SHEILA Coates, a pioneer in services for autistic children and their families in Oxfordshire, has died aged 67.

Mrs Coates founded the Chinnor-based charity Children In Touch, which supports children with autism.

The service then became a model that was used by others around the UK and worldwide.

It attracted many prominent supporters, including Nobel Prize winner Professor Niko Tinbergen.

Mrs Coates was born in Walmer, Kent, in December 1942. After school, she trained as a history teacher.

She moved with her family to Chinnor in the 1970s.

And it was during her time working at St Andrew’s Primary School in Chinnor that she was asked to work with an autistic boy who was close to expulsion.

This led to two further autistic children being helped by teachers, and the beginnings of the charity were put in motion.

Mrs Coates, together with psychiatrist Dr Mercy Heatley and others, started Children in Touch in 1977.

Oxford University zoologist and autism expert Prof Tinbergen donated prize money to support the fledgling service.

It also became a key model for the important 1978 Warnock report on integrating disabled children into mainstream schools.

Mrs Coates died on October 27 last year, from myeloma.

She leaves behind husband Chris, sons John, Ian and David and grandchildren Millie, Daisie and Jude.

In a tribute, her family and friends said: “Sheila will be missed dreadfully, not just by her husband, children and grandchildren but by her many, many friends and colleagues and by the hundreds of families she gave such unstinting help to.

“The charity which she helped to found still energetically and creatively supports children and families affected by autism in Oxfordshire with support for families and many other ventures through their Autistic Family Support service.”

A fund set up in Mrs Coates’s memory for Children in Touch has raised more than £10,000.

For details of the fund and how to make a donation, click on the link below