Autism Cymru

Autism Cymru

Founded	2001
Dissolved	Stopped operations and information filing after September 2015, removed from the register on 22 November 2019.[1]
Type	Non profit
Registration no.	1092527
Focus	Autism
Location	Wales
Area served	Within and outside Wales
Services	Strategic Influence of Governments; Collaborative practice, Education and training, Research and awareness raising.
Method	Practitioner led
Key people	Lord Dafydd Wigley, Professor Bill Fraser CBE, Dame Stephanie Shirley, Maggie Bowen Deputy CEO, Hugh Morgan OBE Chief Executive
Website	Former domain no longer operational

Autism Cymru was Wales' national charity for autism with offices in Cardiff, Wrexham, and Aberystwyth.^[2] The charity was established in May 2001 through an initial 3-year grant provided by The Shirley Foundation. The founder chair of the Trustees was Dame Stephanie Shirley of the Shirley Foundation.

Autism Cymru was a unique strategic level autism charity in that its strategic objectives were to influence government policy for autism in Wales, to bring about coherence to research in autism in Wales, to create far wider and knowledge of autism through creating training and related awareness raising initiatives. Having achieved all its strategic objectives the charity formally ceased operation in 2013/14.

In 2002/3 Autism Cymru made out the case to the Welsh Assembly Government that they should establish a world first national strategy for autism. The charity's CEO, Hugh Morgan, was appointed to chair the development of the Welsh Assembly Government's ASD Strategic Action Plan for Wales between 2003 and 2008. From 2008 to 2011 Autism Cymru agreed to second their CEO to the Welsh Assembly Government to head up in the foundation phase of the ASD Strategic Action Plan for Wales and from 2011 to 2012 Hugh Morgan OBE was seconded to be the Expert advisor for Autism to the Welsh Assembly Government.

Autism Cymru organised and delivered the first of four bi-annual international autism conferences in 2006 in Cardiff City Hall attracting 800 delegates over 2.5days. Speakers coming to Cardiff included Temple Grandin, Gary Mesibov, Tony Atwood, Ros Blackburn, Chris Gilberg.

In the summer of 2006 Autism Cymru was made Channel S4C's 'charity of the year' featuring several televised programmes on autism and events including a sponsored walk for autism from Abertawe to Aberystwyth.

After holding 3 research workshops involving autism researchers from throughout Wales in 2006/7 Autism Cymru initiated a fundraising partnership with Autistica to generate sufficient funds to establish a Wales Autism Research Centre and the UK's first professorial chair in autism. In 2010 the Wales Autism Research Centre was launched in the School of Psychology, Cardiff University with the appointment as Director of Professor Sue Leekam, who became the first professorial chair in autism in the U.K.

At the personal invitation of the European Commission's Health and Consumer Affairs Commissioner, Autism Cymru organised an inaugural awareness raising day on autism within the European Parliament, Brussels, in 2011, involving NGO's with an interest in autism from throughout the European Union.^[2][3][4]