Under pressure

Financial pressures are mounting for many charities working with people with learning disabilities, which is threatening services, but they are finding new ways to keep going. Andrew Mourant reports It took years of dedicated effort to coax Naomi Perkins, a severely autistic 26-year-old, out of her shell. When she first came to sessions run by Cardiff-based charity Touch Trust, Naomi would curl up and try to hide away. Now she responds with pleasure to touch, massage and music; and those closest to her say her life has been transformed. Dilys Price, Touch Trust’s founder, wanted Cardiff City councillors to witness