HUNTINGTON -- When Angela Byron found herself in a tough spot while raising her son, who was diagnosed with severe autism as a toddler, she said there was one person she knew she could count on.
"I was calling Huntington from Florida to talk to Ruth Sullivan because I knew she could help me," Byron said. "There were so few places to turn, but she was the one who really could see you through a tough spot."
Sullivan, a Huntington resident and pioneer in the autism treatment and awareness fields, was one of several participants in a reception Friday night during the Autism Society of America's fall board of directors meeting, which is taking place on Marshall University's campus this weekend.
When Sullivan's son was diagnosed with autism nearly 50 years ago, she said there was little understanding about the disorder.
Sullivan made it her life's goal to improve understanding as well as treatment of autism, founding the Autism Society of America and lobbying for the creation of the West Virginia Autism Training Center, eventually bringing the center to Marshall's campus.
"You know before there was just nothing for autistic children except for to go into the mental health system," Sullivan said. "Now we live in a state that really is responsible for so many firsts when it comes to taking on autism in our society."
Those firsts are what drew the society back to West Virginia for the second time in its history, said Scott Badesch, president of the society, which is based in Bethesda, Md.
"We want to go where we can find the best examples of programs where people with autism are getting the most help and are being successful," Badesch said. "During the meetings and presentations you can see board members taking notes, and you can see by the questions they ask that they are interested in what's happening here because it works. They want to be able to take back some of that and incorporate it into their communities."
Badesch said he is very familiar with Marshall because his son, who is autistic, attends school here.
"This university truly has set the standard for how to work with autistic students and blend the personal and educational needs of the students in a way that allows them to go to get a degree and be successful," he said.
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Organizers raise awareness at autism conference