Being at ABAI's 20th Annual Autism Conference in New York felt different from the start.
Times Square means constantly surrounded by activity and energy. The lights, the screens, the constant motion, it all moves fast and loudly. Hosting a booth there meant being surrounded by constant motion from every direction. Yet inside the conference space, as people stepped in and began to engage, the noise faded, and real conversations began.
Over the course of the conference, clinic leaders, researchers, classroom teachers, and educators spent time with the S Cubed team at our booth. Some came out of curiosity. Others came with very specific problems in mind. What surprised us was not how varied their roles were, but how similar their questions sounded.
That realization became a key takeaway.
Who Stopped by Our Booth and What They Wanted to Talk About
Very few conversations started with features.
Most started with context.
Clinic leaders talked about schedules that look fine on paper but fall apart in real life. Educators described balancing documentation requirements with the realities of classrooms. Researchers asked thoughtful questions about how data flows once it leaves controlled environments and enters daily practice.
Across roles, people were not looking for something new to try. They were looking for something that would actually hold up.
That raised an important question early on. Why were so many conversations about operations, systems, and workflow, even when the starting point was clinical care?
The Same Questions Kept Coming Up
As the conference went on, certain themes repeated themselves at the booth.
Scheduling was one. Not as a logistical task, but as a daily stress point that affects staff morale and care continuity.
Documentation was another. Not resistance to accountability, but frustration with systems that add friction instead of clarity.
And then there was sustainability. Not in abstract terms, but in very practical ones. How long can teams keep working this way? What happens when tools do not adapt as clinics grow or change?
These were not complaints. They were careful observations from people deeply invested in their work.
It led us to pause and ask something more fundamental. When clinic leaders, educators, and researchers all describe the same pressure points, what does that say about the systems supporting the field today?
A Shift in How Software Is Being Evaluated
One of the clearest takeaways from our booth conversations was how expectations around technology have matured.
The interest was not in what software could theoretically do. It was in what it reliably supports on busy days.
People wanted to understand how ABA therapy practice management software fits into real workflows. How it behaves when schedules change unexpectedly. Whether it simplifies communication instead of adding another layer to manage. Whether it supports teams without forcing them to change how they already work.
That shift matters.
It signals a field that has moved past surface-level innovation and is asking more practical, more responsible questions about the tools it depends on.
What These Conversations Mean for How We Build
Being at ABAI's 20th Annual Autism Conference this year was not about showcasing a product. It was about listening closely to how work actually happens across settings.
Many of the most meaningful conversations happened outside of formal demos. They happened when someone paused and said, “This is where things usually break down for us,” or “This part of the day is harder than it should be.”
Those moments shape better product decisions than assumptions ever could.
They force an important internal question. Are we building based on ideal workflows, or based on the realities people described to us at the booth?
That distinction matters, especially in a field where operational strain directly affects care.
After the Conference, the Work Continues
When ABAI's 20th Annual Autism Conference wrapped up, what stayed with us was not a list of sessions or highlights. It was the consistency of the conversations. Different roles. Different settings. The same underlying challenges.
That alignment is not something to ignore.
At S Cubed, these conversations reinforce why listening remains central to how we build and evolve our platform. ABA therapy practice management software should reduce friction, support real workflows, and help teams stay focused on care rather than administration.
The conference may be over, but the work that surfaced there continues. And so does our responsibility to build systems that genuinely support the people doing this work every day.