WHO eLearning Caregiver Skills Training for families of

children with developmental delays or disabilities

Introduction to the Course

 Welcome to the caregiver skills training!

• This training course is designed to benefit caregivers of children with

developmental delays or disabilities, particularly when there is a delay in
communication and/or social interaction.
• Your child does not need to have a diagnosis for you to participate.
• The skills and strategies in this course are designed to benefit children ages
2 to 9 years, although children slightly outside this age range may also
benefit.
• You can use the strategies in the course with all children, not just those
with a developmental delay or disability.
• Ideally, caregivers who do this training interact with the child on a regular
basis because children will benefit most when caregivers practise with
them regularly.
Course content
There are 15 modules in this course and each will take around 20–30 minutes to complete.

Modules Content
Modules 1–4 Getting and keeping children engaged in everyday activities
Modules 5 and 6 Helping children to share engagement in play and home routines
(Shared engagement means that the child is noticing the adult and the shared
activity at the same time. Shared engagement is best for learning)
Modules 7 and 8 Understanding and promoting communication using words and gestures
Module 9 Teaching new skills, like dressing and hand washing, in small steps and
providing different levels of help
Modules 10–13 Understanding, preventing and teaching alternatives to challenging
behaviour
Module 14 Ongoing practice with your child and goal-setting for the future
Module 15 Problem-solving and caregiver self-care
 How to use this course

• We suggest that you start with Module 1 and complete the modules in
order. This is because the skills build on each other. For example, the skills
from modules 1 to 4 on getting children engaged are important for
modules 10 to 13 on preventing and responding to challenging behaviour.
• We suggest that you do one module every 4 or 5 days. This means that it
will take you around 2.5 months to complete the whole course of 15
modules.
• Please consider planning a way to remind yourself to do the modules, such
as setting a reminder on your telephone.
• Remember that it is important to practise the skills and strategies with your
child regularly.
 Our approach to learning
In this course, you will learn by:
• Hearing stories and seeing pictures and short animated videos.
• Learning skills and strategies you can use at home (which we call “tips”).
• Doing activities at home with your child and practising the tips from each
module.
• Using your journal to plan and review your home practice.
• Answering the “check your own learning” questions at the end of each
module.

Each module can be finished in around 20–30 minutes, but if you have less time,
you can spend 10–15 minutes on the module and return to it later.
 How to use your journal

• This course contains a number of journal exercises. These exercises will

help you plan and practise the strategies at home with your child.
• The journal for the course can be printed for writing in or saved and
completed electronically on your laptop or tablet.
• Download your journal from the “Documents” tab on the OpenWHO
course page.
• To complete your journal electronically, you may need to download free
PDF software. You can find instructions for this in the first pages of the
journal.
• Alternatively, it is fine to use your own paper journal and write down the
questions, strategies and suggestions, or use your smartphone to take
notes or voice notes.
 Now we will focus on the goals of this course for children
and caregivers
All children with developmental disabilities and delays have their own
unique strengths and challenges.
The goals of this course are to help your child...

Learn to use gestures Spend more time Show appropriate Learn new skills to be
and words to sharing engagement in behaviour more often more independent in
communicate. activities and routines with fewer challenging day-to-day activities.
with you and others. behaviours.
 Please pause the course here
Your goals for your child to write in your journal
before continuing.
Before you start the course, we encourage you to set a few goals for your child that match
your priorities.
Examples of goals for your child include:
• Learn to use gestures and words to communicate.
• Learn to communicate more often.
• Spend more time sharing activities with others.
• Show more positive behaviour and fewer challenging behaviours.
• Become more independent in day-to-day activities.

Please choose 3 goals for your child and write them in your journal.
After each journal prompt, we will suggest that you pause the course to
write in your journal and resume the course after you finish writing.
 Now we will focus on the goals of this course for caregivers
The goals of this course are to help you...

Feel more confident Connect with your Learn how other Learn and practise
helping your child to child by enjoying caregivers have similar more ways to support
communicate and and sharing daily challenges. your own health and
learn new things. activities. well-being.
 Please pause the course here
to write in your journal
Your goals for yourself and your family before continuing.

We also encourage you to set a few goals for yourself and your family.

Examples of personal and family goals include:

• Feel more confident using strategies to help your child communicate more and learn new
things.
• Connect with your child by enjoying and sharing activities more often.
• Learn strategies to help your child show positive behaviour more often.
• Learn strategies to help your child reduce challenging behaviours.
• Learn more about developmental disabilities and delays and the challenges that caregivers
face.
• Learn and practise more ways to support your own health and well-being.

Please choose 3 goals for yourself and your family.

Getting ready to learn
For this course to help you and your child make progress on your goals, it is important
that you practise the skills you learn with your child every day or almost every day.
• Even 5 minutes per day is useful when you and your child are doing activities together.
• The more you use the skills you’ve learned while sharing activities with your child, the
better! Every opportunity you can find counts toward your goals.

Practising with your child can be hard work so it is also important that you are taking
care of yourself, your health and your well-being as best you can.
• You may be experiencing difficult feelings, such as anger or sadness, or feeling alone.
Remember that other families like yours have similar experiences.
• In Module 1, we will learn more ways to support our health and well-being as
caregivers. After each module, you will be asked to continue to practise the self-care
strategies you are already using or try something new before starting the next module.

Throughout this course, you will find guidance that will help you work toward
your goals.
 Understanding developmental delays and disabilities
It is common for caregivers to blame themselves when they learn that their child has a
developmental delay or disability. In the first few modules of this course, you will learn how to
help your child engage in everyday activities. Learning new skills takes time, so it is important
to know that your child’s difficulties are not your fault and are not related to anything you
have done, or to witchcraft, spirits, or other things. Sometimes caregivers blame themselves
for not trying hard enough to teach their children.
Developmental delays and disabilities are not caused by:
• Vaccines • Caregivers who are not good enough
• Spirit possession, hexes or witchcraft • Bad manners, bad education
• Sins of the child’s family or ancestors • Family conflicts or trauma
• Single parents, caregivers or guardians • Distant relationships between parents
• Allergies or food intolerances • Lack of limits or discipline
• Lack of breastfeeding

Remember that caregivers can help children with developmental

delays and disabilities learn. With support, all children can learn new
skills.
 Summary of information about this course
• Everyone taking this course has a child they are trying to help. This course focuses on
helping children with communication, behaviour and skills for daily living.
• All children learn differently and at different speeds, and some children learn more slowly
than others. However, all children can learn and develop skills.
• A doctor, nurse or other health care or education worker who suggested that you take this
course may have said that your child is developing or learning to communicate more slowly.
They may have called this difficulty a “delay”, “developmental disorder”, “condition”,
“challenge”, “syndrome”, “disability”, “autism” or something else.
• Your child does not need to have a certain delay or disability to benefit.
• This course teaches you special skills to use at home with your child. All family members can
develop these skills and practise them with the child.
• Engaging your child in everyday activities and games is a key strategy that will help your
child develop and learn.
• You will learn many different strategies in this course, but you will decide which ones work
best for your child and your family.
 Thank you for completing the introduction.
You are now ready to start the course!

Remember:
• You do not need to finish a module all in one sitting, so please work through the
course at your own pace.
• Take notes in your journal and complete the journal activities to get the most out of
the course.
• It is important to practise the skills regularly with your child – this is how you will
help your child learn.

Your effort, dedication, and daily practice are the keys to helping your child learn and develop!

You are now ready to start Module 1.

See you then!