ABA Mission April Monthly Newsletter

1. Welcome & Introduction

Hi – I’m Scott Dickson the founder of ABA Mission. I bring years of experience in the ABA and Autism space, with a unique perspective shaped by having led technology initiatives for a P/E backed ABA provider, the country's largest ABA payor, and the ABA market's leading custom software platform. My focus has always been on bridging operational strategy with scalable, effective technology.

Welcome to the April edition of the ABA Mission Newsletter. This newsletter is for anyone in the ABA space looking to scale—whether you're a provider working to improve operational efficiency, an investor evaluating opportunities, or a platform aiming to better serve your users and integrate effectively with others.

A special thank you to all our new subscribers—since our inaugural issue last month, we've grown to hundreds of readers across the ABA ecosystem.

Since the last edition, we’ve seen some major developments including

• Roper Technologies, Inc. acquisition of CentralReach

• Motivity launch of an all-in-one platform

• 2025's Behavioral Health Business Autism Investor Summit which brought together many of the key voices shaping the future of our field.

This month, I will dig into each of these and provide some additional commentary on Value Based Care and the importance of practice management platforms - and operations and tech savvy for Providers growing thru acquisition or organically.

As always, this newsletter pulls from my ongoing research, real-world use cases, and insights from dozens of leaders across the field. Let’s keep building a smarter, more connected ABA ecosystem together.

2. Platform Highlights

This month’s platform highlights reflect the continued evolution of the ABA technology ecosystem, where clinical innovation, operational streamlining, and payer readiness are shaping the field’s next chapter. These stood out in conversations, demos, and strategy sessions:

• Motivity – Having earned its reputation for clinical data tracking, Motivity is now expanding into an all-in-one offering that includes the Calmanac.net Practice Management platform used by Center for Autism and Related Disorders (CARD). They will still maintain their integrations for the large number of customers they have on platforms like AlohaABA. Hint: They've excelled in building clinical tools—will they be able to do the same for practice management?

• Silna – Tackling the intake and authorization process, Silna is building out a payer-specific rules engine that simplifies prior auth and eligibility workflows. Their care readiness focus resonates with providers seeking smoother onboarding. Hint: Silna’s success may hinge on whether intake teams can fully offload payer logic—and if the platform can prove its value across diverse state requirements.

• Passage Health – A rising operational platform aligned with Frontera’s clinical stack, Passage is being built for scale. It’s already making inroads with large multi-state providers looking for configurability, better payer-facing workflows, and deeper data access. Hint: Passage is generating buzz with its Frontera alignment—but can it also support providers using other clinical tools?

• Agentic AI - Stay tuned for more updates on how platform innovation will create an opening for AI Agents that focus on enterprise operations. Think about AI workflow for improving the onboarding experience, reducing attrition and improving RCM & admin functions. These will require horizontal data integrations. AI-first companies, like Neuromnia, SpectrumAi and Hipp Health are looking to bridge that gap. Add enterprise data from platforms like Jade Health and Hi Rasmus into the mix and interesting scenarios start to emerge.

3. Industry Trends & Insights

• Roper Technologies, Inc. and CentralReach – The announcement of CentralReach’s acquisition marks a new chapter in ABA software. The key question now is how the new ownership will drive additional value to meet revenue growth expectations—likely through expanding capabilities horizontally into adjacent areas like professional services, RCM, staffing, or payor collaboration, rather than solely deepening the core product. As the dominant platform across large providers, even modest shifts in roadmap or pricing could create ripple effects across the industry.

• Whole Person Care stalling out for ABA – Many providers are exploring tech and care models that integrate ABA with OT, ST, diagnostics, and mental health. The goal is a single continuum of care with data that can support value-based reimbursement models. But the technical and operational demands of integrating these services remain high—and ABA’s challenge remains: how do we weave therapy outcomes into whole-health frameworks that are recognized by payors and regulators? Throw in Medicaid funding uncertainty - and we may see less traction in model adoption.

• Autism Investor Summit (AIS) Insights – AIS 2025 brought together founders, funders, and platform builders to share what’s working—and what’s next. Key themes included rising interest in outcome measurement, provider consolidation, and the divide between platform vision and frontline usability. More than ever, leaders are searching for systems that reduce complexity, not add to it.

