Part of why OADSP exists is to legitimize direct support as a professional career track, and, consequently, improve compensation, industry image, and public awareness of the role.

The I/DD field is, unfortunately, largely hidden: in western culture, it’s a tragic fact that the lives of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities are generally undervalued, to say the least. It follows, then, that the people taking care of those individuals – helping them to realize their potential, lead self-directed lives, and fulfill goals and dreams – are also underestimated.

OADSP, along with its collaborators and other industry stakeholders, aims to equalize the perceived value of all these people with society’s standard for everyone else, and to highlight the essential nature of DSPs’ work. We do this through our professional development programs, and also through legislative work, focused enrichment events, and annual happenings.