Teresa Gadd is a Speech and Language Therapist with over 30 years’ experience working with people with communication support needs. Teresa has worked in services in Ireland and the UK, including community disability teams, special schools, and disability service providers.

Teresa is company director at ACE Communication Ireland. ACE provides advice and support on accessible communication environments and information. Teresa also designs and facilitates consultations, research projects and community conversations, with a particular interest in engaging with seldom heard individuals and communities.

Teresa is a Board member of Lámh and an advocate for AAC and inclusive communication communities where all forms of communication are valued and respected.

Eoin Ó Cathasaigh is a multimodal AAC user and a regular contributor at AsIAm events. Eoin will soon feature in an anthology of young Autistic writers, as well as an upcoming television documentary.

This session will feature a screening of Samhain, a short film written by Amy De Bhrún and directed by Seán Branigan. The film follows a worn-out mother whose Autistic son goes missing from his preschool, leading her into his imagination as she tries to find him.

The screening will be followed by a parent panel discussion chaired by Dr Mary O'Kane, lecturer, broadcaster and author. Mary is a Lecturer in Psychology, Early Childhood Studies and Education with the Open University, presents Perfectly Imperfect Parenting on Dublin City FM, and is the author of two books for parents, carers and educators.

Amy De Bhrún is an Irish actor and writer whose work includes Line of Duty, Apocalypse Clown, Sanctuary: A Witches Tale, Blackshore and Borderline. Samhain, inspired by her son’s Autism diagnosis, premiered at DIFF 2026 as part of Virgin Media Discovers with Screen Ireland.

Rebecca Connor-Wood is a late-identified Autistic woman and mother whose work is informed by lived experience and a background in Autism Studies. She is a disability equality training facilitator and Autistic advocate, with a particular focus on Autism in girls and women and challenging stigma around being an Autistic mother.

Stephen Thomas Ford is an Autistic father, screenwriter and filmmaker based in Ireland. Through his lived experience as both an Autistic adult and parent of an Autistic daughter with PDA, he brings a unique perspective on neurodivergent families, Autism, PDA and family life.

Professor Davida Hartman is an Adjunct Professor in the UCD School of Psychology and a Chartered Psychologist with the Psychological Society of Ireland. She founded The Adult Autism & ADHD Practice in 2022 with a vision of providing respectful, neurodiversity-affirmative, strengths-based adult assessments within a team shaped by Autistic and ADHD voices and experience.

Davida is also Co-Director and Principal Psychologist at The Children’s Clinic, which provides multidisciplinary services to children aged 0-18, with a strong specialty in assessing and supporting Autistic children. She has written several books with Jessica Kingsley Publishers on supporting Autistic people, including books on adult autism assessment and neurodiversity-affirmative child autism assessment.

Dr Sarah Cassidy is President of the Psychological Society of Ireland and the first Autistic President of PSI. She is a Chartered Psychologist, Founder and Director of two private Irish clinics, and co-founder of a Maynooth University research company.

Sarah lectures, trains, researches and publishes nationally and internationally in areas including neurodiversity-affirming assessment and therapeutic support for the neurodivergent community. She is a passionate advocate for meaningful inclusion, disability rights, early intervention and comprehensive evidence-based supports across the lifespan.