Introduction:
Children with disabilities often have complex care needs (CCN) which require intensive caregiving. CCN have three criteria: 1) high utilization of health and social care support; 2) physical needs, behavioral needs and/or functional limitations; 3) daily caregiving and monitoring to meet care needs. A scoping review was conducted to comprehensively map and summarize the context of caregiving in relation to health, social care, financial needs and educational support.
Participants and Methods:
This scoping review was conducted in accordance with JBI methodology. Four databases were searched from 2010 to 2025. Details about participants, concepts, study methods and key findings were extracted. A content analysis was conducted.
Results:
Title and abstract screening was conducted for 3974 articles with 72 papers eligible for extraction: 39 qualitative studies, 27 quantitative studies, 4 mixed methods studies and 2 reviews. Results of content analysis described overwhelming care responsibilities and lack of support and services for the family caring for the child with CCN leading to social isolation and exclusion, mental health impacts, economic pressures, and reduced quality of life for caregivers and families.
Conclusion:
While meeting care needs, families grapple with significant and persistent physical, mental, financial, and emotional challenges. There is a need to address these challenges to consider the health and well being of the child and family. This review informs future research possibilities and the need to develop and implement effective supports and policy solutions for children and their families that align with holistic approaches such as the F words framework.

Introduction: Child development and behavioural disorders are linked to family conditions and parenting practices. Parent education programs support parenting practices and child development. However, families facing disadvantageous health determinants (HD) use them less. Aim: to systematically analyse non-participation and barriers to parent education programs in a large population.
Participants and methods: Cross-sectional data from 6480 families undergoing school entrance examination in Duesseldorf (ethics committee, 5394 and 5664) were analysed. Parents reported about programs non-participation and barriers (approachability, acceptability, availability, affordability and appropriateness). HD included neighbourhood deprivation, employment, family status, educational attainment, and migration background. Poisson regression were used to estimate adjusted prevalence ratios (PR) and 95%CI.
Results: Non-participation was higher among families with low educational attainment (PR =1.39; 95%CI:1.31–1.47), migration background (PR =1.63; 95%CI:1.54–1.73), and unemployment (PR =1.32; 95%CI:1.24–1.40). Among 1109 non-participants reporting barriers, approachability (“no interest”,84.6%) and availability (“time did not fit”,41.2%) were most frequent. Availability barriers were common for families with migration background (e.g., “no available places”, “too far away”). 65.7% rated the programs as helpful. Once engaged, families with disadvantageous HD were more likely to perceive the programs as helpful.
Conclusion: Free, universal parent education programs are not accessed equitably. Non-participation remains high among families with disadvantageous HD, especially those with a migration background, lower educational attainment, and unemployment. Approachability and availability were the main barriers. However, reasons such as “no interest” and “the offered time did not fit” reflect not only personal preferences but also systemic and practical barriers, as well as limited health literacy.

The Aim of the study was a continued examination of the effects of the ParentsPlus ADHD programme (PP-ADHD) in supporting parents of children with ADHD, with specific focus placed upon supporting the development of healthy parent-child relationships, management of behaviours that challenge, and improving parent self-care. The project assesses programme efficacy to gain insights from parents around the impact and benefits for families attending. Insights gathered from participants will be used for future development. A mixed methods model was adopted. The quantitative model utilised a repeated measures design whereby 118 parents/caregivers engaging in the PP-ADHD completed a questionnaire pre-PP-ADHD, post-PP-ADHD, and at follow-up six months after completing the intervention. Data was then analysed using multi-level modelling to examine changes in participant scores over time. The qualitative model utilised thematic analysis of transcripts taken during semi-structured interviews from 15 of the 118 parents/caregivers. Quantitative examination acknowledged significant improvements in levels of parental satisfaction, child inattention, and oppositional defiant disorder, all of which were present six months following completion of the PP-ADHD. Qualitative examination acknowledged six central themes which appeared throughout the semi-structured interviews: 1) Support from attending the programme, 2) Learning experiences from parents, 3) Parental outcomes, 4) Online versus in-person delivery, 5) Access to resources and services., and 6) Programme recommendations. The findings of this research provides valued insights which will steer further programme development.

Introduction: The long-term caregiving demands for a child with cerebral palsy (CP) are complex. In Ethiopia, little is known about the experiences and support needs of family caregivers, or the services they receive. This research aimed to explore (1) caregivers’ experiences and support needs in Ethiopia, and (2) how Community-Based Rehabilitation (CBR) programs fulfill these needs.
Participants and Methods: Two exploratory qualitative descriptive studies were conducted with purposively selected 13 family caregivers (12 were mothers and 1 was an aunt) and 15 CBR workers in Ethiopia. Data were collected through semi-structured, face-to-face interviews in Amharic and analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis.
Results: Caregivers in Ethiopia experienced significant emotional distress, physical pain, and poor mental health due to the complex demands of caregiving, compounded by financial difficulties, societal stigma, and a lack of respite care, as well as education and healthcare services for their children. Caregivers also had limited access to assistive devices, such as wheelchairs, and information about caring for a child with disability. The inaccessibility of physical infrastructure and transportation further exacerbated their everyday struggles. However, many caregivers found religion and spirituality to be a source of resilience. CBR programs provided income-generating support and home-based physical therapy for children, though access to services remained limited due to insufficient funding and a shortage of CBR workers.
Conclusion: The findings highlight a need to strengthen services and CBR programs to address the multifaceted needs of caregivers of children with CP in Ethiopia.
Keywords: Cerebral palsy, caregivers, community-based rehabilitation, Ethiopia, sub-Saharan Africa

Introduction
The Family Engagement in Research Leadership Academy is a 10-week online Certificate of Completion course that aims to mentor and mobilize researchers and people with lived experience (PWLE) to champion engagement in neurodevelopmental disability and child health at research, organizational, and community levels. The course accepts 12 researchers and PWLE per cohort and consists of weekly meetings, group mentorship, development of a leadership plan, and pitch presentation.

