u/pastafusilli

My first payment seems to be held up. AISH says they've tried to send it to my bank account a couple times and says my bank keeps refusing, while my bank says there is no direct deposit history. Been two weeks.

I'm lucky that this is just annoying but made me curious what's your horror story? How did it get resolved?

Silver lining: I get to test out my new phone batteries and see which lasts longer the battery or being on hold. :)

Update: New battery WON!

TD employee: If you are waiting on a direct deposit, I apologize for the inconvenience. There is a know issue with the direct deposits. It is being worked on. It started today.

I'm a frustrated member of this sub-reddit.

Yes, the government's handling of ADAP and AISH is fucking terrible. Yes, it seems like an off-ramp designed to grind people down and discourage them from applying or re-applying.

But there's a bunch of people sitting around telling each other it's completely pointless to fight back. This accomplishes what many of us think the government is aiming to do.

If you have the medical backing, use the actual rules. Don't surrender your rights before you even try.

Don't be ruled by fear. Don't be in a rush. Get it done right.

Is there anything you'd want to share? What else could happen here that would be beneficial?

https://open.alberta.ca/publications/adjudication-guide

It's definitely worth a read. I posted a link several days ago and it wasn't talked about but it's really important for those of you who want to be on AISH to give it a read.

Here's a really important portion from "Part 2 – Impact of impairment on ability to work (page 8)":

>Applicants will be placed on ADAP if any of the following situations are true:

> - The applicant is currently working above the nominal threshold of employment allowed in AISH.

• The applicant has a condition that does not meet AISH criteria (e.g., non-permanent medical condition).
• The applicant has expressed willingness to work.
• The applicant does not have proof of prior participation in employment services (public or private).

>!It's a trick question.!<

>!If you're answering from an AISH perspective, "episodic" and "continuous" are the wrong frame. Those terms describe whether employment is impeded episodically or continuously, whereas the AISH question is whether the severe disability permanently prevents employment.!<

>!The answer isn't "episodic" or "continuous." The relevant word is "permanently."!<

>!In plain English, "continuous" feels like the obvious answer, but it does not match the statutory wording.!<

>!TL;DR: Don’t just document that your disability affects you every day. Document how and why it medically and functionally permanently prevents employment under the AISH test.!<

>!Credit to caseofthepunks for helping highlight that this distinction needs to be clearly reflected in the reassessment documentation.!<

Just wanted to share a heads-up with the community. While commencement meetings used to take place within days or a couple of weeks of receiving the commencement letter, timelines appear to be stretching out significantly to several weeks, and potentially months.

This bottleneck might be impacting other administrative tasks across the board. If you're waiting on action or require an immediate answer, don't sleep on your file, stay proactive and follow up early.

Also, it's not clear what's causing these long delays or how long they are expected to persist. It hopefully is either short-lived, or just an error that will be corrected. In the event either of those are true this message will be edited accordingly.

Welcome to our community space for sharing what keeps us going!

Whether you make music, paint, garden, game, or write, use this thread to connect with fellow Albertans, share your creative outlets, or talk about how hobbies help you cope day-to-day.

Keep it respectful, supportive, and on-topic for peer connection.

Doesn't have to be dramatic. Sometimes it's just someone who returned a call when they didn't have to, or explained a form in plain English instead of government-speak.

I'll go first: this community, and a few people in this community seem really genuinely helpful and wanting the most for AISH recipients and the other people who participate in this community.

Would love to hear who your people are. And if it happens to double as a "here's a good resource/program that person connected me to," even better! But mostly just want to hear the stories.

Hey everyone,

Navigating life on AISH can be a grind, but I’ve found a few "hidden" tricks that have the potential to save money and headaches. I wanted to start a thread to crowd-source the best tips for the community.

Here are a few to get the conversation started:

• Banking: If you are an RDSP beneficiary you can get the free chequing account at most of the big banks with no minimum balance.
• CIBC might be a little better, they don't require you to be an RDSP beneficiary but only a recipient of the Disability Tax Credit and their accounts are their full-service account (Smart Account) with unlimited transactions and e-transfers are free rather than the normal minimum accounts many of the others offer.

• Internet/Mobile: TELUS has an Internet for Good program that offers discounted rates for AISH recipients. Rogers also runs Connected for Success which provides lower-cost internet and mobile bundles. It’s worth checking both to see which works better for your specific area.
• Access2 Card: If you need a support person to join you at events or venues, the Access2 Card allows your support person free or discounted admission at many places across Canada. It’s a one-time fee. More info here.
• General Info: If you're ever looking for official support or help navigating benefits like AADL or housing, the Alberta Disability Supports page is the best place to start.
• Maximize the AISH and ADAP Financial Benefits https://manuals.alberta.ca/media/izhfb202/2026-07-02-aish-and-adap-financial-benefits-summary.pdf

What about you? Does anyone have other tips for saving money, local programs, or hacks for dealing with the bureaucracy or just making life easier?