Filing an application for a handicapped child

To be entitled to the Supplement for Handicapped Children, your child must be under age 18 and you must receive Family Allowance for that child.

If you do not receive Family Allowance, you can send your Application for Family Allowance Payments and your Application for the Supplement for Handicapped Children at the same time.

To be entitled to the Supplement for Handicapped Children Requiring Exceptional Care, your child must be under age 18 and you must receive Family Allowance and the Supplement for Handicapped Children for that child.

If you receive Family Allowance but you do not receive the Supplement for Handicapped Children, you can send us your application for the Supplement for Handicapped Children and your application for the Supplement for Handicapped Children Requiring Exceptional Care at the same time. Your application for Family Allowance Payments will be studied first. If your child is deemed to be eligible for the Supplement for Handicapped Children, your application for the Supplement for Handicapped Children Requiring Exceptional Care will be studied after.

If you do not receive Family Allowance or the Supplement for Handicapped Children, you can send your Application for Family Allowance Payments, your application for the Supplement for Handicapped Children and your application for the Supplement for Handicapped Children Requiring Exceptional Care at the same time. Your application for Family Allowance Payments will be studied first. If you are eligible for Family Allowance for your child, your application for the Supplement for Handicapped Children will then be studied. If your child is deemed to be eligible for the Supplement for Handicapped Children, your application for the Supplement for Handicapped Children Requiring Exceptional Care will be studied last.

The eligibility requirements for the Supplement for Handicapped Children Requiring Exceptional Care are very different from those for the Supplement for Handicapped Children. We suggest that you consult the A Handicapped Child section on our website before filing an application for the Supplement for Handicapped Children Requiring Exceptional Care to determine why you are requesting the Supplement:

  • I believe my child over the age of two is eligible for the Supplement for Handicapped Children Requiring Exceptional Care due to severe and multiple disabilities that prevent him or her from carrying out his or her life habits (situation A of the eligibility requirements).
  • I believe that my child is eligible for the Supplement for Handicapped Children Requiring Exceptional Care because he or she receives one of the types of complex medical care at home that is named in the Taxation Act (situation B of the eligibility requirements).
  • I believe that my child under the age of two is eligible for the Supplement for Handicapped Children Requiring Exceptional Care due to a severe chronic illness that is associated with:
    • either the need for complex medical care and very severe and persistent motor disabilities; or
    • an unfavourable prognosis and the presence of very significant symptoms as from the first months of his or her life (situation C of the eligibility requirements).

Documents to enclose with your application

For any application for the Supplement for Handicapped Children or the Supplement for Handicapped Children Requiring Exceptional Care, including applications for a reassessment or applications for review, we suggest that you enclose a copy of any medical, professional or school document that provides information on the current condition of your child, in order to ensure your application is processed faster.

Retraite Québec can, with your signed consent, obtain the information needed to study your application directly from health and education institutions. Only the documents deemed necessary to assess your child's eligibility will be requested. Please note that Retraite Québec's professionals are not legally entitled to consult the Québec Health Record (QHR).

Generally, the different types of documents that can be useful, based on the child's condition, include:

  • the medical consultation reports and assessment reports from health professionals;
  • the progress or follow-up notes (last 12 months);
  • test or assessment results;
  • the summaries of hospitalizations and the documents related to emergency room visits;
  • etc.

More specifically, you will find below examples of the documents to provide, if you have them on hand, which are relevant to the study of applications for the Supplement for Handicapped Children according to the type of disability.

