In 1916 she began to teach in a special school in the King's Cross area of London, for children who were not thought to be capable of learning.
She worked with another cousin, Lillian Gregg, who had set up a special kindergarten for young children considered to be "uneducated" and "mentally defective".
In the 1900s Lillian Gregg had been challenged to the damaging effect of judgmental attitudes implicit in "labelling" people.
In 1930 she developed a befriending scheme for children with learning difficulties who were confined to Public Assistance Homes.
The organisation she founded now exists as The Elfrida Society, a charity in Islington, London, supporting adults and young people with learning difficulties.