ABA Intake Process: 8 Simple Steps to Onboard Your Clients 

If you run an established Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) practice, you might be looking to improve your ABA intake process. Or, if you’re opening an ABA clinic, you’ll need to create your intake process from scratch. 

Either way, here’s how to structure your ABA intake so it’s easy for new clients to join and for you to grow your practice.  

Why the ABA intake process matters for your clinic

The ABA intake process is what needs to happen between when a client first contacts your clinic and when therapy services officially begin. 

For clinics, intake helps confirm eligibility, organize key details, and set up accurate treatment plans and authorizations. For patients and their caregivers, it’s often their first real experience with your team. It’s a chance to feel heard, supported, and confident about what comes next.

Your intake process is your competitive advantage. Clinics with smooth intake attract more referrals because they deliver results faster and communicate clearly. Clinics with messy processes may lose clients to competitors.

What are the steps in the ABA intake process?

There are 8 ABA intake steps you should follow to get the information your clinic needs and create a positive onboarding experience for clients.

ABA intake forms and documents your clinic needs

We know you don’t want to overwhelm clients with paperwork. But when you collect everything you need upfront, it reduces the back-and-forth. It helps your new client get treatment sooner.

You should have these forms in your ABA intake starter pack:

• Intake and enrollment form: Demographics, insurance, availability, and contact information
• Medical and developmental history form: Health milestones, medications, and allergies
• Behavioral history questionnaire: Client behaviors, triggers, and strategies already tried
• Diagnosis verification: Documentation of autism diagnosis and any school services
• Consent to evaluate and treat: Legal authorization to provide services
• HIPAA privacy notice and authorization: Federal requirement; must be signed
• Insurance authorization form: Allows your clinic to contact insurance for authorization
• Release of information: Permits sharing information with schools and providers
• Clinic policies and financial agreement: Session frequency, cancellation policy, co-pay expectations, and no-show fees
• Emergency contact form: Who to contact if something unexpected happens
• Special accommodations: Language preference and accessibility needs
• Referral documents from primary care providers: Diagnosis information, current behavioral concerns, recommendation for ABA services

Getting intake forms right means smooth operations

Your intake process is your first compliance checkpoint. If your clinic staff misses forms or details, you might see authorization delays or billing denials. In fact, 68% of healthcare providers say that inaccurate or incomplete patient data at intake causes billing denials.

So, build a clear, simple intake process. Create standardized ABA forms, train your team on insurance requirements, and establish clear timelines for each step.

What information do you need before ABA intake?

Before clients arrive at your clinic, they should prepare:

1. Insurance information: Front and back copies of all insurance cards. Include primary insurance, secondary insurance if applicable, and any authorization cards they already have.
2. Medical and health history: This should cover health history from early development, current medications, allergies, hospitalizations, and any previous therapeutic services received.
3. Diagnosis documentation: A formal autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis from a licensed professional, ideally with the original diagnostic report. This diagnosis is required to secure insurance coverage.
4. Contact information: Preferred contact name, phone, email, and preferred contact method. Note which adult will be attending sessions if different from the primary contact.
5. Availability: Expected schedule for therapy sessions so your clinic can coordinate staff and resources.

Consider asking clients to pre-fill a short intake form online or by email before the first call. This saves time during the actual intake appointment and shows that your practice is organized and professional. 

Our top tips for a successful ABA clinic intake process

We’ve worked with hundreds of ABA providers and learned what to do (and what to avoid) during intake. Here are a few best practices to keep in mind:

Do:

• Check state and federal guidelines for paperwork requirements.
• Keep caregivers involved and informed at every step.
• Follow your intake process, but stay flexible to each family’s needs.
• Allow clients to save their progress on forms and come back to them.
• Have reminders for clients to go back to or complete forms.
• Have reminders and task management for staff so different teams can collaborate to move clients through the intake process.
• Review all documents before the first appointment to catch missing details early.
• Offer translation or interpretation when needed to improve accessibility.
• Train your staff to communicate with empathy and patience. Intake can feel overwhelming for families.

Don’t:

• Rush through the intake call or paperwork. It's often the family’s first impression of your clinic.
  
• Overload caregivers with repetitive forms or too many forms at once.
  
• Ignore feedback from caregivers about any barriers in your process.
  
• Forget to update your intake materials regularly to match new funding or insurance requirements.

Software can make or break your ABA intake process

Paper forms, scattered emails, and outdated technology create chaos. You lose time and revenue just coordinating documents between your team.

Digital intake solutions solve this. HIPAA-compliant intake software lets clients complete forms on their device before arriving at your clinic. 

