Ebay

Autism Light #457 is eBay.

eBay (NYSE: EBAY) is a multinational ecommerce corporation with headquarters in San Jose, California. eBay was founded in 1995 by Pierre Omidyar and is currently a multi-billion dollar corporation with operations in 30 countries. Products on eBay range from basic supplies to eccentric and unusual items. eBay is an Autism Light for the special effort it made to make a memorable moment for a boy with autism named Sammy in 2016.

The following is a YouTube video produced with the efforts of Sammy's mother and the eBay social media team. It was uploaded on December 12, 2016. The following video describes Sammy's love for eBay and their logo and how happy he was to receive some promotional items in the mail from eBay.

Autism Parents Earn Money for Expenses on eBay:  Without a doubt eBay has helped some autism parents earn extra money for the challenging expenses of autism by providing a platform where individuals can make a profit by selling their goods to others.

Autism Parents Can Purchase Resources on eBay: eBay has a special section on their commerce website called Special Needs and Autism Educational Toys. Parents can go directly there to review and purchase resources for the education and growth of their children with autism.

eBay for Charity: eBay has programs in place that allow sellers on their site to support autism. For example, their eBay for Charity program allows sellers to support autism charities by donating 10%-100% of the final selling price of their products to a designated charity (See News Story on the Autism Plus Website). The video below explains how eBay for Charity works.

Wikipedia Page: You can read more about eBay on their Wikipedia Page.

Social Media: You can follow eBay on the following social media areas.

• Facebook Page of eBay
• Twitter @eBay

Special thanks to eBay for being a business that cares about people with autism and autism charities. We hope that they will continue to be an autism friendly business and add a smile to the lives of families with autism.

Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.


Note: Autism Light is a neutral blog and we have no relationship to the business featured in this post nor have we received any return of goods or services for writing this post.

Isabelle Rapin

Autism Light #456 is Dr. Isabelle Rapin.

Isabelle Rapin was a child neurologist and leading authority on autism. She served as a distinguished professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine for over half a century. She was an autism pioneer credited with developing the understanding of autism being a spectrum disorder. Isabelle Rapin was born on December 4, 1927, in Lausanne, Switzerland. Isabelle Rapin passed away from pneumonia on May 24, 2017, in Rhinebeck, New York, at the age of 89. She is survived by her husband Harold Oaklander and four children. She will be placed on the Autism Light Memorial Roll today.

Autism Pioneer: Dr. Thomas Frazier II, the chief science officer of Autism Speaks, said about Isabelle Rapin, "Calling her one of the founding mothers of autism is very appropriate. With the gravity she carried, she moved us into a modern understanding of autism (As quoted in New York Times: June 9, 2017)."

Multiple Causes of Autism: Dr. Mark Mehler, chairman of the department of neurology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, said of Isabelle Rapin that, "She would never let us say that autism is a single disorder. She always said there was a thousand different causes (As quoted in New York Times: June 9, 2017)."

Bellevue Hospital Center: In 1953, Isabelle Rapin immigrated to the United States, and began her career working at the Bellevue Hospital Center, now known as NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue.

Albert Einstein College of Medicine: Dr. Isabelle Rapin served as a professor of both Neurology and Pediatrics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine n New York City from 1958 until her retirement in 2012. On December 19, 2006, the Albert Einstein College of Medicine held an international symposium called "Putting Perspective on Autism" that was held in honor of the life's work of Isabelle Rapin (Medical News Today, December 13, 2006).

Writings: Isabelle Rapin wrote several articles related to autism over her illustrious career that can be found online:

• Isabelle Rapin: Lessons from My Clinic (Spectrum News, May 24, 2011)
• Isabelle Rapin Publications at Research Gate 

Awards: Isabelle Rapin received the following special awards during her lifetime.

• President's Award, American Academy of Neurology (2010)
• Award of Excellence in Autism Research, Autism Society of America

Special Tributes with more Information on Isabelle Rapin: 

• Isabelle Rapin's obituary appeared in the New York Times on June 9, 2017
• Alycia Halladay, Chief Science Officer of the Autism Science Foundation dedicated a podcast to Isabelle Rapin on May 28, 2017. 
• On December 26, 2012, Isabelle Rapin was made a Living Legend by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine website. 

Wikipedia: For more information about Isabelle Rapin read her Wikipedia Page.

