A digital parent support programme for parents
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A randomised controlled trial of a digital parent support programme for parents of children with intellectual disabilities: The Digital Family Support study
IRAS ID
350650
Contact name
Kylie Gray
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Birmingham
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 11 months, 28 days
Research summary
We will complete a study to see if an online family support programme (Stepping Stones Online (SSOL)) improves behaviour and emotional difficulties in children with learning disabilities. We also want to find out if parent carers might benefit directly from SSOL perhaps boosting their wellbeing.
Many children with learning disabilities experience significant behaviour and emotional difficulties. Support programmes can assist families with these challenges, but accessing such supports can be difficult for parents. Digital technology, such as online programmes, is one way to provide support for parents caring for a child with learning disabilities. Accessing programmes online can sometimes be easier for families than attending sessions in person.
We have planned a study to test the potential benefits of SSOL. In our study, SSOL will include some telephone or online support from other parents of children with learning disabilities (peer support). Families will be able to take part in the research if they have a child with learning disabilities aged 2-11 years and they are worried about their child’s behaviour. We plan to include 432 families. Whether families will receive SSOL straightaway or later will be decided by chance (this is called ‘randomisation’). We will collect information from parent carers before families are randomised and around 6 months and 12 months later. To find out more about what families think about SSOL, we will interview some parent carers. We will also interview the family carers who offer the additional support alongside SSOL.REC name
Wales REC 7
REC reference
26/WA/0117
Date of REC Opinion
24 Apr 2026
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion