What's Happening and What to Watch For:

This transition is already underway as of 2026. Ministry staff are reaching out to At Home Program families directly, you do not need to initiate contact right now.

What is staying the same:

Your child's access to medical equipment and supplies through the At Home Program is not changing. You will not need a new medical assessment if you already have documentation in place.

What is transitioning — and what's genuinely uncertain:

The School-Aged Extended Therapies (SAET) portion of the At Home Program is moving into the new Disability Benefit, which runs to age 19. The Supplement, which is separate, runs to age 18. Ministry staff are intended to walk families through this step by step, and your current services are meant to remain in place until your individual transition is complete. However, families should understand that being eligible for the new Benefit is not the same as receiving equivalent support. All current At Home Program children are confirmed eligible — but what the new Benefit will provide in place of SAET has not been publicly confirmed at a specific dollar amount. To estimate your child's Supplement, use the Ministry's Disability Supplement calculator replicated on our site, but Benefit amounts for individual children have not yet been confirmed separately. If SAET-funded therapies are a significant part of your child's plan, ask Ministry staff directly what the Benefit amount will be before your transition is finalized. Families of youth approaching age 18 or 19 should also ask specifically how the age cutoffs interact with their transition timeline.

What you can do now:

When Ministry staff contact you, ask specific questions about therapy hours, funding amounts, timelines, and age cutoffs. You have the right to that information before agreeing to a transition plan.

What the New Model Means for You:

The shift to a needs-based model may open access that wasn't previously available. Because eligibility can now be based on functional need rather than diagnosis alone, some families who did not qualify under the current system may qualify now. This is a genuine change worth knowing about.

What may be available to your family:

Community-based services are available to children and youth with no diagnosis required. For the new Disability Benefit, which runs to age 19, a formal diagnosis is not mandatory — a health care provider can attest to your child's functional needs instead, through the needs-based review. The Supplement runs to age 18. If your child has been struggling to access support because of diagnostic barriers, that pathway is now different. (See how the needs-based review works.)

What is genuinely uncertain:

Broader eligibility is meaningful, but eligibility is not the same as a confirmed funding amount. To estimate your child's Supplement, use the Ministry's Disability Supplement calculator replicated on our site. Benefit amounts for individual children have not yet been confirmed separately, and what a child receives through the Benefit will depend on their assessed needs.

Knowing your child may qualify is an important first step, but it is worth asking what that qualification will look like in practice before making plans around it. If your child does not yet have an Autism diagnosis but you want to preserve options in the meantime, you can still apply for Autism Funding up to March 1, 2027.

What you can do now:

Talk to your child's health care provider about documenting functional needs, this is what will matter most for Benefit eligibility, regardless of where you are in a diagnostic process. If your youth is approaching age 18 or 19, ask Ministry staff specifically how the age cutoffs interact with eligibility and what transition planning looks like.

What the New Model Means for You: The shift to a needs-based model may open access that wasn't previously available. Because eligibility can now be based on functional need rather than diagnosis alone, some families who did not qualify under the current system may qualify now. This is a genuine change worth knowing about.

What may be available to your family: Community-based services are available to all children ages 0 to 19 with no diagnosis required. For the new Disability Benefit, which runs to age 19, a formal diagnosis is not mandatory — a health care provider can attest to your child's functional needs instead, through the needs-based review. The Supplement runs to age 18. If your child has been struggling to access support because of diagnostic barriers, that pathway is now different. (See how the needs-based review works.)

What is genuinely uncertain: Broader eligibility is meaningful — but eligibility is not the same as a confirmed funding amount. To estimate your child's Supplement, use the Ministry's Disability Supplement calculator embedded on this site. Benefit amounts for individual children have not yet been confirmed separately, and what a child receives through the Benefit will depend on their assessed needs. Knowing your child may qualify is an important first step, but it is worth asking what that qualification will look like in practice before making plans around it. If your child does not yet have an Autism diagnosis but you want to preserve options in the meantime, you can still apply for Autism Funding up to March 1, 2027.

What you can do now: Talk to your child's health care provider about documenting functional needs — this is what will matter most for Benefit eligibility, regardless of where you are in a diagnostic process. If your youth is approaching age 18 or 19, ask Ministry staff specifically how the age cutoffs interact with eligibility and what transition planning looks like.

The Gap Families Need to Know About:

Community-based programming specifically designed for school-aged children and youth is being phased in over two years — see the full Ministry timeline below.

What is genuinely uncertain — and concerning:

Programming designed specifically for school-aged children and teens may not be in place until Spring 2028. That is one year after the Autism Funding Program ends. For families whose youth does not qualify for the Benefit, or whose Supplement funding is not sufficient to maintain current providers, there is a real possibility of a significant gap in support — not a temporary inconvenience, but potentially years without adequate programming in place. This is not a planning footnote. For youth in critical developmental windows, or those managing mental health and behavioural needs right now, one year matters enormously. To estimate your child's Supplement, use the Ministry's Disability Supplement calculator replicated on our site — but Benefit amounts for individual children have not yet been confirmed separately, and for families of older teens, time is a factor.

The Supplement ends at age 18, while the Benefit and community-based programming run to age 19 — if your youth is approaching those cutoffs during the rollout period, the window to access what is being built is narrowing in real time. What you can do now: Ask Ministry staff directly what interim supports will be available between now and when phased programming is in place — and ask specifically what transition planning looks like for youth nearing the age cutoffs. We have submitted detailed questions to the Ministry about this gap and are actively pushing for answers. You are not alone in this — we are not letting it go.

What's Changing and What's Not:

Early intervention services — including Infant Development Programs, Supported Child Development, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech therapy, and behaviour support — are continuing, and the Ministry has stated that some expansion will commence in Summer 2026. Availability of these services varies across the province, as does the level and frequency of support available. Historically, there have been considerable waitlists resulting in children receiving little to no support prior to aging out of the program.

What is staying the same:

These early intervention programs remain in place. Children may also be able to access support before a formal diagnosis is confirmed, if a health care provider can attest to their functional needs.

What is transitioning — and what's genuinely uncertain:

The new Disability Benefit covers children from birth to age 19, and the Supplement runs to age 18. However, families should understand that eligibility is not the same as equivalent funding. Children under 6 currently receiving Autism Funding have had access to a guaranteed $22,000 per year. Under the new model, no equivalent confirmed Benefit amount has been announced. To estimate your child's Supplement, use the Ministry's Disability Supplement calculator replicated on our site — but be aware that Benefit amounts for individual children have not yet been confirmed separately.

Children under 3 currently in the At Home Program will have a slightly different process — the Ministry has indicated this is a small group and intends to work with families individually (see the At Home Program section). If your child is currently receiving Autism Funding, that funding continues until March 31, 2027. Ministry staff will begin reaching out in July 2026 to discuss transition.

What you can do now:

Use the Supplement calculator to get a sense of that portion of your funding. When Ministry staff contact you, ask directly what your child's Benefit amount will be under the new model — before your transition is finalized. You have the right to that information, and the sooner you have it, the more time you have to plan.