Introduction

Applied behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy is known to be the golden therapy for children who require support with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), or other developmental challenges. It is important to recognize that children with these exceptionalities can benefit from ABA therapy in various ways including encouraging positive behaviours, life skills, communication, and social skills.

The Applied Behaviour Analysis Act, of 2021 was enacted on July 1st, 2024. This regulation states that only Behaviour Analysts who are registered with the College of Psychologist and Behaviour Analysts are allowed to use the title “Behaviour Analyst” in Ontario. As these regulation changes are happening for ABA analysts, it is important to note these regulations and changes are there to improve safety and address the risk of harm to vulnerable families and children receiving ABA services, including Ontario.

Overview of ABA Therapy in Ontario

ABA therapy is overseen by a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst (BCBA). The BCBA watches over the Behaviour Analysts and trains them to provide interventions and practices to children with ASD. These interventions are then implemented to minimize challenging behaviours and work on the treatment goals that families and professionals come up with together.

Funding is provided by the Ontario Government through the Ministry of Children, Community, and Social Services (MCSS) where the Ontario Autism Program (OAP) provides funding to children under the age of 18 with a diagnosis of ASD. With the growing awareness of ASD, and diagnoses, the larger the waitlists and accessibility are for programs and funding.

The role of the Ontario government in regulating therapy services is to ensure that the services are:

1. Accessible- by providing direct funding the government attempts to provide accessibility to ABA therapy programs. Some private insurance help with assisting for accessibility, however, this may not always be enough. 
2. Affordable- With equity in mind, the government is beginning to ensure access to therapy services across the province, particularly in rural and underserved areas. This may involve supporting programs that increase the availability of therapy services or funding initiatives aimed at reducing barriers to accessing, virtual services which are also more cost-effective. 
3. Meet professional standards – with regulations for the College of Psychologists and Behaviour Analysts of Ontario (CPBAO) as well as the Board Certified Behaviour Analysts (BCBAs) they are governed by recognized professional bodies like the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB). This is to ensure the safety, and well-being of vulnerable families and delivered professionally but Behaviour Analysts under the guidance of BCBA. 

Key Changes in ABA Therapy Regulations

There are new requirements and an introduction of mandatory certifications for service providers to provide professional and quality treatment to those with ASD. It is important to understand the move toward improving the quality of care through:

1. Better training – the training for ABA providers is important for best practices in Autism Services. Autism Ontario provides some training for ABA students, practitioners, and other professionals to ensure these practices and standards are being upheld. 
2. Accountability – As a quality assurance and accountability mechanism, accreditation, licensing, and certification are important in quality treatment. Ensuring your providers have the qualifications of BCBA or Registered Behaviour analysts creates safety, respect, and dignity for your child in treatment. Practicing is about making the best decisions for the children a therapist works with, avoiding activities that can harm them, and minimizing harm when it is unavoidable. 
3. Ethical & Professional Standards- Supervision of Behaviour Analysts is required more frequently to ensure ethical standards and interventions are being implemented.
4. Individualized approaches- Ensuring that the approach taken with a child with ASD is as unique as the child themselves. Collecting and analyzing data appropriately is important as professionals are trained to take data and BCBAs can help analyze and tailor the treatment specifically to your child’s needs.

What needs to be addressed:

1. Wait times- As families become more aware of ASD, the diagnosis of ASD increases. The limited number of regulated professionals creates a bottleneck which increases with demand for more options for ABA therapy. It is shared by CBC News that wait times could be between 5-7 years.  
2. Funding disparities – finances have been a large source of stress for families with children on the spectrum and the OAP only provides funding for ages 18 and under, who are eligible and diagnosed with ASD. This is limited as the costs of ABA therapy can be upwards of $60,000 for just behavioural therapy for the year.

Updated Funding Policies

The 2024 Ontario budget includes a one-time investment of an additional $60 million for the OAP, bringing the total to $723 million.

There is also Interim one-time funding for children who were registered in the OAP before April 2021 depending on the child’s age as of April 1, 2024. The OAP is also now providing yearly funding allocations based on the intensity of the child’s support needs which is determined by what support is required for the child. The Special Education Grant provides funding for school boards to hire ABA expertise professionals for a child to obtain support in the schools.

