This is an exclusive BHB+ story The autism therapy industry is hitting more of a stride in 2025 as dealmaking picks up and an increased focus on outcomes is seen as a primary driver of continued success. However, those trends potentially mask a number of formidable headwinds, not the least of which include state-level reforms, […]
Category: Autism/IDD
Behavior technicians (BTs), as a clinical role, are a necessary but potentially problematic part of the autism therapy industry. Sky-high average turnover numbers, compressing payer rates and overall wage inflation make hiring and retaining these care providers the defining challenge of the space. But several factors limit providers’ ability to shift to alternative models — […]
Integrating different types of therapeutic services to support patients with autism and their families makes a lot of sense. For example, individuals with autism often receive applied behavior analysis (ABA), speech therapy and occupational therapy. However, several systemic issues challenge true integration and maximizing the benefit for all of health care’s stakeholders. At the top […]
This is an exclusive BHB+ story Staffing has long been the No. 1 challenge for autism services operators. The supply and demand disparity has led to long waitlists for care and frustrated parents. However, some providers are now looking to empower frustrated parents by giving them a larger role in their child’s care. The industry […]
Dealmaking in autism therapy is off to a hot start, after a few years of depressed volumes, marked by two recent deals from new entrants to the industry. On Tuesday, Fullerton, California-based Alongside ABA and Warren, New Jersey-based ABA Unlimited each announced acquisitions. Alongside acquired San Diego ABA, which is based in its titular city. […]
The Trump administration is pushing back its timeline on finding the root cause of autism. However, President Donald Trump has recently pointed to toxins as the potential cause of autism. The president concluded as much in the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission meeting that followed the release of the commission’s first report. The document […]
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. doubled down on his stance that autism is an “epidemic” during a recent Senate committee hearing. He argued that there is too much focus on the genetic causes and not enough research being done on environmental factors like toxins. Kennedy even went as far as to […]
Trump administration health care officials on Wednesday revealed further information about plans to create an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) data bank – a project that has sparked a mix of support, skepticism and alarm from autism-community stakeholders. On May 7, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a new “landmark” partnership with […]
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is backing off of its plans to create a national registry of autistic people as part of its effort to centralize data about the condition. Rather, HHS will instead spend tens of millions of dollars linking existing federal databases, according to a statement from the agency […]
This is an exclusive BHB+ story Adults with autism often face a dearth of service options despite billions of dollars of public and private investment into behavioral health care. This lack of adult-specific, neuroaffirming therapy reveals blind spots on the part of both the autism therapy and outpatient mental health space. “The education programming is […]