Local Autism Advocate and CHOP Patient Gets Big Surprise on Ellen

Ben Hartranft is well-known in the Philadelphia region for his Eagles fandom and his efforts to support autism awareness and research. Now, thanks to Ellen DeGeneres, people all over the world are aware of Ben’s enthusiasm for life and his mission to give back to the autism community.

Hartranft appeared on Ellen on October 22, 2018, along with former Philadelphia Eagles long-snapper Jon Dorenbos. In addition to the Eagles, Ben is also a huge fan of Ellen, and getting to meet her on the show took him by complete surprise. He talked about his autism journey and how instrumental CHOP senior speech-language pathologist Paula Barson, MA, CCC-SLP, was in helping provide Ben with his gift for gab.

Hartranft and Dorenbos discussed next year’s Eagles Autism Challenge, and during the show, Ellen revealed that Ben was receiving a $10,000 donation toward his fundraising goal for the event.

Check out Ben’s appearance on Ellen through the Ellentube website, and learn more about Ben’s work with the Center for Autism Research (CAR) on the CHOP Research Institute Cornerstone Blog.

Learn more about Ben's fundraising efforts for the Eagles Autism Challenge.