Michael Bakan is Professor of Ethnomusicology at Florida State University. His more than seventy publications include the books World Music: Traditions and Transformations and Music of Death and New Creation. Bakan serves as series editor for the Routledge Focus on World Music book series and has performed as a percussionist with John Cage, Tito Puente, Rudolf Serkin, and George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic, as well as with several leading gamelan groups in Bali, Indonesia.

"Speaking for Ourselves is a significant contribution to the literature on autism, social science, and neuroscience as well as on music. For the most part it is free of jargon, and the conversations are relatable in a way rarely found in works emanating from academic presses. A companion website offers music and video (and a few photos) that strengthen the discussion with aural/visual examples of things discussed in the text. Those with an interest in autism, music, or just life experience in general will find this an enlightening resource." -- CHOICE

"Speaking for Ourselves is a true collaboration between Michael Bakan and his autistic interlocutors, who journey together into the heart of what making and experiencing music feels like for people who are wired differently. Reading it will enhance your understanding of not just autism, but creativity itself." --Steve Silberman, author of NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity

"Michael Bakan's work has always been inspired - open, dynamic, warm -hearted, and keenly intelligent. This is a delightfully human read - deftly illuminating the differences in autistic thinking while simultaneously underscoring how much our deep shared experiences as human beings provide bridging webs of feeling and wonder. His humility and respect are real models of ways we can work together toward understanding one another - beyond labels...as people." --Dawn Prince-Hughes, primatologist and anthropologist, best selling author of Songs of the Gorilla Nation: My Journey through Autism

"This is ground breaking research that could lead to real improvements in the lives of people with autism." -- Derryck Smith, MD, FRCPC, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia