For Families New to the OAP

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.

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.