The crisis in the news
Media coverage reflects a provincial pattern, not individual incidents.
Registered
89,799Children registered
Total in the Ontario Autism Program queue
MCCSS FOI · Mar 2026
Funded
20,633Have active funding
Only 23% of registered children
MCCSS FOI · Mar 2026
Waiting
69,166Still waiting
Registered. Diagnosed. Un-funded.
MCCSS FOI · Mar 2026
Verified , MCCSS FOI · Mar 2026
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Children registered | 89,799 |
| Have active funding | 20,633 |
| Still waiting | 69,166 |
End The Wait Ontario was founded by Spencer Carroll, an Ottawa parent of a child on the Ontario Autism Program waitlist. The site tracks OAP data through Freedom of Information analysis, Ontario Budget review, Financial Accountability Office reports, and collaboration with the Ontario Autism Coalition. Our data has been cited by CBC News, The Trillium, and other outlets covering the Ontario autism crisis.
We have been featured in CBC News Toronto, CBC Ottawa Morning Radio, and The Trillium (Queen's Park Press Gallery). Our waitlist data was corroborated by the CBC News Toronto Enterprise Unit's independent FOI investigation published March 30, 2026.
OAP registration data interpretation, FOI analysis, and bi-weekly progress report methodology. We track the full data chain from raw FOI documents to published statistics, including how the government counts "registered" vs. "funded" children.
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Ontario Budget tracking, FAO Spending Plan Review analysis, and provincial policy comparison. We maintain detailed year-over-year OAP spending data and track commitments against FAO benchmarks.
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Lived experience context, caregiver burden documentation, and service gap impact. We track how OAP waitlist delays affect families during the critical early intervention window identified by WHO guidance.
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All media inquiries are handled through our contact form to ensure timely response and accurate information. We aim to respond to journalists within 24 hours. For urgent deadline requests, please indicate your deadline in the message.
We are available for interviews, fact-checking, data clarification, background briefings, and spokesperson availability. We do not charge for media assistance and do not accept payment for coverage.
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.
89,799
children are registered in the Ontario Autism Program
23%
Only 20,633 children have active funding agreements — less than one in four
According to the FAO (2020 report), OAP funding covers less than one-third of estimated need at 2018-19 service levels
$965M
Ontario allocated to the Ontario Autism Program in 2026-27
WHO recommends accessible, community-based early interventions for children with autism — timely evidence-based psychosocial interventions improve communication and social engagement