Special thanks to Isabelle Rapin for her lifelong work with autism. Her promotion of autism as a spectrum disorder is today widely accepted as the norm in discussion of the variety of individuals with autism. The autism community owes a debt of gratitude to Isabelle Rapin for being a pioneer in understanding autism at a time in the last century when less was understood about autism. May others continue on in the work toward understanding autism in memory of Isabelle Rapin.

Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.

Daniel Olmsted

Autism Light #455 is Daniel Olmsted.

Daniel "Dan" Olmsted was a journalist and former senior editor for United Press International (UPI). He was the owner and editor of the Age of Autism website. Dan Olmsted was born on June 17, 1952, and passed away in Falls Church, Virginia on January 23, 2017, at the age of 64. Dan Olmsted will be placed on the Autism Light Memorial Roll today. Dan Olmsted is an Autism Light for his influence and dedication to be a journalistic voice for those that believe autism has its root in environmental causes.

A celebration of life service will be held for Daniel Olmsted at the Fairfax Memorial Funeral Home on March 18, 2017, at 2pm. In lieu of flowers donations in Dan Olmsted's memory can be made to Age of Autism.

Obituaries and news about Daniel Olmsted may be viewed in the following articles.

• Age of Autism (Daniel Olmsted Obituary)
• Commercial-News (DHS Grad Journalist Dies in Virginia)
• Fairfax Funeral Home (Daniel Olmsted Obituary)
• Health Nut News (Autism Community Shocked by Death of Famous Journalist Dan Olmsted)

The following is an interview Dan Olmsted had with C-Span on June 18, 2007 about autism.

Age of Autism: The Age of Autism website was started by Dan Olmsted in November 2007, and it's content has received millions of views in the 20 years of its operation. The Age of Autism website states that it is the "Daily Web Newspaper of the Autism Epidemic", and describes their mission in this way: "We are published to give a voice to those who believe autism is an environmentally induced illness, that is treatable, and that children can recover (Age of Autism Welcome from Dan Olmsted)." Following Dan Olmsted's passing, the work and content of Age of Autism continues to be published by other journalists like Mark Blaxill, John Stone, and Kim Stagliano, who was Autism Light #396.

Wikipedia: You can read more information about Dan Olmsted on his Wikipedia page.

The autism community mourns the loss of Dan Olmsted. His investigative journalism into a relationship between vaccines and environmental hazards to autism has provided important information that was not widely available in the mainstream media. He gave a voice to those who believe in an environmental cause of autism. It is hoped that his memory will encourage others to become journalists and that the work of Age of Autism will carry on with success.

Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.

Note: Autism Light does not take a position on a vaccine-autism connection. We respect diverse views and recognize autism heroes on both sides of the issues who are a valuable voice to parts of the autism community. Our desire is to present the life stories of diverse people who are dedicated to helping those with autism in different ways and in doing so to allow their passions to be represented on the blog and to speak for themselves.

William Christopher

Autism Light #454 is William Christopher.

William Christopher was an actor who had a variety of roles in his career, but none as endearing as the role of "Father Mulcahy" in the hit 1970's era television show MASH. William Christopher was born on October 20, 1932, and died on December 31, 2016, from cancer. He is survived by his wife Barbara and two sons, Ned and John. His son Ned Christopher has autism. William Christopher is an Autism Light because of how his devotion to his son and his journey as an autism father has increased autism awareness. William Christopher will be placed on the Autism Light Memorial Roll today.

Education: William Christopher earned a Bachelor's degree in drama at Wesleyan University in Connecticut.

Actor: William Christopher starred as "Father Mulcahy" in the popular sitcom MASH and the spin off After MASH, from 1972-1983.  He also had recurring roles in television shows, "Gomer Pyle", "That Girl", and "Hogan's Heroes". You can read more about William Christopher's career at William Christopher's IMDb Page or the Wikipedia Page of William Christopher.

Here is a public service announcement that William Christopher appeared in for the Health Care Chaplaincy Network.

Mixed Blessings: William and Barbara Christopher published the book Mixed Blessings in 1989. The book tells their story of raising their son Ned, who has autism, and the hope and challenges they faced in making important decisions in his development.

National Autistic Society: William Christopher appeared in public service announcements for the National Autistic Society as a way of advocating for his son and others who have autism.

Obituary: You can read William Christopher's obituary at Legacy.com. CBS News also published a news article on William Christopher's passing.

Special thanks to William Christopher for being a light for autism. Although the general public will remember his well performed character acting roles, the autism community thanks him for fulfilling a role as a dedicated autism father, author, and an advocate. May his memory encourage others and remind us all of the way in which autism touches so many families, including those of famous celebrities.

Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.