John Enjoys a Holiday Break at the Kingwood Caravan
20 July 2026
Dame Stephanie – or Steve as she liked to be known – and her husband Derek, bought a home in the village of Kingwood Common in Oxfordshire, where Giles could live and, for the first time his life, be supported to make his own choices about his life.
Steve said that it took years to ‘de-institutionalise’ Giles, but gradually he flourished, enjoying walks, painting and his pet cat. After a time, Steve and Derek felt that the home could support another young man, James, who we still support today.
This was Autism at Kingwood’s model for supported living; another home was purchased in Reading and then another in Abingdon, all providing supported living and enabling autistic adults to access the community.
Over time, the trustees of Autism at Kingwood recognised that the charity’s strength lay in providing care, rather than owning properties, and we continued to develop services in existing properties – typically owned by housing providers, local authorities, or families. The house in Abingdon was sold, but we kept our large house in Reading.
The charity continued to grow to become a major specialist autism adult social care provider in the Thames Valley, providing support for autistic adults on behalf of local authority and NHS commissioners.
Autism at Kingwood is the first of three autism charities that Dame Stephanie established. In 1999, she set up Priors Court School, a residential school for autistic children and young adults, which, she said, would have been the school her son Giles would have gone to, had such a school existed. Her third autism charity Autistica, was founded in 2004 to fund research into autism.
Dame Stephanie was proud of Autism at Kingwood and its reputation for “providing creative solutions for complex situations and persevering when other services have failed”.
Not one to miss out on a party, Steve loved to celebrate our milestone with us! In 2024 on our 30th 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.
Steve sadly passed away on 9th August, 2025 after a short illness.
Sarah Butcher MBE, our Chief Executive 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.”
Visit Dame Stephanie Shirley’s website to read more about her extraordinary life.
Signed copies of Steve’s autobiography ‘Let It Go’ are available here.
We provide supported living and outreach support, helping and enabling autistic people to live in their own homes and make their own choices about the lives they want to lead.
Our relationship with the families of those we support is incredibly important to us and we work in partnership with families wherever possible.
All Autism at Kingwood support staff receive our Specialist Autism Training, making us leading care providers in Autism support.
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