Providing Documentation of the Need for a Service Animal Relating to a Person ’ s Disability
Service animals assist people with disabilities in a wide variety of ways including but not limited to :
• assisting a person with visual impairment to navigate ;
• alerting people to sounds and alarms ;
• providing physical support for mobility ;
• predicting and alerting a person to the onset of seizure ;
• offering emotional support for mental health conditions ; and ,
• providing medication reminders and retrieving medication .
Occupational therapists are now one of nine regulated health professions that can provide documentation to confirm that a person requires a service animal for reasons relating to that person ’ s disability . On July 1 , 2016 , legislative changes came into effect that granted this authority . See section 80.45 of Ontario Regulation 191 / 11 : Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act , 2005 ( AODA ).
Under the legislation , an animal is defined as a service animal for a person with a disability if ,
a : the animal can be readily identified as one that is being used by the person for reasons relating to the person ’ s disability , as a result of visual indicators such as the vest or harness worn by the animal ; or
b : the person provides documentation from an authorized regulated health professional confirming that the person requires the animal for reasons relating to the disability .
Although dogs are one of the more common types of service animals , many different species of animals can provide assistance to people with disabilities . In some cases , service animals may be easily identifiable while in others it may not be obvious that the animal is assisting a person with a visible or non-visible disability . If it is not immediately apparent that an animal is assisting a person with a disability , the legislation permits a service provider to request written documentation to confirm the person requires the animal for the purpose of their disability . The requester is not entitled to any specific information about the nature of the disability .
11 College of Occupational Therapists of Ontario ON THE RECORD 2016