Component: Autism

Legislation: Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017

Service description

Ontario Autism Program (OAP) caregiver-mediated early years programs (“CMEY programs”) help young children (12 to 48 months of age) learn new skills and meet individualized goals in the areas of social communication and play and build caregiver capacity to support their child’s development.

People served

These programs are available to children who are registered with the OAP, with a confirmed diagnosis of autism, and are between the ages of 12 to 48 months.

Program/service features

CMEY programs are time-limited services for young children based on their individual needs. In parent/caregiver-mediated services, parents/caregivers learn therapeutic strategies from professionals and are supported to use these strategies with their child.

Programs are play-based and child-led and delivered for up to six months.

The CMEY programs are focused on building caregiver capacity to support their child’s skill development in one or more of the following areas

  • social interaction
  • play communication
  • emotional development
  • adaptive development and self-help skills

Eligible children may receive one OAP CMEY program per fiscal year, and can also enroll in the OAP entry to school program in the same year if eligible.

Children who are receiving OAP core clinical services funding or who have an active OAP behaviour plan are not eligible to receive a caregiver-mediated early years program at the same time.

Children who are receiving a caregiver-mediated early years program can receive other Ontario Autism Program supports (other than OAP core clinical services), special needs supports and/or community-based early intervention programs at the same time. For example, a child can receive foundational family services at the same time as a caregiver-mediated early years program.

Specific service provided

Families can choose one program that best meets their child’s needs. Six different caregiver-mediated programs are available

  • Early social interaction/social communication emotional regulation and transactional supports (ESI/SCERTS) – for children 12 to 36 months (three years) at start of intervention
  • Joint attention, symbolic play, engagement and regulation (JASPER) – for children 12 to 48 months (four years) at start of intervention
  • Pivotal response treatment (PRT) – for children 12 to 48 months (four years) at start of intervention
  • PLAY project – for children 12 to 48 months (four years) at start of intervention
  • Project ImPACT – for children 12 to 48 months (four years) at start of intervention
  • Social ABCs – for children 12 to 42 months (three and a half years) at start of intervention

Program goals

The goals of OAP – caregiver-mediated early years programs are

  • to support families and children as soon as possible after OAP registration by providing parents/caregivers with specific strategies to support their child’s development while working towards meeting identified developmental milestones
  • to help parents/caregivers feel engaged and better supported in interacting with their child and addressing their child’s needs
  • to help young children develop/acquire core foundational skills in the areas of communication, socialization and play to facilitate participation in activities with their families and peers

Ministry expectations

Services will be

  • reflective and responsive to individual, family and community strengths and needs
  • accountable to the individual, family, and community
  • sensitive to the social, linguistic, geographic and cultural diversity of families and Indigenous communities
  • staffed by individuals with a suitable range of skills and abilities necessary to respond effectively to the needs of children/ youth and their families

The CMEY programs must be

  • caregiver-mediated
  • individualized and responsive
  • effective (i.e., program must have demonstrated effectiveness for young children with autism spectrum disorder and have demonstrated ability to show measurable change in a child’s outcomes, over a specific time period)
  • evidence-informed (i.e., program has a strong research base demonstrating positive child outcomes and has not demonstrated any evidence of harm)
  • delivered for up to six months
  • delivered with fidelity, with target outcomes measured, and outcome data is evaluated to monitor program effectiveness

The Transfer Payment Recipient’s therapists must teach caregivers specific techniques to support their child’s development and may not deliver the intervention directly to the child. The Programs may include the therapist demonstrating implementation of a technique or strategy with the child while the parent/caregiver observes, in order to learn specific techniques.

The Transfer Payment Recipient may deliver the CMEY programs’ services in community and home-based settings, and/or delivered through virtual service delivery.

Reporting requirements

Service data will be reported on at an Interim and Final stage. Please refer to your final agreement for report back due dates and targets.

Service data name Definition

# of Individuals Served: OAP CMEY

The total number of unique children who have completed CMEY programs by the end of the reporting period. This should only include children who have completed service (cumulative). Children who are currently in service but have not yet completed the program should not be included.

Ministry-funded Agency Expenditures: OAP CMEY

Total ministry-funded expenses for the Transfer Payment Recipients to administer and/or deliver this service in the  in the Funding Year (cumulative).

# of Individuals Currently Participating (Unique): OAP CMEY

The total number of children currently participating in, but who have not yet completed, CMEY programs. Children are only counted once during the reporting period.
This should only include children who are currently participating in the program at the end of the specified reporting period. It should not include children who have already completed the program in that fiscal year. Children should only be counted once if the program has not yet ended.

# of Individuals Waiting for Service: OAP CMEY

The total number of children waiting to access an CMEY program.
This includes the number of children who have been determined to be eligible and are waiting to begin receiving CMEY service as of the last day of the reporting period.
A child is to be reported after the intake process is completed, i.e., once the service provider has determined that the child is eligible to receive CMEY services.

Average Wait Time from Intake to Service Initiation (# of Days): OAP CMEY

The average number of days between completing intake for an CMEY program with a service provider and service initiation.
This includes the average number of days from when a family registered for a program to the date that the family began to receive services from a staff member.

Average Age at Registration (Months): OAP  CMEY

The average age of children (in months) at the time of registration in the CMEY program.

#of Individuals (who did not Finish Service): OAP CMEY

The total number of children/families who did not finish or complete the program to fidelity (i.e., stopped receiving services before the program was completed and did not receive the total number of service hours offers by the provider).

# of Individuals Served (Indigenous): OAP CMEY

The total number of children registered for an CMEY program who identify as Indigenous.

# of Individuals Served (French Language): OAP CMEY

The total number of children registered for an CMEY program who received services in French.

# of Families Served through Virtual Delivery (Unique): OAP CMEY

The number of unique families that participated in an CMEY program who were served through virtual service delivery only.

# of Families Served through in Person Delivery (Unique): OAP CMEY

The number of unique families that participated in an CMEY program who were served through in-person service delivery only.

# of Families Served Through Hybrid Delivery (Unique): OAP CMEY

The number of unique families that participated in an CMEY program who were served through a hybrid delivery model (i.e., a combination of virtual and in-person sessions).

# of Families Served (Language other than English and French): OAP CMEY

The total number of families that participated in an CMEY program who were served in a language other than English and French.

In addition, OAP – caregiver-mediated early years programs Transfer Payment Recipients will complete an annual narrative evaluation report which is due at Final Reporting (reporting template and date to be provided separately).