Inklings program for infants: Caregiver experiences and mental health
Tracks
5
Autism (ASD)
Coaching
Communication difference
Early intervention
Evidence based practice
Mental health
Neurodiversity
Paediatric/Infant
Parent/carer training
Social communication
| Friday, June 13, 2025 |
| 3:10 PM - 3:20 PM |
Overview
Sarah Pillar
Details
⏫ In-practice
⏲️ 3.10pm - 3.30pm
⌛ 20-minutes
📚 Assumed knowledge of attendees: Foundational (new/casual familiarity with the topic e.g. treated a single case)
⏲️ 3.10pm - 3.30pm
⌛ 20-minutes
📚 Assumed knowledge of attendees: Foundational (new/casual familiarity with the topic e.g. treated a single case)
Presenter
Ms Sarah Pillar
The Kids Institute Australia
Inklings program for infants: Caregiver experiences and mental health
3:10 PM - 3:30 PMPresentation summary
Objective:
Caregiver-mediated supports are increasingly emerging as an evidence-based approach to supporting children’s development, especially in the earliest years of life. Outcomes from trials of caregiver-mediated supports have predominantly focused on child-related developmental outcomes and/or caregiver-child interaction changes (i.e., outcomes proximal to the therapy target). The impact of caregiver-mediated supports on caregiver mental health is rarely explored, despite evidence that caregivers of neurodivergent children experience increased rates of mental health challenges.
Methods:
We conducted a secondary analysis of data from an Australian randomised clinical trial (RCT) of the Inklings program (also referred to as iBASIS-VIPP). This analysis describes the mental health of caregivers participating in the program at baseline and immediately post-therapy and compares changes in levels of depression, anxiety and stress (DASS-21) between groups over the therapy period. The secondary analysis also explores how depression, anxiety and stress symptoms are related to core domains targeted by the program, including caregiver non-directiveness and sensitive responding. Clinical reflections from practitioners and trainers within the Inklings Community of Practice supports interpretation of the analysis relating to parental mental wellbeing.
Results:
Secondary analysis found mean DASS-21 scores in the sample at baseline and treatment-endpoint are consistent with population-level samples. There were no differences in DASS-21 scores at baseline between treatment groups. The Inklings/iBASIS-VIPP caregiver mediated support did not increase caregiver DASS-21 scores on any subdomain from baseline to treatment-endpoint. Caregivers assigned to care as usual showed increasing rates of anxiety over the therapy period.
Conclusions:
This presentation will share new findings from a secondary analysis of RCT data of the Inklings/iBASIS-VIPP program, and discuss these with consideration of clinical reflection of the experiences caregivers within the program within the community implementation of the program in Western Australia.
Caregiver-mediated supports are increasingly emerging as an evidence-based approach to supporting children’s development, especially in the earliest years of life. Outcomes from trials of caregiver-mediated supports have predominantly focused on child-related developmental outcomes and/or caregiver-child interaction changes (i.e., outcomes proximal to the therapy target). The impact of caregiver-mediated supports on caregiver mental health is rarely explored, despite evidence that caregivers of neurodivergent children experience increased rates of mental health challenges.
Methods:
We conducted a secondary analysis of data from an Australian randomised clinical trial (RCT) of the Inklings program (also referred to as iBASIS-VIPP). This analysis describes the mental health of caregivers participating in the program at baseline and immediately post-therapy and compares changes in levels of depression, anxiety and stress (DASS-21) between groups over the therapy period. The secondary analysis also explores how depression, anxiety and stress symptoms are related to core domains targeted by the program, including caregiver non-directiveness and sensitive responding. Clinical reflections from practitioners and trainers within the Inklings Community of Practice supports interpretation of the analysis relating to parental mental wellbeing.
Results:
Secondary analysis found mean DASS-21 scores in the sample at baseline and treatment-endpoint are consistent with population-level samples. There were no differences in DASS-21 scores at baseline between treatment groups. The Inklings/iBASIS-VIPP caregiver mediated support did not increase caregiver DASS-21 scores on any subdomain from baseline to treatment-endpoint. Caregivers assigned to care as usual showed increasing rates of anxiety over the therapy period.
Conclusions:
This presentation will share new findings from a secondary analysis of RCT data of the Inklings/iBASIS-VIPP program, and discuss these with consideration of clinical reflection of the experiences caregivers within the program within the community implementation of the program in Western Australia.
Refrences
Brown, H., Swain, D., Kim, H. W., Rogers, S., Estes, A., Kasari, C., Lord, C., & Kim, S. H. (2024). Examining variability in Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Intervention strategy use in caregivers of children with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13994
Whitehouse AJO, Varcin KJ, Alvares GA, et al. (2019). Pre-emptive intervention versus treatment as usual for infants showing early behavioural risk signs of autism spectrum disorder: a single-blind, randomised controlled trial. The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, 3(9), 605-615.
Whitehouse AJO, Varcin KJ, Pillar S, et al. (2021). Effect of preemptive intervention on developmental outcomes among infants showing early signs of autism: a randomized clinical trial of outcomes to diagnosis. JAMA Pediatrics, 175(11), e213290.
Whitehouse AJO, Varcin KJ, Alvares GA, et al. (2019). Pre-emptive intervention versus treatment as usual for infants showing early behavioural risk signs of autism spectrum disorder: a single-blind, randomised controlled trial. The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, 3(9), 605-615.
Whitehouse AJO, Varcin KJ, Pillar S, et al. (2021). Effect of preemptive intervention on developmental outcomes among infants showing early signs of autism: a randomized clinical trial of outcomes to diagnosis. JAMA Pediatrics, 175(11), e213290.
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Sarah Pillar is the Research Development Manager at CliniKids, at The Kids Research Institute Australia. Her role revolves around the intersection between clinical and research work - getting research into clinical practice, and shaping clinical questions into research projects.
Sarah is a Speech Pathologist by background and she developed a passion for supporting autistic children and their families through working directly with families in metropolitan and country WA. She is an ADOS-2 (Autism Diagnostic Observation Scale) trainer.
Sarah has been involved in a number of research projects at The Kids Research Institute Australia, including research into early supports for babies, which support the development of social-communication skills in the first year of life. Sarah was also a member of the team that developed Australia's first National Guideline for Supporting Autistic Children in Australia.
The information contained in this program is current at of the time of publishing but is subject to changes made without notice.
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