Feb. 28: Will ABA expenses still be eligible under the new OAP?
A big point of discussion on the OAP changes are around what the new program will and will not cover. We recently learned that the new plan will not cover speech therapy or OT. But what will it cover? Will it cover ABA (Applied Behaviour Analysis)?
I suspect that, yes, ABA will still be covered (though the budgets are not nearly large enough to, by themselves, pay for it). But over the last 48 hours I’ve had a few parents try to convince me otherwise. And I’m starting to think they may be right.
Here’s what the Ministry’s FAQ has to say, under “Childhood Budgets”:
Through Childhood Budgets, families will have control and more options to purchase the eligible services they value most from the providers of their choice on a fee-for-service basis.
This will include behavioural services including assessments and consultations, family/caregiver capacity building and training, respite services, technology aids and travel.
A complete list of eligible and non-eligible expenses will be available in April 2019.
They elaborate on this under “Behavioural Services”:
Using their Childhood Budgets, families will be able to purchase the eligible services they value most, including behavioural assessments, consultations and services.
Behavioural services involve studying a person’s behaviour and developing strategies to:
increase helpful behaviours, such as getting dressed, or talking to other people;
discourage harmful behaviours that interfere with learning, such as self-harm or aggression towards others.
Behavioural services are flexible and involve many techniques, such as positive reinforcement. These services often include teaching parents and family members’ skills to support a child or youth with autism.
More information is available in the Ontario Autism Program guidelines.
The Ontario Autism Program guidelines do mention ABA. 15 times, in fact. But the guidelines are from January 2018.
But on the Ministry’s new OAP page, they never reference ABA. It’s quite possible that they are using “behavioural services” as an umbrella term to include ABA. But it would be helpful to get some clarity on this.
Two simple questions:
- When the new OAP guidelines are released, will they still reference ABA?
- Will parents be able to use Childhood Budgets to pay for some/all of their child’s ABA?
