February 6, 2019 – The Ontario government announced changes to the Ontario Autism Program. Lisa MacLeod, Minister of Children, Community and Social Services, said the changes are intended to increase diagnostic capacity, clear the wait list for autism services over the next 18 months and give parents of children with autism more choice and greater flexibility in obtaining services for their children. To read the Ministry’s announcement, click here. For more information, visit the Ministry’s website.
Autism Services at Kinark
In response to the government announced changes to the OAP, Kinark is developing a range of behavioural services and supports to meet the individualized needs of children and youth with autism to be available for purchase by families commencing in April, These will include assessment, individual and group based behavioural services for children with autism as well as as consultation and training for families and caregivers. Information about theses services will be available on our website: click here.
Please contact us if you would like to learn more: 1-800-283-3377 or email us at: autismservices@kinark.on.ca.
In the OAP, all children and youth diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) by a qualified professional are eligible to receive flexible and individualized services based on their personal needs, strengths and goals until the age of 18. The goal of the OAP is to provide families with services that are well coordinated, family-centred and responsive to the unique needs and potential of each individual child and/or youth.For more information about the Ontario Autism Program, click here.
How to Access The OAP
Kinark Child and Family Services serves as the single point of access (SPOA) to the Ontario Autism Program for children and youth, aged 0-18 years, living in York and Durham Regions, Simcoe County, and the four Counties of Haliburton, Kawartha Lakes, Peterborough and Northumberland.
Families looking for autism services and supports in these geographic areas should call the SPOA at 1-888-454-6275 to register in the Ontario OAP. All children and youth from 0-18 years of age with a confirmed diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are eligible for services in the OAP.
Requests for information and/or questions about the Ontario Autism Program in the Regions of York and Durham, Simcoe County, and the four Counties of Haliburton, Kawartha Lakes, Peterborough and Northumberland can be emailed to autism@kinark.on.ca.
If you live outside of the geographic areas mentioned above, please go to: SPOA website to find the Single Point of Access to the OAP in your area.
About The OAP
OAP services focus on increasing family capacity to maximize a child/youth’s functional skills within his/her own home and community. Once it is fully implemented, the OAP will offer a continuum of evidence-based behavioural interventions, family services and training for families, children and youth with ASD based on their individual needs and strengths across developmental stages from birth to 18 years of age.
In the OAP, services are family-centred and focused on the needs of the individual child or youth at any given time in their development up to the age of 18. Families will work in partnership with behavioural clinicians to establish service goals, acquire new skills, support skills development and care delivery, and help their children transition, as required, to new and different levels and forms of intervention over time as their child/youth’s unique needs and priorities change.
Children/youth will remain in the OAP until they turn 18 years of age unless their families choose to withdraw them from the program earlier.
For more information about the new Ontario Autism Program click here.
OAP Resources for Families and Providers
OAP Guidelines,
OAP Clinical Framework,
OAP Information Sheet,
Family Guide to OAP Clinical Teams,
Family Information on the ICR Process,
Family Request Form,
Independent Clinical Review Process Guidelines,
OAP Clinical Supervisor Attestation,
OAP Behaviour Plan Instructions,
OAP Behaviour Plan Budget PDF, and
Download: OAP Behaviour Plan Budget Excel Document.
Autism Special Interest Group (SIG) of the Association for Behavior Analysis International’s Parent Guidelines for identifying, selecting, and evaluating behavior analysts providing treatment for individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder: https://www.dropbox.com/s/eyq0lc4us2ox7dn/aSIG%20Parent%20Guidelines.pdf?dl=0
OAP Wait List
Before the introduction of the new Ontario Autism Program in June 2017, there were two separate wait lists for autism services. Only children deemed eligible for Intensive Behavioural Intervention (IBI) services were placed on the IBI wait list while all children with a diagnosis of ASD were eligible to join the wait list for Applied Behavioural Analysis (ABA) services.
Under the OAP, the two wait lists have been combined into one wait list for OAP services. Families who were on one or both wait lists as of June 26, 2017 were automatically added to the OAP wait list using the previously supplied date of referral. For families with two different referral dates – one for ABA and another for IBI – the earlier to the two dates has been used to enable entry to the OAP as soon as possible.
Kinark Child and Family Services now maintains the wait list for autism services offered under the OAP in the Regions of York and Durham, Simcoe County, and the four Counties of Haliburton, Kawartha Lakes, Peterborough and Northumberland. To be placed on the OAP waitlist for autism services offered in these geographic areas, families should contact the single point of access at 1-888-454-6275. A diagnosis of autism from a qualified professional is required to register for the OAP and to be placed on the OAP wait list for service. Once registration has occurred, families will be contacted and advised of next steps.
Independent Clinical Review (ICR)
The new Independent Clinical Review (ICR) process for the Ontario Autism Program (OAP) is now available.
The ICR offers families and their children the opportunity to have key components of their OAP Behaviour Plan reviewed by a team of independent Clinical Reviewers.
For more information on the ICR, please visit www.ontario.ca/autism or www.contactniagara.org.
iCRP Brochure English
iCRP Info English
Français
Le nouveau processus d’examen clinique indépendant (ECI) du Programme ontarien de services en matière d’autisme (POSA) est maintenanet disponible.
L’ECI offre aux families et à leurs enfants la possibilité de faire examiner led principaux éléments du plan comportemental du POSA par une équipe d’examinateurs cliniques indepéndants.
Pour plus de renseignements sur le ECI, veuillez consulter www.ontario.ca/autisme ou http://www.contactniagra.org/fr
iCRP Brochure Français
iCRP Info Français