01Business problem
People with autism need more guidance than average, but at TWERK the number of employees grew 43% between 2014 and 2020 while the coaching staff stayed the same. Coaches relied on a 17-year-old website, pen-and-paper methods and ad-hoc communication to support employees who struggle with change, structure and expressing themselves. The gap between demand and capacity was growing.
02Intervention
We started by listening to employees, coaches, family members and external care providers, and mapped what was working, what was not and what was missing entirely. That became the specification for a modern coaching tool, built iteratively in two-week sprints with continuous input from the people using it every day.
03Role of data & AI
The app gives employees with autism a structured, low-threshold way to communicate their thoughts, feelings and daily experiences, replacing improvised phone calls and paper forms. Coaches get a real-time view across their team, with patterns and signals surfacing automatically instead of arriving weeks late via client complaints.
04Adoption
Coaches and employees shaped the tool from day one. Because the logic and language of the app mirror the methods TWERK already used, adoption felt like an upgrade rather than a disruption. The internal tool also serves as a live demo for external organisations exploring similar support models.
05Measurable impact
Reduced coaching pressure despite a 43% growth in the employee base. Faster, more consistent support, with issues flagged in the moment rather than discovered after the fact.
06Time to value
First working tool delivered within six months of the initial listening sessions, live internally before external rollout began.