Intensive autism therapy in Ontario costs $60,000-$180,000 annually. OAP funding covers only 10-15% of actual costs after 2-5 years of waiting. Use this calculator to see your estimated expenses and the funding gap your family faces. The numbers explain why parents are remortgaging homes and draining retirement savings.
Average annual therapy cost
Covered by OAP funding
Out-of-pocket per year
In critical early intervention window
Research recommends 25-40 hours for children under 6
BCBAs require master's degrees and 2,000+ supervised hours
1:1 therapy means dedicated attention
25-40 hours/week recommended for young children
High demand, limited supply drives prices up
Budgets set by fiscal policy, not clinical need
Funding levels don't match actual service costs
1 in 50 children diagnosed, overwhelming system
Autism families are a small voting bloc
Intensive ABA therapy (25-40 hours/week) costs $60,000-$180,000 annually in Ontario. This includes direct therapy ($60-120/hour), BCBA supervision ($150-200/hour), and additional services like speech therapy. The OAP provides only $5,000-$55,000, covering 10-40% of actual costs.
On average, OAP Childhood Budgets cover only 10-15% of actual therapy costs. The average budget of $8,000-$12,000 covers roughly 80-120 hours of therapy - far below the 1,300+ hours recommended annually for intensive intervention.
Families use multiple strategies: remortgaging homes, draining retirement savings, crowdfunding, taking on debt, one parent leaving work to provide therapy, using RDSPs, tax credits (DTC), and sometimes going without necessary therapy entirely.
No family should have to choose between their child's therapy and their financial future. Demand that Ontario fully fund evidence-based autism therapy.
Share this calculator:
endthewaitontario.com/autism-cost-calculator