AUTISM SERVICES CENTER history

In December 1983, ASC was asked to accept the challenge of working with a 12‐year‐old girl whose statewide reputation for unmanageable and often violent behavior landed her in the locked ward of a state mental institution and made other placement impossible to find.

Hoffman studied the 1985 UCLA documentary about Joseph called “Portrait of an Autistic Young Man”, hours of its outtakes, and met Joe during the filming of the movie.

Doctor Beirne’s career with Autism Services Center (ASC) began in 1988 when he was hired to provide respite services for an adult savant with autism.

In March of 1989, the WV State Legislature closed the Colin Anderson Center, the last state‐run institution for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Autism Services Center’s (ASC) reputation for being able to help clients who have difficult behaviors was challenged again in 1990.

Because of his connection to the movie, Rain Man, a story on Joseph Sullivan began showing at Disney’s EPCOT Center on July 3, 1993.

The film received the 1997 “Media Excellence in Video” award from the Autism Society of America, an award given to honor excellence and dedication in the field of autism.

In 2007, after 28 years of being the guiding force at ASC, Doctor Ruth Sullivan decided to step down as Executive Director and hand over the day‐to‐day operations to her second‐in‐command, Mike Grady.

In May of 2008, Autism Services Center was honored to be chosen as “One of the 55 Good Things about West Virginia” by The State Journal, West Virginia’s only business newspaper.

In 2012, ASC received approval of their PBS training curriculum from the West Virginia Association for Positive Behavior Support (APBS) Network, whose standards were adopted from the National Association for Positive Behavior Support.