If you qualify financially, the next step is to see whether or not you meet the definition of “a person with a disability” as defined in the Ontario Disability Support Program Act. 

This is called the Disability Determination Process.

How the Disability Determination Process is done

We will provide a Disability Determination Package that contains:

• a Health Status Report and Activities of Daily Living form
• a Consent to Release Medical Information form
• a Self-Report form, and
• instructions on how to complete the forms.

Some people do not have to complete these forms. For example, you will not have to complete these forms if you:

• receive disability benefits from the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) or the Quebec Pension Plan (QPP)
• are 65 or older but do not qualify Old Age Security (OAS)
• live in a certain type of institution, such as a mental health facility or a home for people with developmental disabilities.

If one of these applies to you, your local Ontario Disability Support Program office will tell you what information you need to provide.

How to fill out the forms

Health Status Report and Activities of Daily Living Index form

There are two parts to this form:

Part 1: Health Status Report

• must be completed by one of the following health professionals:
• medical doctor, such as your family doctor or a specialist (for example, a psychiatrist)
• psychologist or a psychological associate
• registered nurse in the extended class
• ophthalmologist or an optometrist.

 Part 2: Activities of Daily Living Index

• can be completed by the same person who filled out your Health Status Report

or

• by one of the following health professionals:
  • chiropractor
  • audiologist
  • occupational therapist
  • physiotherapist
  • registered nurse
  • social worker
  • speech language pathologist.

It is important that the health professional includes copies of medical and consultation reports with this form.

Consent to the Release of Medical Information

• must be completed by you or your trustee.

Self-Report Form

• can be completed by:
  • you
  • your trustee
  • a family member
  • an interpreter
  • a community agency representative, or
  • someone you trust.

The Self-Report Form is optional. You don’t have to complete this form, but it will give us a more complete picture of your situation.

Submitting your forms

Once all the forms in your Disability Determination Package are complete, you (or the health professional) have to return them to the Disability Adjudication Unit of the Ministry of Community and Social Services.

(You can use the envelope that is provided in the package. The envelope has the address on it, or you can use this addess:

Ontario Disability Support Program
Disability Adjudication Unit
Box B18
Toronto ON M7A 1R3
Fax:  416-326-3374)

The completed forms must be returned within 90 days from the date that you received the package.

If you can’t get all the information to us within the 90 days, you can call the Disability Adjudication Unit and ask for more time.

Toll Free:  1-888-256-6758
TTY:   1-866-780-6050

Finding out if you are eligible to receive Income Support

The Disability Adjudication Unit will look at all your information and decide whether or not you meet the definition of a person with a disability as defined by the Ontario Disability Support Program Act. They will send you a letter to tell you their decision.

If you meet the definition of a person with a disability:

• your local Ontario Disability Support Program office will contact you to make sure that your financial situation hasn’t changed, and
  
• if you still qualify financially, you will receive Income Support.

If the Disability Adjudication Unit thinks that your impairment may improve, you will also be given a date for a Medical Review.

If the Disability Adjudication Unit decides that you do not meet the definition of a person with a disability, you can ask to have the decision reviewed. This is called an Internal Review.

• Print this article
• Email this article