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.
Learning Objectives:
Participants will be able to describe how sensory and motor differences—including the intention-action gap, motor planning challenges, proprioceptive differences, and communication access needs—can affect autistic individuals’ daily participation, learning, communication, and emotional well-being across the lifespan.
Participants will be able to identify how misunderstanding, misinterpreting, or suppressing sensory-motor needs can contribute to overwhelm, frustration, burnout, reduced confidence, and diminished sense of belonging, and explain how presuming competence supports more accurate interpretation of autistic experiences.
Participants will be able to apply neurodiversity-affirming strategies, accommodations, and environmental adjustments that support sensory-motor regulation, autonomy, communication access, emotional recovery, and meaningful participation for autistic children and adults.
Expert Speaker Bios:
Ryan Ylagan: Diagnosed with autism at 13, Ryan Ylagan is a high school senior at Keystone School. After discovering ACN last November for a school project, he has become a dedicated volunteer, and he was appointed to the Experts By Experience board in March. Aside from his ACN involvement, he is a competitive Rubik’s cube speedsolver, ranked in the top 100 fastest speedcubers in the nation. He also has a passion for physical fitness and movement and is the captain of his varsity cross country team. Finally, he would like other teens and young adults in the autism community to know that he truly wants to be a friend to other autistic kids navigating young adult life, as he believes that connection can help alleviate many shared struggles.
Becky Powers: Becky Powers, MD was diagnosed with autism as an adult and is a member of the ACN's Experts By Experience Board. She is an Associate Professor of Medicine, Geriatrician, and Medical Educator. More importantly, she is a mother to two fantastic kids. In her free time, she enjoys daytrip "adventures" with her kids, writing, and water aerobics. Her dream is to see improved awareness, services, and support for autism throughout the lifespan, especially for older adults.
Emerson Quigley: Emerson Quigley is a 19-year-old San Antonio Native who attends the NISD Nellie Reddix Center as an adult transition student. Emerson enjoys serving his community by delivering meals on wheels and volunteering with the food and clothing banks. Emerson was diagnosed with Autism by ACN in July of 2009 and became an ACN Ambassador in May of 2025. He enjoys public speaking, music, and video editing.
Aidan Valdez: Aidan Fertitta Valdez is a member of Autism Community Network’s Experts by Experience Advisory Board and a frequent volunteer for their Camp: WE ACT program. When he is not working with ACN, he is a teacher’s aide at Foundation School for Autism and active in the local theatre community as an actor.
DeAnne Cuellar: DeAnne C. Cuellar is a digital inclusion professional with post-traumatic epilepsy (PTE) diagnosed with autism as an adult during the COVID pandemic and is a member of the ACN's Experts By Experience Board. She is an Associate Director of Outreach, an emergent strategist, and serves on the Mayor's Commission on the Status of Women. More importantly, she is married to an amazing partner, and co-parents three cats. In her free time she enjoys studying Italian with her husband, and roller skating. Her dream is to see improved awareness, services, and support for autism throughout the lifespan, especially for older adults.
Krystal Tomlin: Krystal Tomlin is a late-identified autistic person and a member of ACN’s Experts by Experience. She is an aunt to five wonderfully neurodivergent nieces and nephews, including a seven-year-old minimally verbal autistic nephew whose autism journey ultimately led Krystal to her own diagnosis. Her own experience has inspired her to advocate for neurodivergent people and families, especially by being open about neurodiversity in the workplace and encouraging conversations that help create greater understanding and acceptance. Krystal loves spending time with her family and pup, has had a longtime love of LEGO, and recently discovered an interest in dorodango.
Rebecca Engle: Rebecca Engle is an autistic and ADHD educator, author, speaker, and advocate whose work is deeply rooted in lived experience. A former nonspeaking autistic child, Rebecca grew up navigating sensory differences, communication challenges, attention difficulties, and an education system that did not always understand how she learned. She went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies and History from the University of the Incarnate Word, with minors in Literacy, Reading, and Special Education, and a Master of Education in Educational Policy and Leadership from Texas Tech University. Today, Rebecca is a Texas Tech TEXAS Policy Fellow, special education teacher, and advocate, combining her personal experience with her background in education. Her work focuses on sensory processing, literacy, neuroscience, inclusive education, and helping educators understand the child behind the behavior.
Rebecca Engle, Ryan Ylagan, Becky Powers, Aidan Valdez, DeAnne Cuellar and Krystal Tomlin are all members of the Autism Community Network Experts by Experience Advisory Board who are volunteering to speak on the panel. Emerson Quigley serves Autism Community Network as our Ambassador and is also volunteering his time to speak on the panel.