Ruth C. Sullivan family member with developmental disabilities. She retired from the Autism Services Center on November 1, 2007 at the age of 83. Sullivan assisted in the production of the 1988 movie "Rain Man" by serving as a consultant on autistic behavior, and Dustin Hoffman worked with Sullivan and her son Joseph, who has autism, when practicing for his role. Hoffman thanked her and Joseph in his Oscar speech. Sullivan has the last credit in the movie, and the extended DVD version features an interview with Joe. (Joe Sullivan was not the only inspiration for Hoffman's role; the role was originally written
Bernard Hoffman negatives. During his tenure with the company, Hoffman gained such acclaim that his labs were used to process much of the footage from the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963. The resulting detailed prints led to the belief that a person aiming a rifle at the President stood atop a car behind a wall near the path of the motorcade. Additionally, the United States Atomic Energy Commission regularly consulted BHL as an expert in important film and print analyses. Hoffman sold the custom lab business and retired in 1973 after suffering a mild cardiac arrest. After officially retiring from