ENVISAGE is an acronym for ENabling VISions And Growing Expectations. It is a peer support program that has been co- designed with parents, carers, service providers, health professionals and researchers and includes a dedicated First People’s program.   

Raising children is a tough task and caring for children whose development might be complicated by developmental delays or a disability can be even harder.  

We know that caregivers want to do a good job when caring for their child/children, and there can be a lot of extra stress and strain on caregivers as they work to find ways to support their child’s development and family’s needs.  

ENVISAGE seeks to empower caregivers to feel confident and competent in raising children with disability or developmental concerns. ENVISAGE Families uses a positive approach that focuses on child and family strengths, and possibilities. 

In summary ENVISAGE helps you: 

• – Understand your family values and your family support; 
• – Build and maintain a close, loving relationship with your child; 

• – Understand more about your childs development to help parenting more enjoyable; 
• – Ensure that looking after yourself is an important element of caregiving; 
• – Discuss parenting with other parents in a similar situation; 
• – Feel more confident communicating and decision making 

The ENVISAGE program came from a research project with a 4 partnership from Australia, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne University, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and Canadas McMaster University.  Service providers have been contracted to deliver the ENVISAGE program. These service providers are known as your facilitators.

The ENVISAGE program connects caregivers of children aged 0 – 8 with developmental delays. We understand that it is hard to parent but parenting a child with development days can be harder.

So you will learn techniques and tools and have access to the online resources to help strengthen your family, effective communication not only with service providers but an enriched relationship with your child and family, and explore the importance of taking care of yourself.

This program born from research has a lasting impact on caregivers now and into their future.

For the 5 consecutive weekly workshops, you can choose what works for you at a range of parent friendly time periods.

You can do it at home on your phone, computer or tablet or join a face to face group for a more personal connection.

The ENVISAGE Families program is free for caregivers of children in Australia is supported by funding from the Australian Government Department of Social Security under the National Early Childhood Program grant until June 2025.

ENVISAGE is one of the few parenting programs dedicated to caregivers with children with development delay or disability. Our research and evidence demonstrated parents felt more confident heading into the future. 

The ENVISAGE program is a series of 5 consecutive workshops that are scheduled for 1 hour each.  Before each workshop it is recommended that caregivers to do the readings and activities available from the online learning platform.  The pre workshop preparation only takes about 30 – 60 minutes for each weekly workshop.

The online learning platform offers flexibility with some people preferring to do all the reading and activities all in one block where others may spend 10 – 15 minutes each day. So whichever approach you choose, you can do it within your availability across the week.

The ENVISAGE program is developed for caregivers for children aged 0 -8. It is recommended that the workshop are for caregivers. This is not a therapy or mentoring session for children.

It is recommend to enrol in a workshop as soon as possible as workshops are limited to approx. 8 people and they will book out quickly. Your enrolment is managed by the National ENVISAGE Team. Following your enrolment you will be receive a program confirmation, log in details to the Learning Platform. The next day you will be sent an email to complete a survey for your completion before your program commences.  Enrolments will close a week prior to the workshop beginning to allow enough time for you to complete the prework.  The facilitators of you workshop will send an introduction email and appointment ahead of the sessions.

Please contact envisage@acu.edu.au if you have enrolled in a particular workshop but are no longer available to attend.

As your program is for a peer group we do not swap or change missed workshop in another program. If you miss one session it is ok, you have the learning resources and activities to read and can attend the following workshop.

Please contact envisage@acu.edu.au

Each workshop will have two facilitators, one being a service provider worker and a peer parent. These facilitators may be from the same organisation or they may be from different organisation. Nevertheless they have been through a thorough training program.

The ENVISAGE Program is offered in either Online or Face to Face.

Online programs allows a greater reach across Australia including to regional areas and you may be in a workshop from people across the country, whereas a face to face program will be for those in the wider community who will travel to a nominated location to deliver in person.

ENVISAGE is currently available in English.  The facilitated workshops require conversation amongst caregivers.  Participants are required to be welcoming to others where English is not their first language.

It is really important to us, as a peer program based on research, to give caregivers the kind of information that will make an impact to them and their families. Our research shows that parents get the best results when they contribute to the discussion each week. We hope that you benefit from the peer to peer integration.

ENVISAGE and their delivery partners take your privacy and data protection very seriously. We have rigorous IT security systems and procedures. We don’t share your information with any third-party marketing organisations or unauthorised personnel. Your email address and region are visible to our administration team and delivery partners (ie facilitators). Your progress may be visible to a system administrator in case you need to change your email address. All other family information within the program is confidential. If you’d like more information, please review our privacy policy.

If we haven’t answered any of your questions, please send us an email at envisage@acu.edu.au and we will endeavour to respond by the next business day.