About OAP Funding
The Ontario Autism Program (OAP) is a provincially funded program that supports autistic children and youth under the age of 18, along with their caregivers. Its purpose is to help families access services that support learning, development, and overall well-being.
The Ontario Autism Program is designed to:
- Understand a child or youth’s strengths and support needs to determine the level of funding their family can access
- Help families learn about autism services available across Ontario
- Provide free services that families can access right away
How to access the Ontario Autism Program:
Families connect with the OAP through AccessOAP, the province’s centralized intake and registration system. AccessOAP is the main point of contact for registration, eligibility, updates on your child’s OAP status, and questions about certain services.
The OAP Funding Process:
- Register: Start by creating an account on AccessOAP’s website
- Invitation to Core Clinical Services: When it’s your family’s turn to receive Core Clinical funding, you’ll receive an email notification
- Welcome Call: A coordinator will contact you to welcome you and scheduled a Determination of Needs assessment
- Determination of Needs Assessment: This 3–4 hour assessment looks at your child's strengths, needs, and goals
- Funding Outcome: Once the DON is complete, the Care Coordinator shares the funding outcome with the family Funding. amounts are based on the child’s age and assessed needs.
- Funding Agreement: Families then sign a funding agreement outlining eligible services, how funds can be used, and how invoices must be submitted and reconciled.
- Funding Deposits: Your funding deposits will be coordinated based on the amounts that have been determined for you
OAP funding can be used for eligible autism services, including:
- Applied behaviour analysis (ABA) to build communication, social, and emotional regulation skills
- Speech language pathology to support communication needs
- Occupational therapy to support sensory processing, motor skills, and daily living skills
- Mental health services for children and families needing emotional or behavioural support
- Travel expenses (when eligible)
- Therapy equipment, such as noise-cancelling headphones or lap pads, to support regulation
- Assistive technology, like tablets, for communication purposes
Please consult the individual services you’re interested in to confirm if OAP can be used.
To be eligible for OAP funding, children must:
- Be under the age of 18
- Have an official autism diagnosis
- Live in Ontario
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