HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) - When the leader of the Autism Society of America gets a call from a family with a child recently diagnosed with autism looking for the best place to live for support, Scott Badesch tells them West Virginia, particularly Huntington - home of the society’s first president, Dr. Ruth Sullivan.
“This place gets it,” said Badesch, president and CEO of the organization. “Universities are replicating what Marshall did. They will never be like Marshall because you can’t replicate the Marshall program in towns that aren’t Huntington. What this town has is, you walk down the street and you are accepted.”
Badesch, whose autistic son graduated from Marshall, said if every community was like Huntington, he wouldn’t have a job.
Badesch was in town on April 5 to film a national commercial with the Barnes Agency called “Faces of Autism.” The goal is to get more exposure for the Autism Society and to spread more education about autism, which is especially timely because April is Autism Awareness Month.
One out of every 68 individuals has autism spectrum disorder, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Although it statistically affects boys more than girls, anyone, regardless of race, ethnicity and socioeconomic group, can be diagnosed with autism.
The commercial will feature faces of Tri-State residents with autism, ranging from toddlers to adults.
“Almost everyone knows someone who has autism, whether it’s in the family or a neighbor or someone they go to church with, but they don’t know what autism is,” Badesch said. “What we are trying to do is show they are your neighbors. It’s just like having someone with black hair or glasses. It’s a characteristic of a person, but that person should be fully accepted.”
Badesch said there are a lot of misconceptions surrounding autism, such as it only affects children.
“The ability to show the faces of individuals who live in a community, they shop and do everything, so how do we create a world where they can advance?” he said.
Barnes Agency is filming the commercial pro bono.
“My heart is full when it comes to children with autism,” said Jeff Barnes, president and CEO of Barnes Agency. “I cannot in my heart accept money for this national campaign for an organization that has such a tremendous cause and that has a message that is needed to be told to millions of Americans across this country. This organization serves a tremendous need to families.”
The commercial came about after Barnes met Barbara Becker Cottrill, the newest board member of the Autism Society and former executive director of the West Virginia Autism Training Center at Marshall University. Cottrill mentioned how the society was hoping to broaden its awareness of the organization.
“We’ve been wanting more visibility so families know they can reach out to someone in their local communities, whether it is in Seattle, Florida or right here in Huntington,” Cottrill said.
Badesch said it was a godsend.
“From an organization standpoint, we want to spend the money we raise directly to help people,” he said. “A lot of times, when you have to get your message out, it’s kind of difficult.”
The Autism Society was founded in 1965 by Dr. Bernard Rimland, whose book “Infantile Autism: The Syndrome and Its Implications for a Neural Theory of Behavior” was the first of its kind. Sullivan, founder of Autism Services Center in Huntington, was elected president in 1968. Over the past 40 years, the society has grown from a handful of parents into the leading source of information, research, reference and support on the autism spectrum. More than 120,000 members and supporters are connected through a working network of close to 100 affiliates nationwide, including the Autism Society of the River Cities, which is based in Huntington.
The 60-second commercial should be completed in the next 30 days and it will run across the country.
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Information from: The Herald-Dispatch, https://www.herald-dispatch.com
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