A feasibility study is a small study that checks whether an idea is practical and worth doing before going ahead with it at a larger scale.

ENVISAGE (Enabling VISions And Growing Expectations) is an online program co-developed by Canadian and Australian parents/caregivers, service providers and health service researchers to support caregivers of children with neurodevelopmental disabilities. You can read more about the program on the ENVISAGE project page.

The ENVISAGE team has co-developed programs for caregivers and for service providers to take separately. In addition, we had the idea that caregivers and professionals learning together, rather than separately, might improve understanding, relationships, and teamwork. This led to the development and testing of ENVISAGE-Integrated, a five-week online program that caregivers and service providers do together, so they learn together. The program uses the same approach and ideas as the ENVISAGE-Families and ENVISAGE-Service Provider programs. It includes short videos, reflection activities, shared resources, and online group discussions led by a caregiver and a service provider. The topics include strengths-based thinking, child and family development, wellbeing, and communication. Before determining whether the program improves outcomes for families or professionals, the researchers first examined whether it could be delivered in practice and whether participants found it acceptable and useful.

The feasibility study involved 12 participants (five parents and seven service providers) from a children’s treatment centre. Participants completed surveys before the program, after each session, and at the end of the program. Overall, caregivers and service providers valued the integrated format and felt comfortable sharing their perspectives. They reported that learning together built their understanding, supported collaboration, and that they found the content meaningful and relevant. Group discussions were seen as the most valuable part of the program, as they helped participants apply ideas to real-life situations and learn from each other.

The study also identified challenges. It was difficult to recruit enough caregiver participants, and difficult to schedule sessions that suited everyone (as caregivers and professionals often have different time availability). Some participants also talked about challenges with managing the time commitment.

In summary, ENVISAGE-Integrated was well received and shows promise. We will use what was learned in this study to adjust ENVISAGE-Integrated before trialing it in a larger study.

Citation:

Soper, A. K., Wright, M., Chambers, E., Hughes, D., Knutson, M., Hesketh, K., Hanson, J., Rodrigues, M., Cross, A., Imms, C., Babic, R., O’Connor, B., Phoenix, M., Moll, S., & Rosenbaum, P. (2026). ENabling VISions And Growing Expectations (ENVISAGE): Co‑development and feasibility of an “integrated” version of ENVISAGE for service providers and parents of children with neurodevelopmental disabilities. Pilot and Feasibility Studies, 12, Article 28. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40814-026-01774-1