Connect with the autism services and supports you need.

At AccessOAP, we are building a new way for families to connect with autism services and supports across Ontario. We are here to help families with children on the autism spectrum register for and navigate the Ontario Autism Program.

It is time to create an AccessOAP account today if:

You are registered with the OAP and you received a letter or email from the Government of Ontario to create your account with AccessOAP.

Set up your Account

To transfer your OAP record to AccessOAP, you are required to have documentation from the Government of Ontario if you are currently enrolled in the program. In December 2022, the Government of Ontario sent a letter or email to all OAP registrants, instructing them to create an account with AccessOAP and provide consent for the transfer of their OAP record.

If you didn’t receive your letter or email, please contact the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services’ Central Resource Team:

Email: oap@ontario.ca
Toll-free: 1-888-444-4530

More information is available here.

How the transition to AccessOAP works:

Families registered with the OAP are being asked to set up their AccessOAP accounts based on the order they initially registered with the program. As of December 2022, the Government of Ontario sent everyone registered in the Ontario Autism Program (OAP) a letter or email to create an account with AccessOAP.

If you are registered in the Ontario Autism Program, create an account with AccessOAP and give consent to transfer your OAP record to AccessOAP.

If you didn’t receive your letter or email, please contact the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services’ Central Resource Team:

Email: oap@ontario.ca
Toll-free: 1-888-444-4530

Once you set up an AccessOAP account, you will be able to interact with AccessOAP to learn about the services and supports available to you and your children.

Learn more about AccessOAP

All children and youth who currently have a behaviour plan and continue to meet the eligibility criteria for the Ontario Autism Program will transition to core clinical services in 2023, starting in April.

Your transition timing depends on the end date of your current behaviour plan:

  • Plans ending on or before March 31, 2023 – you can extend your plan for 6 months at its current level of intensity, or less where clinically appropriate. At the end of this 6-month extension, you will transition to core clinical services.

  • Plans ending on or after April 1, 2023 – you will not be able to further extend your plan. When your plan ends, you will transition to core clinical services.

For more information on the transition of children with behaviour plans into core clinical services visit the Ontario.ca or click here.

Working together

Once you create your account you can:

  • see the full list of programs and services available to you,
  • access your family OAP account information, and
  • get the support you need to make the right decisions for you and your family.

Need Help?

Contact AccessOAP at 1-833-425-2445
(Monday – Friday 8:30am-5pm Eastern Time).

Common Questions

Families have access to care coordinators who can help them navigate the system and support them in making informed decisions about what services are right for them.

More families will be able to access core clinical services, where care coordinators will guide families through a determination of needs process to identify their child’s support needs and funding.

A modern family portal will help families understand what services are available to them, keep track of spending, directly message care coordinators within AccessOAP, and manage their personalized accounts

As of December 2022, the Government of Ontario sent everyone registered in the OAP an email or letter to create an account with AccessOAP.

If you didn’t receive your letter or email, please contact the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services’ Central Resource Team:

Email: oap@ontario.ca Toll-free: 1-888-444-4530

Once you receive the email or letter from the ministry, please follow the steps outlined in the email or letter to set up an account with AccessOAP.

Follow the steps in your email or letter to create an account with AccessOAP and give consent to transfer your OAP record to AccessOAP.

You must complete the following steps to help make the transition as seamless as possible:

  • Create an account with AccessOAP
  • You will receive an invitation for core clinical services through your preferred channel of communication (mail, phone or via the AccessOAP family portal, which is the fastest).

You are then required to complete the following steps promptly:

  • Book a Welcome Call: You will receive instructions on how to book a welcome call in your invitation for core clinical services. You can do this online through the booking link provided in your invitation or by calling AccessOAP to book your appointment.
  • Participate in Welcome Call: Your family will meet with a care coordinator to discuss next steps. Care coordinators will support your family and help you understand your options.

  • Complete a Determination of Needs Interview: You will schedule and complete the determination of needs interview with a care coordinator. In the meeting, the care coordinator will guide your family through a series of questions to understand your child’s goals, strengths, and support needs across ten domains. In addition to the ten domains, care coordinators consider other factors, such as developmental stages, life stages, and co-existing health and environmental factors.
    This interview is separate from a clinical assessment, which is completed by a clinician as the first step of treatment planning for core clinical services. The information provided during the interview will inform the funding allocation your child receives for core clinical services.

  • Sign your Funding Agreement: Following the determination of needs interview, you will be provided with a summary notification that includes the amount of funding your child is eligible to receive for core clinical services for the year. Your family will then sign a funding agreement that outlines the terms and conditions associated with receiving the funds.
  • Ongoing Care Coordination Support: Your family can work with a care coordinator to understand the service options, within and outside of the OAP, that may be available in your community.

If you have questions about your behaviour plan, please contact your provider or clinical supervisor. If you need help creating your AccessOAP account, please contact us by email or phone:

You must have an account with AccessOAP to transition to core clinical services and to have access to other OAP services. If you do not create an account with AccessOAP, you will not receive an invitation for core clinical services and your behaviour plan will not be renewed on or after April 1, 2023.

The first step is to create an account with us. Once you have an account, you can contact a care coordinator by phone or through messaging to discuss your options and next steps. Or, you can proceed to register a child or youth online and access your family dashboard. Either way, once you set up your account, you can work with a care coordinator at any point you choose.

Your child is eligible to register for the OAP and receive government-funded services if they have received a written diagnosis of autism from a qualified professional, are under 18 years of age and live in Ontario.

To get services through AccessOAP we need three things: evidence that the person is under18 years old, evidence that they live in Ontario and a diagnosis of autism from one of the following: a licensed physician; a licensed nurse practitioner, a licensed psychologist or an Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnostic Hub. There are five Diagnostic Hubs in Ontario, you can find more information on them here.

Your child’s written diagnosis must include:

  • your child’s full name and date of birth
  • the date of your child’s assessment
  • a statement indicating that the child meets the diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum disorder
  • the qualified professional’s name and credentials

A diagnosis of autism for your child or youth can be obtained from qualified professionals who have undergone specific training. These include, but are not limited to:

  • doctors, such as family physicians, pediatricians, developmental pediatricians and psychiatrists
  • psychologists and psychological associates
  • nurse practitioners

You can also receive a diagnosis of autism from one of the five diagnostic hubs funded by the ministry.

Accerta Services Inc. operates AccessOAP. Together with Autism Ontario, Serefin and McMaster University (Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analysis (CHEPA) and the Offord Centre for Child Studies), we will deliver services as the independent intake organization funded by the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services to help families access autism services across the province. Learn more about AccessOAP.

AccessOAP is an independent intake organization funded by the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services to help families access autism services across the province.

The Ontario Autism Program (OAP) is a provincially-funded government needs-based program that offers a range of services and supports to families of children and youth on the autism spectrum.

If you choose to create your AccessOAP account online or by phone and have all the information you need, it should not take more than a few minutes. If you choose to create your AccessOAP account by mail, it will take up to 5 days from the date we receive your complete information package through the mail.

 

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