Duty to Accommodate Autism in Ontario
Direct answer
Ontario's Human Rights Code requires employers, education providers, and service providers to accommodate disability-related needs, including autism-related needs, to the point of undue hardship. The duty has both procedural and substantive components, so both the assessment process and the accommodation provided matter.
Key facts
- Legal limit
- Undue hardship
- Ontario Human Rights Commission duty-to-accommodate policy
- HRTO filing limit
- One year in the ordinary case
- Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario Applicant's Guide
The numbers behind this answer
Every answer on this site sits on the same verified counts. These are the current figures.
Ontario's figures, as of May 2026 (MCCSS FOI via OAC · May 2026).
Registered
91,974Children registered
Total registered in the Ontario Autism Program
Funded
20,711Have active funding
22.5% of registered children
Without active agreement
71,263Without an active funding agreement
An administrative status; it does not confirm current service delivery.
Show as table
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Children registered | 91,974 |
| Have active funding | 20,711 |
| Without an active funding agreement | 71,263 |
About This Article
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The legal standard
- The duty to accommodate reaches the point of undue hardship, which the Ontario Human Rights Commission describes as a very high test.
- The organization bears the burden of proving undue hardship with objective evidence. A bare statement that accommodation cost or risk is too high is not enough. The duty includes both a fair assessment process and appropriate substantive accommodation.
Accommodation in schools, workplaces, and services
- Accommodation is a shared responsibility. The person requesting accommodation should cooperate, make their needs known, and provide relevant information about restrictions or limitations.
- Education providers must accommodate students' disability-related needs to the point of undue hardship. An Individual Education Plan may record accommodations and modified expectations.
- Employers and service providers must also accommodate people with disabilities to the point of undue hardship.
Information, accessibility standards, and enforcement
- An employer generally is not entitled to a diagnosis or other confidential medical details that are unrelated to the accommodation request.
- The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act sets out a process for developing and enforcing accessibility standards in five areas of daily life. Its former 2025 accessibility target was not proof of full compliance and should not be presented as a blanket current deadline.
- An HRTO application ordinarily must be filed within one year of the discrimination. The Human Rights Legal Support Centre provides free legal help concerning discrimination under Ontario's Human Rights Code. For a complaint about a specific business's accessibility or services, Ontario directs the person to use the business's AODA feedback process.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, when the student has disability-related needs that affect access to education. The school must assess those needs and provide accommodation to the point of undue hardship. Both the assessment process and the accommodation provided matter.
An employer must assess the request and accommodate disability-related needs to the point of undue hardship. A bare statement that accommodation cost or risk is too high is not enough.
An HRTO application ordinarily must be filed within one year of the discrimination. The Human Rights Legal Support Centre provides free legal help concerning discrimination under Ontario's Human Rights Code.
Sources
Ontario Human Rights Commission
Policy on Ableism and Discrimination Based on Disability, section 8, duty to accommodate
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Ontario Human Rights Commission
Policy on Ableism and Discrimination Based on Disability, section 9, undue hardship
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Ontario Human Rights Commission
Policy on Accessible Education for Students with Disabilities
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Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario
Applicant's Guide, filing limit
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Human Rights Legal Support Centre
Free legal help concerning discrimination under Ontario's Human Rights Code
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Ontario Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility
About Ontario's accessibility laws and standards
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Next steps
Keep going with related guidance, tools, and evidence.
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