In the Army Nurse Corps during World War II, Ruth Christ Sullivan cared for wounded soldiers. She earned a tri-disciplinary Ph. D. at Ohio University and, when one of the seven Sullivan children was diagnosed with autism, she became a pioneer in the field.
Sullivan was the first president of the Autism Society of America and founded the Autism Society of West Virginia. She initiated the plan and led the establishment of the Autism Training Center at Marshall University while working on other national and state legislation for individuals with autism. She established a national autism hotline in Huntington and in 1979 started her own agency, Autism Services Center.
She is a well-known author and lecturer on the subject of autism. Her work has brought international authorities as well as the film premieres of "Portrait of an Autistic Young Man'' and "Rain Man" to Huntington. Sullivan's intelligent, selfless persistence has carried over into other causes including historic preservation, responsible regional development, interracial activities and Catholic Christianity.
