying for them to be there, and it is the credibility of the membership as to why they are there. There is no second guessing as to who they represent.

What does this mean for you? It means if you want to have an effective voice in your future as a disability professional or support professional, then you will become a NADE member if you are not already one. What will you get from it?

1. Six issues of the NADE Advocate per year. This is the Association’s bi-monthly professional publication and, aside from the attractive membership certificate and a copy of NADE’s Code of Ethics which all new members receive, is the most visible tangible benefit you will receive as a member. The Advocate contains news of ongoing developments at SSA and in the medical profession, news about the organization and its members and news about what we can expect in the future. In short, the Advocate will keep you informed about what is happening in your profession. This information will be very important as we move more and more into a technological age that declares that the way we do our business today is not necessarily the way we will do our business tomorrow. Whether you are a disability examiner, a member of the DDS support staff, a systems analyst in the DDS, a medical or psychological consultant in the DDS, or a supervisor or DDS administrator, you cannot accept the risk of becoming a dinosaur in your own field. To be able to plan for tomorrow, you will need to know what is expected tomorrow. Read the Advocate and find out!

2. Opportunities for leadership. NADE is a member led organization whose leaders at the state, regional and national levels are your co-workers. NADE’s leaders are effective in advocating on your behalf because they know exactly what it takes to do your job because they, too, do your job. How you feel about your job is how they feel about theirs (do we dare admit to that?). What you think about new developments and new changes and how they will impact on your job is also what they think about new developments and new changes and how they will impact on their jobs. The leadership of NADE knows firsthand what it takes to do your job and that knowledge is reflected in their leadership.

3. Opportunities for training and learning. Oh no! Not that dreaded word – “training.” Yes, but there is an exciting twist – NADE training is fun! NADE training is effective! And NADE training is aimed directly at what you do. The national association sponsors annual training conferences at the regional and national levels. There, you will not have to sit in front of an IVT broadcast and try to stay awake. At NADE training conferences, you will have top medical and policy speakers speaking to you with the opportunity for you to ask questions and interact with them on a personal basis. At NADE training conferences, you will see what a cochlear implant is, not by having someone describe it to you via IVT but by seeing a real live little boy, born deaf and now, at age five, able to hear and speak to you! You will hear and feel exactly what it is like to be disabled because of a cardiac condition at age 40 and face life anew with a heart transplant. You will see, hear and feel the effects of traumatic brain injury and how it affects not only the claimant, but also the family and the treating psychologist. NADE’s training conferences are specifically designed for the disability professionals and support professionals who render critical decisions on a daily basis and who ask only that they be recognized for the professionals that they are.

4. Opportunities for career advancement. Membership will not automatically enhance your opportunities for promotion unless you take advantage, but it will provide you, if you will seize the opportunities that are presented to you, with the knowledge and skills that will make you a much more viable employee. This will be a key to your success as an employee. Employers from the public and private sectors have said, when speaking of the future of their employees, that, “Security no longer comes from being employed. It comes from being employable.” Other leaders have stated that, “Superior performance depends upon superior learning.” NADE membership offers this opportunity to its members – the opportunity for superior learning and the opportunity to be employable in the technological age. NADE members also learn about employment opportunities in other locations. If you don’t like where you live, there is always another state DDS that is looking for good employees. As a NADE member, you will know where those states are.

5. Opportunities to work with other people to effectuate positive change. This is probably one of the most satisfying aspects of NADE membership – one that you can sit back and smile and say, “Yes, I helped change the system.” NADE members are working everyday to help design a better system, a more effective and efficient way of doing business. We are also working hard at community service projects that help people. We are working hard each day to help each other. Whether the project is to assist SSA with rewriting the childhood listings, or to push Congress and SSA to eliminate or reduce the five month waiting period for Title II disability applicants, NADE members are hard at work every day effectuating a positive change in their lives and in the lives of other people. NADE members know that customer service comes from the heart and NADE members are dedicated to the principles that we offer customer service that is second to none!

6. Professional certification. Certification is offered to disability professionals, support staff professionals and medical and psychological consultants. NADE is the certifying professional association and certification is offered only to NADE members. But you can show your pride after you receive your certification certificate, knowing that you have surpassed the minimum requirements.

7. NADE is a professional association known by the Congress, SSA and other government agencies for its expertise and credibility. NADE is consulted by the congressional committees and subcommittees that oversee the Social Security Administration. NADE’s advice and counsel was sought by the new President of the United States regarding our issues and concerns and his choice for a new SSA Commissioner. NADE played a prominent role in the confirmation hearings for the Inspector General of SSA and in pushing the Agency to address legal issues and concerns of our members. NADE has assisted Congress in writing legislation that impacts on the disability program and we are invited on a regular basis to present expert testimony at congressional hearings on issues affecting the Social Security disability program. 8. There are many intangible benefits for NADE members with, perhaps, the best of these being the new friends you will gain all across the country and even in your own agency. NADE membership offers opportunities to work together with people in your own agency and across the nation. It offers opportunities to greet and meet other people at our training conferences. These opportunities are a great way to meet make new friends. What price would you put on friendship? 9. Awards. NADE offers a variety of professional awards that recognizes the many outstanding achievements of its members. These awards are presented annually at regional and national conferences at prestigious awards ceremonies.

There is, of course, a great deal more to be gained from NADE membership. There are probably as many reasons to be a NADE member as there are members. Every member probably has their own reasons for joining and you probably have yours. Perhaps the most important reason for being a NADE member is that every new member increases the visibility and the effectiveness of NADE to advocate on your behalf. After all, we are just ordinary people doing extraordinary tasks and achieving extraordinary results!

You can be a part of these extraordinary events. Your membership in NADE is important. Your membership in NADE says a great deal about you as a person, about you as a professional, and about you as a colleague to your co-workers. SSA goal is “World Class Service.” What your membership in NADE says is that you agree with this noble goal, but that you would also like to remind SSA that “World Class Service” cannot be achieved without “World Class Pay” and without “World Class Respect.”

The best investment you can make as a disability professional or support professional is to invest in yourself. The best way you can achieve this is through membership in NADE. Join today!