• The importance of Practice Management Platforms & Operations and Technology savvy for growing Providers – ABA Providers can grow organically or through acquisition. Regardless, they must bring an unrelenting focus on their enterprise data (including that outside of their EHR), their operations and their technology stack. That's really the only way to ensure that scale brings operational efficiency - and that integrations that make sense culturally don't get bogged down in complex change management. And, with a clean dataset, the opportunities for managing enterprise KPI's and deploying Agentic AI capabilities are made possible.

4. SCUBA Reports: Providers & Platforms

Our updated SCUBA (Scott's Completely Unscientific Behaviorist Assessment) reports offer a snapshot of how leading ABA organizations are navigating workforce pressures and technology adoption:

• Hiring Trends Among Providers – While overall job postings are slightly down, actual hiring remains strong across many regions. Providers with efficient onboarding, clear expectations, and mentorship structures are still scaling successfully despite workforce headwinds. However, uncertainty around potential Medicaid rate cuts is beginning to cast a shadow over hiring plans in several states, especially where providers are more reliant on public funding. Top 20 Providers here.

• Platform Traction & Adoption – Two distinct camps are starting to emerge: CentralReach on one side, and a growing set of alternative platforms on the other—even if the alternatives aren’t themselves unified in vision or capability. Several vendors are gaining attention through partnerships or funding announcements, but adoption by large providers remains limited. Proven integration capability and data transparency continue to be the key filters that separate interest from implementation. Top ABA SaaS Platforms here.

5. ABA Vendors by Category

A view of the ABA technology landscape:

• All-Inclusive ABA Practice Management Platforms

• ABA Practice Management Platforms Requiring Clinical Tools Integration

• Clinical Tools

• Assessment Tools

• Revenue Cycle Management Vendors

• Automation Tools

• CRM (Customer Relationship Management) – See Scott's Deep Dive

• Payroll & HR Management

• Applicant Tracking Systems – See Scott's Deep Dive

• Accounting & Financial Management

• Service Ticketing

• Performance Management

• Employee Rewards

6. ABA Operator Spotlight

Cortica Building a Whole Person Model from the Ground Up

Cortica continues to push the boundaries of what integrated care looks like for autistic individuals. Unlike many providers who layer services onto a traditional ABA foundation, Cortica was built from the outset to support interdisciplinary care—including ABA, OT, ST, neurology, and developmental pediatrics.

This structure allows Cortica to pursue a “whole person” model not just in theory, but in daily operations and data strategy. Their investment in diagnostics and EMR tooling positions them to align with emerging value-based care expectations.

As the market looks for scalable models that support complex populations, Cortica’s integrated approach stands out as one to watch. Notably, Cortica uses two different EHR systems across its service lines and has built the scaffolding to integrate them—enabling coordinated workflows across disciplines without forcing every team into a single platform.

Still, the broader challenge remains: many of the whole person care measures in circulation today emphasize hospitalizations or crisis-based outcomes, which can overlook the preventative and skills-based contributions of ABA. Building the case for ABA within these frameworks will be critical for long-term inclusion in integrated care models.

7. How ABA Mission Can Support Your Growth

I bring deep expertise in ABA technology, operations, and investment strategy, and have:

• Developed an Enterprise Data Repository for a leading, PE-backed ABA provider that centralized Practice Management with other critical software platforms.

• Led technology for an award-winning ABA software company used by many of the largest providers in the industry.

• Provided strategic consulting to top private equity firms evaluating platforms and services across the ABA space.

• Shared insights with providers, investors, and platform leaders before, during and after the 2025 Autism Investor Summit—focused on platform integration, due diligence, and emerging models like whole person care.

Are you:

• An investor assessing an ABA platform or provider’s operational readiness?

• A provider looking to scale operations, evaluate new tools, or implement AI and automation?

• A platform aiming to build the right capabilities, enhance integration, or deepen market adoption?

Let’s connect to explore how ABA Mission can support your goals.

8. Reader Questions & Feedback

Have a topic you'd like to see covered in next month’s newsletter? I’d love to hear from you.

Reply to this newsletter, send me a note on LinkedIn, or reach out via abamission.com. I'm always open to featuring timely challenges and practical solutions from across the ABA landscape.

9. Closing & Call to Action

Thanks for reading this month’s ABA Mission Newsletter!

If you found it valuable, I’d appreciate you sharing it with others in your network who are working to grow, scale, or transform their ABA organization.

To catch next month’s edition—and future deep dives—make sure you’re subscribed at abamission.com.

Until next time, – Scott