Announcing the death of our Founder, Dame Stephanie Shirley CH

It is with deep sadness that we announce the death of our Founder, Dame Stephanie Shirley CH, who died on Saturday 9^th August 2025 after a short illness.

Dame Stephanie set up Autism at Kingwood over 30 years ago, initially to support her late autistic son Giles who had spent 11 difficult years in a psychiatric hospital. Her vision was for Giles, and other autistic adults, to live in an ordinary house in the community, where they could be supported to make their own decisions about their lives. Dame Stephanie, who liked to be known as Steve, appreciated Kingwood’s commitment to keeping this person-centred ethos at the heart of what we do; today we support 92 people in Oxfordshire and Berkshire to live successfully in their own homes.

Steve said “Giles became the first resident in the first home of my first charity” Steve went on to establish two more charities; Prior’s Court in 1999, an autism specialist school in Newbury and autism research charity Autistica in 2004.

Steve had a remarkable life. She arrived in Britain as an unaccompanied 5-year-old child refugee from Austria in 1939. She and her sister were fostered by a loving couple, and Steve went on to study Mathematics at university. In the early 1950s, she began a career path in computing er programming, before hitting the inevitable glass ceiling when she married and had Giles.

So, in 1963 Steve set up on her own, recruiting other women and pioneering ‘working from home’. Her technology group Freelance Programmers became Xansa (now Steria) and was hugely successful, enabling her to set up the three charities.

Steve was made a Dame in the Millennium Honours List for services to the computing industry. In 2017, Steve was appointed Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH), a membership limited to only 65 individuals globally, for her services to the IT industry and philanthropy.

Not one to miss out on a party, Steve loved to celebrate our milestone with us! Just last year, on our 30^th anniversary, Steve spoke of being ‘enormously proud of Kingwood’ and was genuinely excited about our plans to forge a stronger bond with her ‘second’ charity Prior’s Court, as we support young adults who are leaving the school and starting their journey into adult social care with us.

Sarah Butcher MBE, CEO at Autism at Kingwood said: ‘Steve’s enduring legacy is defined by her unwavering drive, passion, and commitment—qualities that will continue to inspire and guide our work with autistic people.” 

Further information about Dame Stephanie’s extraordinary life can be found on her website.

Signed copies of Steve’s autobiography here.