Programs & Services

QuickStart — Early Intervention for Autism is a grassroots charity that began in Ottawa in 2008.

QuickStart, in partnership with the Ottawa Children's Treatment Centre, has established the unique pre-diagnosis Clinic called Getting Started Services.  Parents now have a place to call when they are concerned about their child's development. In 2012 the Clinic is expected to see 300 children.  All services are provided free of charge and are offered in both offical languages.  Seventy-five percent of the children seen in the clinic are diagnosed with autism.

QuickStart also offers a respite program, ReFresh ReStart, to give parents a rare opportunity to get away
to rest and relax from the daily demands of caring for their child with autism.  In our first year, 2011, we were able to offer 31 weekend stays to parents.

Affiliations

QuickStart is the Eastern Ontario representative for Autism Parent's Talking - APTalk

Parents are invited to post their stories of their personal experiences with the Ontario system of services and treatment for their children with autism.  The Ministry of Children and Youth Services reads these postings to help them in finding the best way forward to help children with autism.

QuickStart is a member of Canadian Autism Spectrum Disorder Alliance (CASDA)

CASDA is working towards a National Autism Strategy so all Canadian children with autism will have an equal level of care no matter where they live in Canada.