Accessing Adult Services: What is the DSO?

Have you heard of the DSO? Maybe ODSP? Or was that RDSP? The world of developmental disability services for adults can be quite confusing. There are various acronyms and, for some reason, they all include the same letters. We're here to help you start decoding this alphabet soup and first up is the DSO!

"DSO" stands for "Developmental Services Ontario". They are the primary hub for government-funded services for adults with developmental disabilities. This means that instead of having to research, identify, and apply for government-funded supports separately, you have one central location. Applicants can apply to the DSO directly, confirm their eligibility, and complete various assessments to determine their suitability for a suite of government-funded supports.

If you are still confused, let's try imagining an amusement park! Think of the world of supports and services for adults with developmental disabilities as an amusement park with numerous rides, shows, and other attractions. Each attraction has a height limit for how tall you must be to ride. Instead of lining up for each ride to confirm you're tall enough to ride, you can go to the main ticket booth! At the ticket booth, they'll measure you once and give you a wristband that tells you which rides you are tall enough to ride. Afterwards, you can use that information to decide which attractions to line up for!

Think of the DSO as your ticket booth, your height requirements as your eligibility for services, and the wristband as your assessments! Rather than go through the application process every time, the DSO does it once and helps you understand what supports you may or may not qualify for.

The DSO assessments will only share your suitability for government-funded services. This means you will need to pursue any private services of interest to you independently. Private service providers typically have their own application, eligibility, and intake processes.

In our next post, we'll discuss how to apply for the DSO, when is the right time to start your application, and what types of supports your assessments may qualify you for! Stay tuned!