Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) — Toronto
Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) — Ottawa
Both SickKids and CHEO are excellent assessment centres. Geographic proximity should be the primary factor for most families — if you are in Toronto or the GTA, pursue SickKids; if you are in Ottawa or Eastern Ontario, pursue CHEO. Both have similar wait times and accept OHIP-covered referrals from paediatricians. If wait times are unacceptable, pursue a private assessment from a registered psychologist in parallel — both OAP and school boards accept private diagnoses.
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.
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
89,799
children are registered in the Ontario Autism Program
According to the FAO (2020 report), OAP funding covers less than one-third of estimated need at 2018-19 service levels
23%
Only 20,633 children have active funding agreements — less than one in four