Expansion of Service Access

In addition to public and private service providers, the Ontario government has made efforts to expand services. The availability of ABA therapy services in urban areas in Ontario is better due to a greater concentration of providers, more private insurance coverage, and government funding. These services, however, are more difficult to access in rural and northern regions, due to a lack of trained professionals and logistical difficulties such as travel distances. As the Ontario government promotes telehealth, mobile clinics, and partnerships with local community agencies, it continues to face these barriers.

How These Changes Will Affect Families

With the new Ontario regulations, they introduce higher standards including:

1. Supervision
2. Data collection
3. Professional Development

This can affect the quality of therapy by having more consistency in treatment and providing more stability for your child. Proper data collection can help your child receive a more personalized and tailored treatment to help with their unique and individual behaviours. Constant professional development, helps your child have people to support with understanding different and new skills covered by these professional development interventions. This allows for high-quality care for your child throughout ABA therapy.

Although there are a lot of benefits the challenges that come up include:

• Keeping up with the new accreditation and certification requirements, and ensuring your child has accredited therapists
• Adapting to changes in the way services are delivered. If that means virtually, adjusting to providers that are accredited, or ensuring your therapist provider is within your community 
• Delays in funding is something that is crucial. As waitlists grow, assessing funding and time is important to take into consideration.

What Families Can Do to Prepare?

Staying informed is important to know regulation updates and changes. Websites to keep you informed include the Ontario Government website as well as Autism Ontario. The College of Psychologists and Behaviour Analysts (CPBAO) regulatory body website also keeps you informed on changes. The Ontario Autism Coalition is a great organization and a way to be given information from peers and other families advocating for needs-based care for their children.

Questions to Ask Providers

1. What are your qualifications?
2. What qualifications does your team have? 
3. How often will the BCBA or supervisor observe and provide supervision?
4. What methods do you use to track your child’s behaviour?
5. How do you assess and tailor my child’s interventions? 
6. How do you know when to stop an intervention or continue with an intervention?
7. How will you communicate my child’s progress?
8. How do you assess therapy goals for my child?
9. How do you ensure my child’s dignity and rights are respected?
10. How can I be involved in the therapy process?

These questions can help evaluate the regulations of the provider and team, what ways they collect and assess the data, if family involvement is something the professionals include for a tailored intervention as well as if they follow the ethical guidelines set out in their own regulations. It is important to understand whether or not these are implemented and carried out by the ABA professionals working with your child. You want to ensure that your child is protected, safe, and under the correct care for treatment as a vulnerable individual.

Conclusion

It is important to note regulations and changes in Ontario are to improve safety and address the risk of harm to vulnerable families and children receiving ABA services, including Ontario. Professional standards, regulated funding, and tailored treatment plans for children on the spectrum are required for the child’s unique needs. Individualized and professionally provided interventions and treatment in therapeutic settings help to reduce stress for families, reduce behaviours, and help children with ASD as a whole. Working collaboratively with various professionals can help work on treatment goals and provide insight into various settings to help clients succeed and generalize their skills. The challenges persist in rural areas, however, telehealth can be a solution.

Call to Action

The Insight Clinic has many therapists who can help you manage stress, anxiety, and treatment plans for yourself or your child. At The Insight Clinic, we can help you manage burnout, depression, anxiety, and financial burdens as well as provide resources for Autism & ABA therapy. If you are a parent struggling with managing the behaviours of a child with autism, are anxious, or are struggling with finding options, The Insight Clinic can provide you with a therapist to cope with the anxieties and struggles by using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy as well Mindful Based Practices, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy or other Interventions.

You can reach out today to book an appointment with our skilled and trained therapists to help you gain understanding and develop healthier coping strategies when you are feeling anxious, or developing these maladaptive thought patterns.

In collaboration with The Insight Clinic, ABA Academy leads with a focus on excellence and focuses on providing individual ABA Interventions for your child’s growth in social, cognitive, emotional, and physical developmental growth and milestones. ABA Academy provides high-quality, individualized & personalized treatment plans that involve you in the process of creating effective services to help your child grow and learn. These services are provided by a fully licensed and qualified BCBA. Reach out today to see if ABA Academy is the right fit for your child’s ABA services and allows better transitions in schools.