Julia Bascom is executive director of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network.
Julia Bascom
Executive director
Autistic Self Advocacy Network
From this contributor
The DSM-5 has not improved services for autistic adults
Since the DSM-5’s debut, schoolchildren have gained stronger legal rights and better opportunities for accessing services; for adults, it’s a different story.
The DSM-5 has not improved services for autistic adults
By
Julia Bascom
9 May 2018 | 5 min read
Why intelligence scores do not predict success for autistic adults
Measures of adaptive functioning may better assess the ability of autistic people to meet daily demands than do intelligence tests.
Why intelligence scores do not predict success for autistic adults
By
Julia Bascom, Gregory Wallace
28 November 2017 | 6 min read
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The genome offers a recipe, not a blueprint, for the brain
During brain development, genes set the rules and turn the knobs; self-organization does much of the rest.
The genome offers a recipe, not a blueprint, for the brain
During brain development, genes set the rules and turn the knobs; self-organization does much of the rest.
By
Ila Fiete
2 November 2026 | 8 min read
Autism research involving monkeys contends with uphill battle
Macaques and marmosets recapitulate the condition’s core traits better than mice can, but funding uncertainty and challenges at primate centers in the United States could make this work difficult to continue.
Autism research involving monkeys contends with uphill battle
Macaques and marmosets recapitulate the condition’s core traits better than mice can, but funding uncertainty and challenges at primate centers in the United States could make this work difficult to continue.
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Diana Kwon
2 November 2026 | 8 min read
When is self-organization a mechanism in brain development?
Retinal waves offer a powerful example of a self-organizing system that can build structure without external guidance. The field would do well to embrace such phenomena more broadly as a type of mechanistic explanation.
When is self-organization a mechanism in brain development?
Retinal waves offer a powerful example of a self-organizing system that can build structure without external guidance. The field would do well to embrace such phenomena more broadly as a type of mechanistic explanation.
By
P. Robin Hiesinger
2 November 2026 | 6 min read