This page is formatted for rapid citation by journalists, researchers, policymakers, and families. All numbers below — covering ABA therapy access, developmental services funding, and waitlist counts — are based on FOI data and linked sources.
Waitlist size
How many children are on the Ontario autism waitlist?
As of May 13, 2026, 91,974 children are registered with Ontario's autism program (OAP). Of those, 71,263 (77.5%) hold no active core funding agreement. That administrative status does not describe attendance, clinical outcomes, or every service a family may access through another pathway. Only 20,711 children (22.5%) have an active funding agreement.
The program has grown significantly since 2019, when approximately 23,000 children were registered. Compared to the most recent FAO baseline of 70,176 (2023–24 FAO report), registrations have grown by 31% while funded agreements and broader enrolled counts are different measures; the broader enrolled population changed by 4,451.
Wait time
How long is the wait for Ontario autism services?
The public source chain does not publish an official province-wide average wait. The Ontario Autism Coalition's July 2026 update describes a community-reported invitation cohort reaching August 2021 as 5+ years (Ontario Autism Coalition, July 2026); this is not an individual prediction.
The backlog is structurally growing. Approximately 918 new registrations per month in the Jan 7–May 13, 2026 comparison window , while only about 11 additional active funding agreements per month. That adds roughly 907 children to the unfunded queue every month. At current rates (straight-line projection, not a measured count), the projected unfunded count by December 2026 is ~77,612.
Citation
Cite Our Data
Use this citation format when referencing these statistics:
End The Wait Ontario. (2026). Ontario Autism Waitlist Facts (MCCSS FOI via OAC · May 2026). https://www.endthewaitontario.com/facts
About these numbers
These figures supersede earlier FOI snapshots: the Ontario Autism Coalition's December 10, 2025 FOI release (87,692 registered / 20,293 funded) and prior “~61,000 waiting” community estimates. The current canonical values (91,974 registered / 20,711 funded / 71,263 waiting) come from the Ontario Autism Coalition's FOI release of the Ontario Autism Program's May 13, 2026 bi-weekly progress report. Both sources are FOI-derived; we publish the most recent independently-verified primary source.