How Acclaim Autism Is Using Appian to Reshape the Future of Autism Care

/ AI, Appian World 2025, Application Development, Enterprise Software
How Acclaim Autism Is Using Appian to Reshape the Future of Autism Care

Acclaim Autism isn’t a tech startup. Accalim is a behavioral health provider on a mission. In just four years, the organization has grown to nearly 200 employees without ever taking private equity. Instead, it reinvests every dollar into better care, better processes, and better outcomes for children with autism and the families who support them.

At Appian World 2025, we spoke with co-founder Ryan Cox and technical product lead Will Oswald to understand how Acclaim is transforming from a paper-driven, fragmented process into a streamlined, tech-enabled care engine. Their story is one of ethics, ingenuity, and the critical role that platforms like Appian and partners like Paul Cooper, Cooper Devito, Mark Talbot, Mike Beckley, and so many others have played in making healthcare delivery more humane and more sustainable.

Empowering a Mission-Driven Organization

Acclaim Autism operates in a fragmented ecosystem. Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy, the core of Acclaim’s services, has only been reimbursable since 2012, and not always widely so. There’s no Epic or Cerner for this domain. Many practices still operate using outdated software, manual documentation, and poor integrations. As Cox noted, “This is healthcare, not education, but it’s never had the infrastructure that other parts of medicine enjoy.”

Faced with document bottlenecks, failed billing cycles, and rising clinician burnout, Acclaim made a pivotal choice in 2022: abandon their struggling Java-based custom build and adopt a low-code platform. After vetting many potential systems, they chose Appian. And not just for the technology, but for the partnership.

“Appian wasn’t arrogant. They listened. And they delivered real ROI quickly, even with a tiny team,” said Cox.

Early wins came from building an HR app to handle onboarding (a non-HIPAA use case that helped justify the budget). From there, the team built patient intake workflows, IDP-based document extraction, and even connected external tools like Rethink into Appian dashboards. The results? Fewer manual handoffs, better visibility, and a dramatic reduction in burnout.

From Intern to Innovation Lead

Will Oswald joined Acclaim while still an undergraduate at Temple University. With a university trained background in Java and C#, Oswald initially found low-code counterintuitive but eventually transformative noting that it clicked once he saw how transferable core programming principles were. 

Oswald now leads a growing internal tech team, with developers like Nikko, Arvin, and QA team members like Marci who’ve stepped into technical roles from operations. It’s a homegrown success story made possible by Appian’s accessible architecture and customer support.

Oswald emphasized the role of strong vendor relationships: “When we hit a wall, Appian didn’t just take a ticket — they took the time. They added a feature we needed to the product five months later. You don’t get that everywhere.”

The Power of Process

With Appian, Acclaim has built a strong intake platform that automates the onboarding of both clients and staff. Instead of manually transferring documents across systems, Appian’s data fabric and RPA integrations now route information securely and with context. Their IDP solution was built in three weeks; an almost unheard-of timeframe for a healthcare provider.

Why this matters

In healthcare, delays in intake can mean missed care opportunities. Acclaim shortened their onboarding process from weeks to days (depending on how quickly patients can pull together their documents) not because of new policies, but because of better workflows and better tech.

The organization is currently replacing its Salesforce CRM with Case Management Studio to gain end-to-end visibility. They’re also preparing to re-platform their billing operations; a monumental step given the constraints of existing Windows-only software like Cario.

AI, Agents, and Accessibility

Cox and Oswald are particularly excited about the new Appian announcements from this year’s conference:

  • Process HQ will provide insights into client journeys pre- and post-onboarding.
  • AI agents and RPA advancements are expected to further reduce manual intervention.
  • AI Composer is being eyed as a way to involve non-technical staff in shaping future workflows; crucial in an environment where subject matter expertise is vital but often siloed.

Acclaim’s mission has always been to build technology that makes the human experience better. It’s not about AI replacing clinicians, it’s about AI and automation amplifying their impact. As Cox put it: The tech has to reduce burnout and make this a stable career. There’s too much turnover in this field, and that hurts kids.

Technology That Makes a Difference

Acclaim Autism stands out in a world of buzzwords and burnout because it treats technology as a tool for people, not a goal in itself. With Appian, they’ve created a stack that:

  • Empowers internal staff to build and iterate safely,
  • Reduces time to care by removing administrative bottlenecks,
  • Supports a low-turnover, high-impact workforce, and
  • Delivers measurable ROI in ethical, patient-focused ways.

They’re not trying to be flashy, in fact, getting such attention in the keynote was a huge step in bringing awareness to Acclaim’s mission. They’re just trying to make a difference. And Appian helps to do that better than anyone else could have according to Cox.

This is what it looks like when application development and enterprise applications come together with purpose. Not just to build software, but to build a better system of care.

Author

  • Bringing more than a decade of varying experience crossing multiple sectors such as legal, financial, and tech, Sam Weston is an accomplished professional that excels in ensuring success across various industries. Currently, Sam serves as an Industry Analyst at Efficiently Connected where she collaborates closely in the areas of application modernization, DevOps, storage, and infrastructure. With a keen eye for research, Sam produces valuable insights and custom content to support strategic initiatives and enhance market understanding. Rooted in the fields of tech, law, finance operations and marketing, Sam provides a unique viewpoint to her position, fostering innovation and delivering impactful solutions within the industry. Sam holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Management Information Systems and Business Analytics from Colorado State University and is passionate about leveraging her diverse skill set to drive growth and empower clients to succeed.

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