Expertise by Experience: Amplifying Autistic Voices Panel

In this powerful and deeply personal panel, autistic adults share firsthand accounts of how sensory processing differences and motor praxis challenges shape their daily lives, relationships, and sense of self. Panelists offer authentic insight into experiences often misunderstood or overlooked—such as navigating overwhelming sensory environments, the internal effort behind seemingly "simple" motor tasks, and the gap between what their bodies do and what they intend.

This session is designed for a diverse audience—families seeking to better understand their loved ones, clinicians looking to ground their practice in lived experience, educators hoping to create more supportive learning environments, fellow autistic adults finding solidarity and shared language, and community leaders and funders who want to ensure their decisions are informed by those most impacted.

Panelists will discuss:

• How sensory sensitivities and differences affect communication, regulation, and participation

• The often-invisible challenges of motor planning (praxis) and how they influence daily functioning

• What support looks like when it honors autonomy rather than demanding compliance

• Moments of misunderstanding—and what helped bridge the gap

• What families, professionals, and systems can do differently to create belonging and access

Attendees will leave with a deeper appreciation for the diversity within the autistic community, practical insights for more respectful engagement, and a renewed commitment to centering autistic voices in all spaces that affect their lives.

Objectives

1. Participants will describe relevant ethical issues related to providing neurodiversity-affirming autism supports in homes, schools, therapy clinics and workplaces.