Major Appointments (Institution, Location, Dates)
Sybil Elgar was a pioneer in the education and care of both children and adults with autism both in the United Kingdom and internationally. As Lorna Wing has written, Elgar was “the UK’s first autism-specific teacher and an inspiration to those who knew her, at a time when autism was still ill-defined and widely misunderstood.” In 1964, Sybil Elgar and the newly formed Society for Autistic Children (now the National Autistic Society) managed to purchase premises to open the world’s first residential school for children with autism, in Ealing, West London. Elgar was a pioneer twice over, as she also founded Somerset Court, the first residential community for adults with autism, in Brent Knoll, Somerset, in 1974.
Major Honors and Awards
Sybil Elgar was a founding member of the British National Autistic Society. She was awarded member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1975.
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References and Readings
Feinstein, A. (2010). A history of autism: Conversations with the pioneers. Oxford, England: Wiley-Blackwell.
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Feinstein, A. (2013). Elgar, Sybil. In: Volkmar, F.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1698-3_2021
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