Research Partner Involvement Opportunity

Together‑We‑Move is a family‑focused research project being developed at the University of Melbourne. We are inviting parents and carers to partner with us as co‑designers to help shape a new physical activity program for young children with developmental concerns and their families.

About the Together‑We-Move Project

Together‑We‑Move is a community‑based physical activity program designed for:

• Children aged 2–8 years with disability or developmental concerns
• Their parents / carers
• Siblings (where appropriate)

Unlike traditional programs that focus only on the child, Together‑We‑Move takes a whole‑of‑family approach, supporting families to be active together in everyday life.

The current project phase focuses on co‑designing the parent and sibling components of the intervention to ensure it reflects what families actually need, value, and can realistically participate in. Involvement will be flexible and family-friendly.

Larger focus group discussions (currently recruiting)

There will be two larger focus group sessions to look at the Together We Move program our parent co-designers have developed. Each session will take 1 hour. You will be reimbursed for your time.to gain further insights from other families not participating in the small group discussions.

Who are we looking for?

We are seeking parents, carers, or guardians who:

• Care for a child/children with disability or developmental concerns
• Have experience navigating allied health, early intervention, or community programs
• Are interested in a family‑inclusive approach to physical activity
• Are open to sharing ideas, reflections, and experiences

We welcome families from diverse backgrounds, including differences in culture, geography, family structure, and disability experience.

We would love to include the voices of children in this design work. Your participation can include your child/children with developmental concerns (5+ years) and/or siblings (5+ years), if this feels appropriate. We will help you to do this through parent-led activities that you can to at home with your child/children, for example, social stories and art, and bring their ideas and work back to the co-design workshops.

Children will not be involved in the online workshops or focus groups.

The video below provides an overview of research study and what participation in the project would involve:

For more information, please see the following resources:

>> Easy Read information for parent

>> Easy Read information for young person

>> More information about the research project

If you have questions, please contact:

Dr Fiona Russo – [email protected]

Dr Gaela Kilgour – [email protected]

Dr Rachel Kennedy – [email protected]

or

call 03 9035 7713.

Express your interest to participate by clicking the link below.

​What is this Public Consultation about? 

The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing wants your feedback on how people are assessed to see if they can access the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

The changes aim to make access decisions clearer, fairer and more consistent. This focuses on how disability affects everyday life, rather than only on diagnosis.

Your feedback will help the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) for NDIS Functional Capacity develop their advice for the Australian Government.

​Who do they want to hear from? 

• ​people with disability, their families, carers and kin   

• ​disability representative organisations and advocates   

• ​disability service providers  

• ​health professionals and disability support workers.  

​It is important that the feedback they receive also includes the perspectives of people with lived experience of disability, First Nations communities, culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) people and those living in rural and remote communities. 

​How to submit? 

​You can submit your feedback in various ways. 

• ​Sending an email 

• ​Submitting a video (including Auslan) 

• ​Requesting a phone call to share your views 

​For more information and links to the consultation papers, please visit the Government Consultations webpage: https://consultations.health.gov.au/disability-and-carers-group/ndis-access-changes-consultation/

This study is led by Dr. Manasi Murthy Mittinty from Melbourne School of Population and Global Health. It explores how young people with cerebral palsy (CP) and their families cope with pain and stress. The researchers would like to understand how they support each other, and whether music plays a role in managing the pain or mood. The shared experience will help shape family-focused programs for managing pain, including programs that use music.

Who are they looking for?

They are looking for both young people and their primary support person to participate with the criteria listed below.

Young people 12-17 years:

• Diagnosed with cerebral palsy
• Experiencing persistent pain (≥3 months)
• Fully verbal or using augmentative and alternative communication
• Experiencing functional impact such as fatigue or reduced participation
• Good comprehension of English language for sharing own thoughts.*

Primary support person:

• Unpaid caregiver providing day-to-day support (e.g., parent, grandparent, relative, friend, informal carer)
• Able to provide informed consent
• Good comprehension of English language for sharing own thoughts.*

*Families from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) backgrounds are encouraged to participate. Interpreter support is available upon request for clarification or additional assistance during the interview process.

What is involved?

A one-hour online interview and two short questionnaires (approximately 12 minutes completion time) related to pain and coping.

Contact

If you have any queries about the study please contact Dr. Manasi Murthy Mittinty at [email protected]

>> View the Plain Language statement.

>> View the Study Advertisement.

​​This research study is about the experiences of students with disability, neurodivergence, and students requiring learning adjustments, when they move from primary school to secondary school. We are interested in understanding how the students experience the change in the school building environment, how they connect with other students and teachers, and how these experiences affect how they feel at school. Learning and understanding these experiences can advise on how to create spaces where the young people feel included, connected, and like they belong. 

​We are looking to interview young people about their experiences. If you are interesting in being involved and are a young person: 

• ​with disability, neurodivergence and/or receive learning adjustments at school 

• ​aged between 14 to 29 years

• ​have transitioned from primary to secondary school 

​please contact Simon Moore at [email protected].  

​For more details on what is expected if you participate in the study, please see the recruitment flyer. 

Many children with cerebral palsy who use wheelchairs for mobility, spend almost over 23 hours of the day sitting or lying down. This can affect their health outcomes.

CP MoveTime is a mobile app plus a small wearable sensor. It helps track and encourage movement. The app was made with children, families and health workers to improve health using simple technology.

The CP MoveTime study is now in the ‘Knowledge Translation’ phase and we are looking for participants!

If you:

• have cerebral palsy
• are between 5 and 17 years old
• use a wheelchair for mobility

and you are interested to participate, please contact [email protected] or [email protected] to register your interest.

>> Find out more from the CP Movetime PDF Flyer.