In 2021, confronted with the challenges the disability community was facing in the Canadian screen industry, Accessible Media Inc. (AMI) brought together creators, writers, directors, and performers for a series of roundtable discussions. Their goal was to identify the barriers preventing equal access and authentic representation in the industry, and propose solutions to increase accessibility.

It quickly became clear that no single policy or program could solve all the problems, so an idea started to take shape: what if there was an organization dedicated to breaking down those barriers and amplifying the voices of Canadians with disabilities in the screen industry?

Officially announced in April 2022, the Disability Screen Office was launched through a collaborative effort led by AMI with financial support from Telefilm Canada and the Canada Media Fund (CMF). The not-for-profit began its operations under the interim leadership of Andrew Morris and founding board members Yazmine Laroche, Sasha Boersma, Kenneth J. Fredeen, and Prasanna Ranganathan. It transitioned to a fully independent organization in September 2022 and, in June of 2023, Winnie Luk was appointed as DSO’s inaugural Executive Director.