A Friendly Support Community for Neurodivergent Adults.

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CANDO NEWSLETTER  From a cancelled autism group to a growing                  community network  

How it started 

In October 2023, what later became CANDO began as the Carmarthen Library Autism Group. It was started by Jeremy Rundle after NHS autism outreach support in West Wales was withdrawn. Until then, autism services had run groups, but that external support came to an end and autistic adults were effectively being left with nothing locally unless they created something themselves. 

A letter from the West Wales Integrated Autism Service confirmed that it would no longer facilitate the virtual social group and suggested that people might consider continuing independently. That was a stark moment. It meant that support which autistic adults in Wales had relied upon was no longer going to be provided in the same way, not because the need had disappeared, but because the service said it could no longer afford to support autism outreach externally. I did not simply accept that decision. 

As an NUJ journalist and campaigner, I challenged the closure and raised concerns with the Senedd and with elected representatives, fighting for around three months in an effort to save that once-a-month support. Those efforts came to nothing, but they made one thing absolutely clear: if a group was going to continue, it would have to be built independently, without NHS backing.  

That is the real origin of CANDO. The Carmarthen Library group was not a continuation of NHS support. It was the only response after that support had evaporated. What began with one person refusing to let autistic adults be abandoned gradually developed into a stronger, wider, community-led organisation.  

Becoming CANDO 

After a year it was obvious that financially I could not sustain the Library group costing me £50 a month, so with the help of Martin, MENCAP we relocated to the Living Well Centre Carmarthen where we were offered a free room twice a month and have been ever since. Out of that experience came CANDO - Carmarthen Aberystwyth NeuroDiverse Outreach. The name reflects both geography and purpose: a local, practical, community-led response for neurodivergent adults who too often find that services are short-term, overstretched, or simply not there when needed. 

CANDO was not built overnight. It has taken determination, voluntary effort, and a refusal to accept that adults should be left with nothing once a service closes. The group has grown because people kept showing up, kept helping one another, and kept believing that a local support network could work.  Practical help from local partners A key step in establishing CANDO properly was finding the right room in Carmarthen. Mencap played an important part in helping identify and secure a base at the Living Well Centre. 

That gave the group a reliable venue, somewhere welcoming, accessible, and suitable for regular sessions. Having a proper room matters. It means people know where they are going, it gives continuity, and it shows that the group is here to stay. 

From that base, CANDO has been able to offer more than just a social meet-up. It has become a place for peer support, advice, shared experience, and practical problem-solving.      

Establishing regular outreach in two towns 

As CANDO developed, its work stretched beyond a single room and beyond a single town. Carmarthen remained central, but the need was never only in one place. Outreach and support in Aberystwyth became part of the same vision: regular, dependable sessions where neurodivergent adults could come for understanding, conversation, mutual support, and practical help. 

That is where the outreach element of CANDO became so important. This was not simply about renaming a group. It was about building something that could travel, respond, and meet people where they are. Today that work is visible in the regular sessions now running in both Carmarthen and Aberystwyth.  

Support from grants and donations 

The growth of CANDO has also been made possible through outside support. Grants and donations have helped move the group from survival mode towards stability and development. National Lottery Wales support, Connecting Carmarthenshire funding, and donated devices from Nacro Cyrus have all helped strengthen what the group can offer locally. Those awards have never been about prestige. They have been about making things possible: room costs, resources, equipment, travel, and the practical foundations needed to keep a community group running properly. Every grant or donation has helped turn goodwill into something tangible for the people who attend.  

 A new chapter: the IT sessions 

The newest part of the story should be seen as exactly that - a new chapter. From March 2026, CANDO began running dedicated IT sessions, separate from the earlier story of how the group first emerged and became established. 

These sessions build on the trust already created through outreach work, but they meet a very specific and growing need: digital confidence and digital inclusion. Many people now have to manage benefits, housing, banking, health information, appointments, forms, email, and everyday communication online. For neurodivergent adults, that can be exhausting and overwhelming, especially when systems are confusing and formal support is limited. 

The new IT work is about practical help in the real world - not jargon, not pressure, just support people can actually use.  Regular sessions in Carmarthen and Aberystwyth  As CANDO grew, we have also been encouraged and supported by a number of external organisations that recognised the value of local, practical support for neurodivergent adults. This has included support and encouragement from both the Carmarthen and Aberystwyth Jobcentre teams, Ceredigion Council Community Connectors, West Wales Action for Mental Health (WWAMH), and Tesco, which has kindly provided access to a free community room in Aberystwyth. 

That support has helped CANDO strengthen its local presence, reach more people, and continue building a welcoming and reliable network across West Wales.   CANDO now runs two IT sessions twice a month, one set in Carmarthen and one in Aberystwyth. In Carmarthen, sessions are based at the Living Well Centre. In Aberystwyth, the same model is now extending support across the two main areas the group serves. This means that people do not have to travel unreasonable distances simply to get help with essential technology. The sessions are practical and friendly. 

They can cover basic device use, email, online forms, internet safety, access to services, printing, scanning, and the many small digital tasks that become major barriers when nobody is available to explain them calmly. The aim is simple: reduce exclusion, reduce stress, and help people feel more in control.  Why the IT work matters This is not technology for technology's sake. It is about access. It is about making sure that neurodivergent adults are not shut out of modern life because the world assumes everyone can navigate digital systems with ease. 

The IT sessions are a practical response to a problem repeatedly seen in the community. Because this work started in March 2026, it stands as a distinct development within CANDO's wider journey.   First came the need to preserve peer support when other support disappeared. Then came the work of establishing CANDO. Now comes the next stage: using that community foundation to tackle digital exclusion directly.  

Looking ahead 

From the Carmarthen Library Autism Group in October 2023 to the growing work of CANDO today, the thread running through the whole story is persistence. What began as a response to loss has become a community-led organisation with a clearer identity, stronger roots, and a wider reach. One important point is to this day the group is run by volunteers with no paid staff, relying 100% on donations. CANDO now stands for something important in West Wales: support that is local, respectful, practical, and built with people rather than delivered at them. With the help of partners, funders, donations, and many hours of voluntary effort, the group has moved from uncertainty to action. The new IT sessions show that the work is still developing - and that the story is far from finished.