Public / OHIP-Covered Assessment
Private Psychological Assessment
Private assessment costs $2,500-$5,000 but provides diagnosis 1-2 years sooner, enabling earlier OAP registration and interim funding access. For a child under 3, the earlier OAP registration alone can recover the assessment cost through interim funding. Families who can afford it should consider private assessment while keeping the public referral active.
Written by Spencer Carroll
Founder & Autism Advocate
Evidence on this page
Key claims are paired with their source, evidence tier, and verification date so readers can inspect the public record directly.
$965M
Ontario allocated to the Ontario Autism Program in 2026-27
According to the FAO (2020 report), OAP funding covers less than one-third of estimated need at 2018-19 service levels
89,799
children are registered in the Ontario Autism Program
Evidence supports autism screening and intervention commencing in the first 2 years of life — earlier identification directly enables earlier intervention during the highest neural plasticity window
1 in 50
According to the 2019 Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth, about children and youth aged 1 to 17 in Canada had an autism diagnosis
WHO recommends accessible, community-based early interventions for children with autism — timely evidence-based psychosocial interventions improve communication and social engagement