It is important to recognise the benefits of funding to the disability research sector; each year brings the field of study forward, in turn enabling us to support people with disabilities reach their full potential for health and participation. And you don’t have to look far to see the evidence of positive change. Professor Christine Imms, the Chair of Neurodevelopment and Disability for the Apex Australia Foundation, highlights the impact of one research-led program and its delivery in the community.

The Royal Children’s Hospital is one of the service-provider partners in the Department of Social Services funded Australia-wide implementation of the evidence-based ENVISAGE-Families program developed by her team and collaborators. This program aims to empower caregivers to feel confident and competent in navigating the experience of parenting a child or children with developmental concerns or disability. Professor Imms outlines how the research-led program works in practice: “we train two facilitators – one a health professional and one a parent-peer – who deliver the ENVISAGE-Families program to small groups of parents or caregivers raising young children with disability or developmental concern.”

Since the program began implementation in 2023, the program has engaged 21 organisations, trained 111 facilitators, and delivered 143 programs reaching over 730 caregivers. Feedback received from caregivers who completed the program has been very positive too, as shown in the implementation data gathered to date. Caregivers report high satisfaction with the program (95% rate >8 out of 10), improved mental wellbeing and family functioning, as well as increased confidence in their own abilities to advocate for their child and family using strengths-based family centred approach.

When asked what she learned, one parent said:

“So much!…We learned heaps, about not being too hard on ourselves, how to navigate working with different therapists and health providers, and advocate for your child. One of the biggest things I learned was celebrating what my child CAN do as it’s easy to get bogged down by all the negative things that are challenges for them at this time. And that the most important thing is the family unit and having those strong bonds and experiences can be as important if not more important than all the therapy sessions we might be having.”

Appreciating the benefits of funding to the disability research sector offers the opportunity to reflect on both advancements in this field of research and on the ability of researchers to translate their work into tangible improvements for people with disabilities and their caregivers through direct collaboration with consumers and their families. Research funding allows us to know more and to do more with what we know.

Caregivers and parents raising children with disabilities or developmental concerns can directly register for ENVISAGE-Families programs, which run both online and in-person locally at a range of parent-friendly times. Sign up and embark on a journey filled with support, acceptance, and genuine connection.

Want to learn more about the research backing the ENVISAGE-Families program? You can read about the process of co-developing the program and about the impact of the program in a recent Disability and Rehabilitation journal article.