The HANDS in Autism® Advisory Board provides guidance, insight, and feedback to support our training, outreach, and implementation efforts. Advisory members bring lived experience, professional expertise, and community perspectives to ensure our work remains responsive, inclusive, and effective.
Our advisory structure reflects multiple perspectives and areas of expertise, allowing us to collaborate meaningfully across individuals, families, professionals, and community champions.
Individual Advisory Members
Individual Advisory Members are individuals with lived experience who provide direct insight into how programs, resources, and supports impact daily life. Their perspectives help ensure that HANDS in Autism® initiatives remain person-centered and grounded in real-world experiences.
These members play a critical role in shaping materials, implementation strategies, and training approaches that reflect the voices of individuals we serve.
Family Advisory Members
Family Advisory Members offer the perspective of caregivers, parents, and family members who support individuals across the lifespan. Their feedback helps inform programming that is practical, supportive, and aligned with family needs and priorities.
Family advisors contribute valuable insight into navigating systems, accessing resources, and promoting meaningful outcomes for individuals and families.
Professional Advisory Members
Professional Advisory Members bring expertise from education, healthcare, research, policy, and related fields. This group provides guidance on evidence-based practices, implementation strategies, and emerging trends relevant to autism and developmental disabilities.
This section also includes members who previously served as part of the IPP Implementation Advisory, whose contributions supported implementation planning, evaluation, and applied practice. Combining these groups allows for streamlined organization while maintaining recognition of their important roles.
LCC Champions
LCC Champions
LCC Champions serve as advocates and collaborators who support the dissemination and implementation of HANDS in Autism® practices across communities and systems. They help extend the reach of training and resources by championing inclusive practices and promoting collaboration at the local and community level.
Their involvement strengthens connections between research, training, and real-world application.
The HANDS in Autism® Intentional Advisory Board adds additional and ongoing support for all HANDS projects.
Advisory Board members:
Aubyn Stahmer, Ph.D., UC Davis MIND Institute
Focus area: Translation of evidence-based autism research to community-based practice and delivery.
Ramesh Raghavan, Ph.D., M.D., M.B.B.S., Silver School of Social Work at New York University
Focus area: Access to health, services, quality of care, Medicaid policy, implementation science, and child well-being.
Catherine Rice, Ph.D., Emory University; previously of the Developmental Disabilities Branch at the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Focus area: Teaching, diagnostic assessment, program planning, consultation, training, public policy, and research.
Kylee Bassett Hope, J.D., owner of Hope Consulting, LLC, and past direct of Indiana Division of Disability & Rehabilitative Services (DDRS) and Indiana Bureau of Rehabilitation Services (BRS)
Focus area: Consultation, advocacy, public policy, systems change and supportive communities.
Lisa Ruble, Ph.D., Earl F. Smith Distinguished Professor in Special Education and Autism at Ball State University
Focus area: Interventions with implementation in mind for improved quality of life and educational/treatment outcomes of individuals with ASD, caregivers and educators.
Matthias Neidenberger, who has years of lived experience and a passion for sharing his story and mentoring others towards improved understanding, outcomes and integration.