Julia Bascom Explained

Julia Bascom is an American autism rights activist. She is a former executive director of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) and replaced Ari Ne'eman as president of ASAN in early 2017 before stepping down at the end of 2023.[1] [2]

Advocacy work

Bascom previously worked on the New Hampshire State Developmental Disabilities Council.[3] She also serves on the boards of Advance CLASS, Inc. and the Centene National Advisory Council on Disability.[4] She was the Deputy Executive Director of ASAN, and replaced Ari Ne'eman as president of ASAN in 2017. She left her position as president of ASAN at the end of 2023 due to complications from long COVID.

Bascom was one of the experts consulted to create an autistic character, Julia, for the children's show Sesame Street.[5]

As an autistic person herself and an advocate, Bascom stresses the importance of letting autistic people speak for themselves on issues that relate to their health, rights and well-being.[6] She states that it is important to recognize that autistic people are different and that there "is nothing wrong with us".[7] On April 2, 2018, Bascom addressed the "state of women and girls with autism" at the United Nations.[8]

Loud Hands Project

Bascom organized and founded the Loud Hands project. Loud Hands was designed to be a "transmedia project", that is, one that uses "multiple forms of content--written words, videos, visual art, the internet, and more".[9] The project was launched in December 2011 as crowdfunding campaign to create an anthology of essays written by autistic people.[10] The resulting anthology, Loud Hands: Autistic People, Speaking, was described as "groundbreaking" in Steve Silberman's NeuroTribes.[11] The project has put together over 20 years of culture, history and writing by and about autistic people.[12]

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Ne'eman. Ari. A Message from ASAN President Ari Ne'eman. autisticadvocacy.org. 27 August 2016. 18 July 2016.
  2. Web site: 2023-09-28 . A Message From ASAN Executive Director Julia Bascom - Autistic Self Advocacy Network . 2024-05-03 . Autistic Self Advocacy Network . en-US.
  3. Web site: Council Members. nhddc.org. https://web.archive.org/web/20121008181629/http://www.nhddc.org/members.html. 8 October 2012.
  4. Web site: Staff – Autistic Self Advocacy Network. autisticadvocacy.org. 27 August 2016.
  5. Web site: An Autism Advocate Explains How She Helped Sesame Street Create Its New Autistic Muppet. Martinelli. Marissa. 2017-04-12. Slate Magazine. en. 2019-02-13.
  6. McCollum. Sean. 2016. A New Frame of Mind. Education Digest. 82. 43. subscription. EBSCOhost.
  7. Book: The Oxford Handbook of Music and Disability Studies. Howe. Blake. Jensen-Moulton. Stephanie. Lerner. Neil William. Straus. Joseph Nathan. 2016. Oxford University Press. 9780199331444. 16. en.
  8. Web site: UN celebrates voice and visibility of women and girls with autism. 2018-04-05. UN News. en. 2019-02-13.
  9. Book: Bascom. Julia. Loud Hands: Autistic People, Speaking. 2012. The Autistic Press. Washington, DC. 978-1-938800-02-3. 9.
  10. Zurcher, Ariane. "A Conversation With the Talented Writer, Blogger and All-Around Amazing Julia Bascom", The Huffington Post, September 1, 2013. Accessed August 27, 2016.
  11. Book: Silberman. Steve. Neurotribes: The Legacy of Autism and How to Think Smarter About People Who Think Differently. 2015. Allen & Unwin. Crows Nest, New South Wales. 978-1-760-11363-6. 446. 1st.
  12. Web site: Women Speaking Out. 1 May 2015. Organization for Autism Research. en. 2019-02-13.

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