Relevant document according to the type of disability

Type of disabilityDocuments that can be provided to ensure your application is processed faster
Nutrition and digestion
  • Copy of the medical progress notes of the last 12 months in gastroenterology (or in pediatrics if there is no follow-up in gastroenterology)
  • Most recent assessment and follow-up of the last 12 months in nutrition
  • If there is a inflammatory bowel disease: copy of the operative procedure (if applicable) and hospitalization summary sheets of the last 12 months, as well as the individual education plan and report cards
  • For children with an anorectal malformation: the initial operative procedure related to the diagnosis of imperforate anus
  • For children with dysphagia: copy of the follow-up notes of the last 12 months at a dysphagia clinic or follow-up notes from professionals who follow the child for his or her dysphagia, as well as the last two dynamic swallowing study or videofluoroscopy reports
Food allergies
  • Most recent food allergy tests and their interpretation
  • Medical follow-up notes of the last 12 months for the allergies
  • Most recent assessment and follow-up of the last 12 months in nutrition
Metabolic, hematological or hereditary abnormalities
  • Follow-up of the last year in nutrition (if applicable)
  • Copy of the medical progress notes of the last 12 months, according to the professionals involved in the file (pediatrics, hematology, pneumology, genetics, etc.), including emergency room visits and hospitalization summary sheets
  • A list showing the medication purchased in the last year
Immune system abnormalities and neoplasia
  • Copy of the medical progress notes of the last 12 months, according to the professionals involved in the file (immunology, oncology, pediatrics, etc.), including emergency room visits and hospitalization summary sheets
Nervous system abnormalities
  • Individual education plan and report cards
  • Most recent assessment and follow-up of the last 12 months in occupational therapy and physiotherapy
  • Copy of the medical progress notes of the last 12 months for the condition affecting the nervous system
  • If there is a craniocerebral trauma: most recent assessment and follow-up of the last 12 months in neuropsychology
Musculoskeletal system
  • Most recent assessment and follow-up of the last 12 months in occupational therapy and physiotherapy
  • Copy of the medical progress notes of the last 12 months in physiatry, neurology, rheumatology or orthopedics (according to the diagnosis and the professionals involved in the file)
  • Individual education plan
Hearing
  • Recent audiogram, including the anamnesis and the audiology report
  • Report on the most recent speech-language assessment
Other impairments or multiple impairments
  • Copy of the medical progress notes of the last 12 months according to the professionals involved in the file, as well as emergency room visits and hospitalization summary sheets
  • Most recent assessments and follow-up of the last 12 months according to the paramedical professionals (physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, etc.) involved in the file
  • Individual education plan and report cards
Cardiovascular function
  • Copy of the progress notes of the last 12 months in cardiology
  • Copy of the progress notes of the last 12 months in pediatrics
  • Individual education plan and report cards
Renal and urinary functions
  • Copy of medical progress notes of the last 12 months in nephrology, urology and/or pediatrics
  • Individual education plan
Respiratory function
  • Copy of the medical progress notes of the last 12 months for the respiratory condition, including the emergency room visits and hospitalization summary sheets (if there are several visits and hospitalizations)
  • a list showing the medication purchased in the last year
Congenital malformations and chromosomal and genetic abnormalities
  • Results of the karyotype examination (if applicable)
  • Most recent assessment and copy of the medical follow-up notes of the last 12 months according to the professionals involved in the file (genetics, pediatrics, etc.)
  • Individual education plan and report cards
Eyesight
  • Follow-up of the last 12 months with an optometrist or ophtalmologist
  • Most recent assessment with an occupational therapist (low vision)
  • Most recent assessment with a physiotherapist (for mobility aids)
  • Individual education plan

Type of disabilityDocuments that can be provided to ensure your application is processed faster
Intellectual impairment
  • The last intellectual evaluation, including the intelligence quotient test results and their interpretation
  • Adaptive behaviour assessment (Vineland or ABAS)
  • Individual education plan and report cards
Global development delay
  • Most recent assessment and follow-up of the last 12 months in occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech therapy and psychology or neuropsychology
  • Individual education plan and report cards
Serious behavioural disorders
  • Most recent assessment with a psychologist or neuropsychologist
  • Most recent assessment and copy of the medical progress notes of the last 12 months in child psychiatry
  • Individual education plan and report cards
  • Copy of the medical progress notes of the last 12 months in pediatrics and/or family medicine
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
  • The complete assessment report that led to the diagnosis of ASD
  • Most recent speech-therapy assessment and speech-therapy sessions report
  • Individual education plan and report cards
  • Depending on the specialists met, the most recent assessment reports in occupational therapy, physiotherapy, etc.
Language disorders
  • Most recent speech-language assessment report
  • Speech-therapy sessions report of the last year
  • Assessment report in psychology and/or neuropsychology if there is no recent speech-language assessment
  • Individual education plan and report cards
Psychopathological disorders
  • Most recent assessment with a psychologist or neuropsychologist
  • Most recent assessment and copy of the medical progress notes of the last 12 months in child psychiatry
  • Individual education plan and report cards
  • Copy of the medical progress notes of the last 12 months in pediatrics and/or family medicine

Sending an application

You can send your application online and avoid postal delays.

If you are unable to use the Sending a document online service, please mail your form and the additional documents to the following address:

Retraite Québec
Case postale 7777
Québec (Québec)  G1K 7T4

  • If you receive new information on your child's condition during the processing of your application, please send it to us online or by mail as soon as possible so that we can take it into account.
  • If you would like to provide new information to contest a decision, consult the Contesting a decision section.

Follow-up on the processing of your application

The decision regarding your application for the Supplement for Handicapped Children and/or the Supplement for Handicapped Children Requiring Exceptional Care will be available in My Account. You will also receive it by mail, unless you chose the 100% digital option.

To choose your communication preferences, access the Profile section of My Account. We suggest that you enable notifications if you choose to receive our communications digitally. That way, you will receive a notification by email and/or by text message if a change has been made to your file or a document related to an application for the Supplement for Handicapped Children or the Supplement for Handicapped Children Requiring Exceptional Care has been uploaded to My Account.