- Reporter
- Sneh Duggal
- Publisher
- The Trillium (Village Media)
- Published
- March 25, 2026
The Trillium is a Village Media outlet covering Queen's Park. Subscribe to The Trillium for full access.
Attribution: This page summarizes coverage originally published by The Trillium on March 25, 2026, by reporter Sneh Duggal. The Trillium is Ontario's Queen's Park press gallery publication. The full article is available to Trillium Insiders subscribers, read it on thetrillium.ca.
On the day the Government of Ontario tabled its 2026 budget, The Trillium's Sneh Duggal profiled Spencer Carroll and End The Wait Ontario. The article reports that Carroll launched the website to boost “accountability” and help families get faster access to therapy through the Ontario Autism Program (OAP).
The article describes Carroll's son, diagnosed with autism at 14 months and registered in the OAP shortly after. Now six, he is still waiting for core clinical services, the OAP stream that funds applied behaviour analysis (ABA), speech-language therapy, occupational therapy, and therapy equipment. The family has spent between $75,000 and $100,000 out of pocket on private services while waiting.
A couple of years went by, figured that things would pick up, we would get core clinical services, but it never came.
The Trillium notes that the OAP is housed within the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services rather than the health system, with core funding ranging from $6,600 to $65,000 depending on a child's age and level of need. The province's 2025 budget raised OAP funding to $779 million, and the article cites the Ontario Autism Coalition's response that the waitlist had not meaningfully shrunk despite the increase.
| Measure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Children in the OAP | 91,974 | FOI-verified, May 2026 |
| Unfunded for core services | 77.5% | MCCSS FOI via OAC · May 2026 |
| Reported wait time | 5+ years for families registered in August 2021 (community-reported, Ontario Autism Coalition, July 2026) | Ontario Autism Coalition, July 2026 (reported from community intake) |
| 2025-26 OAP budget | $779M | Ontario Budget 2025 |
The article traces the website's origin to Carroll's interview on autism and early intervention, featured on the World Health Organization's social media last fall. Soon after, he launched End The Wait Ontario, which brings together waitlist data, provider lists, and guides for families waiting for services or navigating the school system.
I'm a parent putting together the information best I can. It's not meant to be the be-all and end-all ... I'm just looking to fill a void where I thought one existed at this point.
The Trillium also summarizes the site's asks: wait times under six months, funding based on need without age caps, and monthly published intake and waitlist numbers by region. It notes that Carroll has filed an application to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario challenging the OAP waitlist as systemic disability discrimination under the Ontario Human Rights Code.
If the province is going to fix it, fund it fully. Don't throw it $100 million every year and say, ‘Okay, we've done our part.’ You're not meeting the medical needs of children full-stop.
Government Response (via The Trillium)
In response to questions about Carroll's website and his asks, the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services (MCCSS) pointed to this year's $779 million for the OAP, and told The Trillium that the number of children in core clinical services has tripled since 2022.
The ministry said all registered families have access to foundational family services, urgent response services, caregiver-mediated early years programs, and the entry-to-school program, and cited more than $635 million for children's special-needs programs and $90 million for the Healthy Babies Healthy Children program.
This page summarizes the article in End The Wait Ontario's own words, with brief quoted excerpts. Originally published in The Trillium, March 25, 2026, by Sneh Duggal. Read the full article on thetrillium.ca
In Our Own Words
The statements below are End The Wait Ontario's own advocacy. They are not quotes from The Trillium article.
I made a choice: I would never let another family lose those irreplaceable years to government bureaucracy.
We demand transparency and faster access to services that meet WHO early intervention standards. Families registered in 2021 are still waiting after five-plus years. Every month we wait, another cohort of children ages out. This isn't a policy debate. It's an emergency.
Also referenced: World Health Organization
Spencer Carroll's interview on autism diagnosis and early intervention was shared on the World Health Organization's official Instagram account (@who) on October 29, 2025. End The Wait Ontario is not affiliated with or endorsed by WHO.
Watch on WHO InstagramLegal Action
Carroll v. Ontario (HRTO File 2025-62264-I)
Spencer Carroll's application to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario challenges the OAP waitlist as systemic disability discrimination under the Ontario Human Rights Code.
HRTO Case Disclaimer
The legal claims in Carroll v. Ontario (HRTO 2025-62264-I) involve specific individual circumstances and are distinct from the general advocacy positions expressed on this website. This case alleges that wait times during documented critical developmental windows may constitute discrimination under Ontario's Human Rights Code.
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