Autism is a developmental disorder of the human brain that first shows signs during infancy or childhood and follows a steady course without remission or relapse.
The Candle Trust began in 2001 when a small group of parents in the Plymouth area recognised that as their sons and daughters were approaching school leaving age, their future options were few or non-existent.
The seven young people who inspired the start of CANDLE have severe autism and severe learning difficulties. They require a high degree of supervision and care to enable them to remain feeling calm and able to enjoy their lives.
Some of the young people can speak very little, and some cannot speak at all. Some of them can help adults by co-operating with them to do the daily tasks of life. But all of them need some degree of supervision, if not full help in order to do the simplest of things.
Despite this severe degree of difficulty in understanding what others want from them and in making sense of the world, each of the young people are individuals with very different interests and personalities.
All have a right to:
The Candle Trust aims to:
Please help us to provide a future for young adults with severe autism and help us to ease the anxiety of parents who face an uncertain future for their child.
You can read more about autism here.
If you would like to make a donation please click here.
If you would like to get involved in our fund raising activities, you can check our upcoming events here or contact us here.
Thank you.