Fort Lauderdale, FL — May 20, 2026 — CentralReach, the leading provider of autism and IDD care software, today released its H1 2026 Autism and IDD Care Market Report, the latest edition of the company’s semi-annual industry benchmark series, now in its third year. The report, drawn from CentralReach’s proprietary dataset of five billion data points across more than 30,000 providers, confirms that the growth trends predicted in the November 2025 edition have proven accurate, with industry growth ultimately reaching an average of approximately 22%, surpassing the report’s projected 20% growth trajectory.
This edition also introduces new original research: the first large-scale analysis of ABA clinical documentation quality, which reveals that documentation gaps remain one of the most persistent and under addressed challenges in the field. Across 1.29 million direct therapy session notes (97153) drafted by providers in CentralReach’s system, the research identified gaps in alignment to CASP guidance, including missing session narratives, treatment intervention details, and inconsistencies in multiple documentation sections, highlighting the growing operational and compliance complexity providers face as demand for autism and IDD services continues to increase.
In conjunction with the report findings, CentralReach is expanding its AI-powered documentation solutions designed to reduce administrative strain on providers. The company shared that providers using NoteDraftAI™ and NoteGuardAI™ are already seeing measurable improvements in documentation timeliness and operational efficiency. Bass ABA Therapy reduced note completion times by more than 50% at high-volume locations, while Acorn Health increased same-day note completion rates from 68% to 92%, helping reduce after-hours documentation demands on staff. Providers using NoteGuardAI™ have also reported reducing time spent on manual documentation review by 50%. CentralReach also shared details on ReportDraftAI™, an upcoming solution designed to simplify the reauthorization and progress reporting process used to support ongoing care authorization requests.
A Field Under Pressure: Record Demand, Rising Complexity, Shrinking Capacity
The H1 2026 report confirms trends identified in CentralReach’s November 2025 edition. Multidisciplinary care has grown at a 35% compound annual growth rate, while 84% of ABA services are now delivered in clinic settings, centralizing operations and increasing the volume and complexity of documentation requirements. The findings also come as autism and IDD providers face growing scrutiny around documentation quality and billing compliance.
Recent Office of Inspector General (OIG) reports have highlighted vulnerabilities tied to improper payments, insufficient documentation support, and inconsistent audit readiness across behavioral health services, placing additional pressure on providers already managing rising demand and workforce shortages.
In the first large-scale analysis of ABA clinical documentation, CentralReach’s clinical researchers evaluated 1.29 million notes against the 2024 Council of Autism Service Providers (CASP) session note template, spanning 250+ unique note templates. The analysis represents one of the largest known evaluations of ABA documentation quality conducted to date and establishes an early benchmark for measuring documentation consistency and quality across the industry.
The findings paint a clear picture of systemic documentation gaps:
31.7%
Score above 80%
CASP alignment
28.2%
Score 70–80%
Strong overall, with meaningful gaps
33.8%
Score 50–70%
Missing multiple required elements
6.3%
Score below 50%
Significant documentation gaps
"While bad actors grab headlines, the reality is that the vast majority of ABA providers are working hard to deliver results, but increasing complexity and compliance demands are making that harder as they scale to meet growing demand,” said CentralReach CEO Chris Sullens.
Providers Are Solving the Documentation Crisis With AI — Today
New performance data from providers shows using AI-powered documentation solutions, NoteDraftAI™ and NoteGuardAI™, which help organizations improve documentation speed, consistency, and compliance workflows.
Providers using NoteDraftAI™ have reduced documentation time from several minutes per note to approximately 30 seconds, achieved same-day note completion rates exceeding 90%, and lowered documentation error rates to below 1%. Bass ABA Therapy reported reducing average note completion time by up to 50%.
Organizations using NoteGuardAI™ are able to audit 100% of session notes against documentation standards, helping identify risks that would otherwise go undetected, including duplicated narratives, inconsistencies in behavior reporting, and missing documentation elements before they escalate into billing or compliance issues.
“For years the autism and IDD field had no standard, but as it continues to evolve, structured and supported documentation will be fundamental for measuring clinical quality, benchmarking performance across organizations, and driving continuous improvement in care,” said CentralReach Chief Clinical Officer Thomas Frazier.
Coming in 2026: ReportDraftAI™ Expands AI Support to Reauthorization Reporting
BCBAs spend a substantial portion of their workweek on indirect administrative responsibilities rather than direct clinical care. Recent research found that 46% of BCBA time is spent on indirect tasks such as paperwork, administration, collaboration, and treatment planning, while only 29% of time is dedicated to supervision and direct client care combined. This falls well below CASP recommendations, which suggest that approximately 87% of clinical time should be focused on supervision and client care activities. The gap highlights the ongoing operational and documentation burden placed on clinicians across the field.
Launching in Q3 2026, ReportDraftAI™, will bring AI-drafted reauthorization reports directly into the CentralReach platform. Built from client data already in the system with no copy-paste errors and no data leaving the environment, ReportDraftAI™ is designed to reduce manual data gathering and repetitive documentation work while helping providers improve consistency, compliance, and audit readiness across the reauthorization process.
Reports are drafted with goals organized by status and skill area, assessments auto-populated, and authorization data pulled in automatically. BCBAs review and refine rather than write from scratch; clinical directors can comment and assign tasks within the report workflow, and payor-specific templates ensure every report meets compliance requirements before it ever reaches a payor.
The result: more time with learners, less time on paperwork, and a defensible audit trail built into every step.
Current NoteGuardAI and NoteDraftAI™ customers will receive early access to ReportDraftAI™ upon launch.
“The documentation crisis doesn’t end with session notes,” said Sullens. “Reauthorization is one of the most burdensome and high-stakes moments in the care cycle. BCBAs are manually pulling data, writing reports, hoping payors approve, and then starting the care planning process all over again. ReportDraftAI™ is the only fully integrated, EMR-native solution designed to make that entire process more efficient, consistent, and defensible. It reflects CentralReach’s continued focus on reducing administrative burden while helping providers strengthen documentation workflows at scale.”
The full report is available at [XX — report URL].
Posted in Review
Unlock potential for next-level care
You may also like...
Related information and stories
RBT Career Path in 2026: RBT Salary, Growth & Opportunities
Registered Behavior Technicians (RBTs) are the backbone of an Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) organization. They directly provide critical medically necessary services, helping individuals with autism and other developmental differences build skills and…
Breaking New Ground in Clinical Measurement: How Digital Assessment is Shaping Better Outcomes in Autism and IDD Care
Assessment is foundational to autism and IDD care. It shapes how clinicians understand a learner, identify goals, determine treatment intensity, and measure progress over time. Yet in practice, traditional approaches…
Neurobehavioral Assessment & NASP: Rating Scales in Practice
Earlier this year in Chicago, school psychologists, clinicians, and education leaders gathered at the NASP Annual Convention to exchange ideas, debate best practices, and explore the tools shaping the future of…