Participants and methods
A qualitative evaluation was conducted of two cohorts (2023-24). Researchers and PWLE enrolled in these cohorts were eligible to participate. The research question was: what are participants’ perceptions of and satisfaction with the course and how are they applying family engagement leadership at organizational or community levels? Semi-structured interviews were completed after the course and data were analyzed inductively using thematic analysis.

Results
Ten of 21 graduates (6 PWLE and 4 researchers) participated. Three themes generated related to participants’ course satisfaction: sense of community; positive and supportive learning environment; and diverse means of learning. Participants reported that they were planning to or were actively applying course learnings to their leadership roles and career development. Participants indicated a desire to stay connected and continue to collaborate.

Conclusion
The Leadership Academy is addressing a critical gap in family engagement leadership by equipping both PWLE and researchers to lead collaboratively. Through its emphasis on peer mentorship, small-group learning, and community building, the course fosters a network of champions. As the course continues annually, it stands as a scalable model for leadership development.

Introduction
Child‑centered, family‑driven approaches are essential to supporting children with developmental vulnerabilities and their caregivers. The Coordination, Advocacy, Resources, Education, and Support (C.A.R.E.S.) model is a community-embedded, holistic intervention that integrates statutory services with natural supports to strengthen family resilience and child safety. This study examines whether C.A.R.E.S. improves outcomes compared to services-as-usual in child protection contexts, aligning with EACD’s vision of inclusive service models that enable children and families to flourish across the lifespan.

Participants and Methods
A retrospective, quasi‑experimental design was used, leveraging propensity score matching to compare 548 families who received C.A.R.E.S. services with a matched control group in two U.S. counties. Participants were matched on key demographics and case characteristics. Outcomes from administrative child protection datasets were analyzed via logistic regression and survival analysis to assess rates of maltreatment recurrence, alternative care placement, and reunification timelines.

Results
Families engaged in the C.A.R.E.S. program had significantly lower rates of maltreatment recurrence (p < .05), were less likely to experience alternative care placements (p < .01), and, when placements occurred, returned to family settings more quickly (p < .05). Additionally, C.A.R.E.S. families participated more actively in family-led planning meetings and accessed a broader network of formal and informal supports.

Conclusion
C.A.R.E.S. exemplifies how participatory, holistic interventions can promote child and family well‑being, reduce institutional dependency, and support long-term inclusion—principles central to EACD’s lifespan and disability-inclusive framework. As a scalable, cross-sector model, C.A.R.E.S. offers actionable insights for adapting child-centered prevention strategies in diverse international settings.

Introduction
E-communication between parents and healthcare professionals is increasingly becoming an integral aspect of paediatric rehabilitation services. This innovation project aimed to identify success factors for the development and implementation of an interactive digital platform fostering partnership and tuning between professionals and parents of children with disabilities.

Participants and methods
58 parents and 63 professionals in a Dutch rehabilitation centre were involved in the project. Following a participatory research design, a project group representing all relevant stakeholders, that is, parents, professionals, managers, planning officers, IT-staff, software supplier, researchers, met regularly, shaping the project, discussing problems and commonly deciding on the platform’s functionalities. Additional trainings were provided to enhance competencies of professionals for an autonomy supportive coaching approach. The project was evaluated by means of two focus group interviews with stakeholders.

Results
Two rehabilitation teams engaged in the development process, after which the rehabilitation centre decided for a speeded-up roll-out of the platform. However, new teams were not involved in the development of the platform, got minimal instructions, and received no additional training. One year later, the platform was mainly used in those teams that fully participated in the project. Other teams hardly utilised the media platform.

Conclusions
Evaluation brought forward that: shared decision-making involving all stakeholders from the start appeared crucial; training focusing on motivation and attitude supported the actual use of the media platform; healthcare organisations should provide structural financial and technical support meeting end users’ expectations to ensure continued use and further development and implementation of the platform.

Family relationships are critical sources of support for young people, particularly those with disability, as they transition from adolescence to adulthood. However, limited research directly examines the self-reported experiences of young people with disability, with most studies relying on proxy reports from parents or siblings. This scoping review explored family relationships from the perspectives of young people with disability, focusing on relationships with parents and siblings. Six databases were searched (Web of Science, Scopus, ProQuest Central, Medline (Ovid), SocINDEX, Family & Society Studies Worldwide), and nineteen studies were included. The scoping review revealed that young people with disability generally perceive their family relationships as positive and supportive and are often highly dependent on their parents and siblings for practical, informational, emotional and social support. This reliance can lead to unintended social isolation by replacing friendships and limiting social interactions outside the family. Relationship strains and conflicts also exist, particularly when young people feel that their parents are restricting their autonomy and independence. The review also found some evidence that young people with disability experience lower-quality family relationships compared to those without disability. These findings underscore the challenges young people with disability face in the family context. Additional research is needed to further clarify differences in family relationships based on disability types and at different time points during adolescence and adulthood. The review identified gaps in the literature, such as the need for more longitudinal studies, research on sibling relationships and parent-child dyads, and in the Global South context.