There is global consensus on the importance of supporting and empowering caregivers to provide safe and nurturing care, given their critical influence on children’s development and well-being, particularly in the earliest years. Caregivers of children with developmental disabilities are more likely to experience stigma, isolation, emotional distress and low confidence in their parenting skills. Despite the established benefits that parent-mediated interventions bring to children with developmental disabilities and their caregivers, the majority of families do not have access to parenting support. WHO’s caregiver skills training was developed to help address this gap.
The training package is the result of a global collaborative effort, with the contribution of many experts, service providers, caregivers, policy makers and advocates, and with support from Autism Speaks. With the release of CST, WHO seeks to promote large-scale integration and roll out of country-tailored skills training to reach many more caregivers and children with developmental disabilities.
This launch contributes to a dialogue on how CST can be integrated at the community level and across delivery platforms. Participants heard from high level policy-makers, UN agencies, civil society and persons with lived experience about their experience with CST and future plans.
Further reading
You can access the WHO caregiver skills training package here.
