Looking Back to Move Forward: What 2025 Taught Us About Sleep in ABA and What’s Possible in 2026

As we step into a new year, it’s the perfect time for reflection. For me, 2025 reinforced something I have known for a long time: sleep remains one of the most powerful and most overlooked variables in behavior support. Despite the growing awareness of its importance, sleep is still too often treated as peripheral rather than foundational. And that reality creates both responsibility and opportunity as we move into 2026.

Throughout the past year, I had the opportunity to work with hundreds of BCBAs through The Sleep Collective, Ready Set Sleep courses, and professional events across the country. Across settings and experience levels, a consistent theme emerged. Clinicians clearly see the impact of sleep on learning and behavior, yet many feel underprepared to address it in a way that is ethical, sustainable, and aligned with scope.

This gap is not due to a lack of care or effort. It exists because most BCBAs were never formally trained in sleep science or in how to assess sleep-related behaviors within a behavioral framework. Without that training, sleep often sits outside the behavior plan, even when it is shaping everything within it. When sleep is disrupted, we predictably see reduced learning readiness, lower tolerance for demands, increased reliance on adult support, and slower progress toward goals. These outcomes are not failures of intervention. They are the natural result of a system working against biological readiness.

For autistic learners in particular, sleep challenges are not rare or fleeting. They are often persistent, complex, and deeply embedded in family routines. Many caregivers spend years navigating late nights, frequent night waking, and early mornings while trying to support their child’s progress during the day. Sleep is sometimes framed as a purely medical issue, but the reality is far more nuanced. Sleep is a behavioral process influenced by routines, environments, reinforcement histories, and daily structure. When we understand that, it becomes clear why BCBAs are uniquely positioned to help when they are equipped with the right training and boundaries.

Looking ahead to 2026, there is a meaningful opportunity for behavior analysts who want to deepen their impact without overextending themselves or drifting outside our scope. Specializing in sleep allows clinicians to support families in a way that is both high-impact and sustainable. Rather than adding more goals or longer sessions, sleep work strengthens the foundation that everything else depends on. When learners are well rested, ABA works better. When families are sleeping, collaboration improves. When clinicians understand how to assess sleep challenges and guide families through realistic changes, outcomes stabilize across the board.

For families, effective sleep support can feel transformative. Improvements in sleep often lead to more predictable days, greater follow-through with recommendations, and renewed confidence in the therapeutic process. Siblings rest more consistently. Caregivers regain capacity. Progress in therapy begins to feel attainable again. These changes rarely come from rigid rules or quick fixes. They come from thoughtful, individualized support that respects both the learner and the family system.

As we move forward, I am committed to supporting BCBAs who want to ethically integrate sleep into their practice, advancing extinction-free and sustainable approaches, and continuing to raise the standard for sleep education in our field. 

When sleep is treated as foundational rather than optional, everyone benefits. Learners are more available for learning. Families experience meaningful relief. Clinicians practice with greater confidence and clarity. That is the opportunity ahead in 2026 and it is one worth approaching with intention, care, and a commitment to doing this work well.

If you joined a cohort, enrolled in a course, attended a talk, read a blog, shared a resource, or simply stayed curious about sleep this year, thank you! Your commitment to ethical, thoughtful practice is what keeps this work moving forward. Here’s to continued growth, deeper learning, and better sleep for the learners and families we serve.