Woman pours energy into fighting autism

The fight against autism has made an eclectic salesman out of Veronica Bird.

Some days, the Davidsonville woman sells art. Other days, she's hawking cars, boats and even bathtubs.

"I have never said no to a donation," she said.

Through this type of creative fund-raising, Ms. Bird has raised $600,000 in five years so other parents won't go through what she did.

The money funds a foundation that distributes two videos produced by Ms. Bird educating doctors and parents about autism, a neurological disorder impairing people's ability to deal with the outside world. It's most often diagnosed in children.

Ms. Bird...