Your staff can see what's complete in real-time and flag missing information immediately. Software lets you route documents to the right clinical staff for assessment prep or billing staff for insurance verification.

Overall, an intake tool empowers your practice's staff. Workflow tools like kanban boards, task management software, and reminders help move clients through the process instead of having several teams to handle different parts of the process.

Not all systems offer the same features or ease of use. What to look out for when choosing an ABA intake software:

• Progress saving and reminders: Clients can save their progress and get reminders to resume form filling later.
• Electronic signature: Clients can sign consent forms securely
• Auto-population: Information entered once auto-fills related forms
• EHR integration: Forms flow directly into clinical and billing workflows
• Secure storage: Built-in encryption, audit trails, and HIPAA compliance
• Appointment booking: Links to your calendar so clients can request available times

How Passage Health simplifies ABA client onboarding

Running an ABA clinic means managing intake, skills assessments, insurance authorizations, and billing, often with a small team. Each missed deadline or incomplete form creates delays.

Passage Health helps clinics manage the entire client onboarding journey, from first call to service delivery. You can see where clients are in the intake process, whether insurance has approved them, and what paperwork is missing before it causes a billing problem.

With our all-in-one EMR/EHR software, your ABA clinic can:

• Reduce intake-to-authorization time by automating form collection and insurance verification
• Minimize claim denials by catching documentation gaps during intake, not after services are delivered
• Stay compliant with HIPAA-compliant digital forms and privacy safeguards
• Scale operations without hiring more administrative staff

Explore how Passage Health helps ABA clinics manage intake and billing.

Frequently asked questions

How long does the ABA intake process take?

The ABA intake process typically takes 3-6 weeks from initial contact to starting therapy. It can take 3-10 business days for your insurance company to provide authorization for assessment, and another 2-3 weeks for treatment authorization.

Who completes ABA intake forms?

The person making the referral usually completes ABA intake forms. This could be a parent or caregiver, but sometimes a pediatrician, family doctor, teacher, or another therapist involved in the individual’s care. 

If someone needs help or an interpreter, your staff can read the forms aloud or provide them in their preferred language.

Can the ABA intake form be completed online?

Yes, the ABA intake form can be completed online using a HIPAA-compliant digital platform. Most clients prefer this because they can save progress and access documents at home or wherever it’s convenient.

How does intake differ for school-based vs. clinic-based ABA?

School-based vs. clinic-based ABA intake follows the same core process of medical history and insurance verification, but school-based requires Individualized Education Program (IEP) team coordination and often uses Medicaid. Clinic-based intakes are simpler since you're the sole provider without needing school coordination.

What are the steps in the intake process?

The intake process has 8 steps, including:

1. Initial inquiry and phone screening
2. Intake paperwork and documentation collection
3. Insurance verification and pre-authorization
4. Waitlist management
5. Intake assessment scheduling
6. Interview and assessment 
7. Treatment planning and goal development
8. Authorization and start of services

How can software make the ABA intake process easier?

ABA intake software makes the ABA intake process easier by reducing documentation errors, compliance errors, and intake-to-services time. 

Automation features can auto-populate forms, flag missing documents in real-time, and integrate with your billing system so information flows directly from intake to authorization.

References

American Journal of Managed Care. (2025, September 30). AI seen as key to reducing health care claim denials, survey finds. https://www.ajmc.com/view/ai-seen-as-key-to-reducing-health-care-claim-denials-survey-finds

Experian Health. (2025, September 12). Insurance verification in healthcare: Why accuracy and speed matter. Healthcare Blog. https://www.experian.com/blogs/healthcare/insurance-verification-in-healthcare-why-accuracy-and-speed-matter/ 

Experian Health. (2025, October 9). Healthcare claim denial statistics: State of Claims Report 2025. Healthcare Blog. https://www.experian.com/blogs/healthcare/healthcare-claim-denials-statistics-state-of-claims-report/ 

Inovalon. (2025, June 25). How to improve medical billing: 7 strategies to enhance your claims management. https://www.inovalon.com/blog/how-to-improve-medical-billing-7-strategies-to-enhance-your-claims-management/

Medwave. (2024, February 3). The complete guide to fixing common medical billing errors. https://medwave.io/2024/02/the-complete-guide-to-fixing-common-medical-billing-errors/

Staffingly. (2025, August 12). Incomplete or inaccurate patient registration data leading to claim denial. Healthcare Outsourcing Services (BPO). https://staffingly.com/incomplete-or-inaccurate-patient-registration-data-leading-to-claim-denial/