Preparing for adulthood - at age 16

WHAT: Contact Developmental Services Ontario and begin the multi-step process necessary for your child to ever receive funding or access to funded services. I’ll have lots more to say about the DSO process in other posts.

WHY: It won’t be fast, and it won’t be easy, but it’s necessary.

WHAT: Begin serious thoughts about life beyond high school. If your child is in a regular academic program and may be pursuing post-secondary options, explore those options: your school’s guidance staff should be able to help. If your child is not a candidate for post-secondary schooling, see the post on practical transition planning for people who need ongoing supports.

WHY:  This is a long and emotional process for everyone. Of course you should start it before age 16, but better late than never.

WHAT: Talk to your kids’ healthcare providers (doctor, dentist, eye doctor, etc.) to make sure they’ll continue care into adulthood or will refer you to someone else who will. If you will need to change providers (for example, your kid is seen by a pediatrician), plan for this transition by visiting the new healthcare provider, possibly without your kid along, to assess how suitable they will be to caring for your kid. If your own doctor is not accepting new patients, see if they have a policy (as my doctor has) of making an exception for family members of current patients.

WHY: This is an important part of transition planning, and you need to build in time for your kid to meet the new provider and get comfortable with them.

WHAT:  Start submitting income tax for them (even if they don’t have any income).

WHY:  A history of their income is useful when establishing an RDSP, and the RDSP government contributions for an adult are based on their income, not your family income; once they turn 18 they will begin receiving quarterly HST rebates, a small but welcome amount of money.

WHAT:  If you haven't already done so, get your kid a debit card and teach them how to use it. (To be safe, you might want to tie the debit card to an account where funds are limited. In our case, ODSP funds go directly into the chequing portion of our son's bank account, and I transfer funds as necessary into the savings portion for access through the debit card.) And of course check with your bank to be sure you understand any transaction fees for debit.

WHY:  Although understanding money is a vitally important skill, most young people use debit cards for routine purchases, and it's very useful to know how to use one. (In our case, we still require our son to use his saved-up cash for optional purchases like DVDs, and have him use the debit card for groceries and other required purchases.)

WHAT:  Begin to understand Ontario's rules for capacity and decision-making.

WHY:  You need to get used to the idea that in two years when your kid turns 18, they will be considered an adult. Period. I hope to write a post in the future about this issue, from a parental (not legal) perspective.



Also see the pre-age 16 post.