Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Disability
Department of the House of Representatives
Canberra ACT 2600
9th December 2025
Dear Standing Committee,
RE: Information on the Inklings Program
The Kids Research Institute Australia (The Kids) is pleased to provide the following information on Inklings to provide clarity around the program and to address some misinformation that has been provided within submissions or addresses to the Thriving Kids Inquiry.
What is Inklings?
Inklings is a 10-session program that uses short videos of a caregiver interacting with their baby to help them to better understand the different ways that their baby communicates their thoughts, feelings and needs. With the guidance of a trained practitioner, caregivers learn strategies to build on their own strengths as a responsive communication partner for their baby.
Inklings is baby-led, meaning the program guides caregivers to follow the natural interests and preferences of their baby, rather than encouraging a baby to engage in interests or behaviours that are not natural to them. By helping parents to adapt their own communication style to their babies’ early developmental differences, babies are able to learn in a social environment that is adapted to meet their unique needs.
More information can be found at www.inklings.org.au.
What does Inklings do?
Inklings is a program that supports caregivers to recognise, interpret, and attune to their baby’s unique communication behaviours, and to respond to their baby in a way that shows understanding of their baby’s desires, intentions, and needs.
It is important to emphasise that caregiver-baby interactions are in no way a cause of neurodevelopmental delays or conditions. The aim of Inklings is to support a baby’s social and communication development by enhancing caregivers’ understanding of their baby’s unique
communication. The program facilitates babies and caregivers to engage in meaningful and developmentally supportive two-way interactions.
Inklings supports caregivers to “pause, notice, and respond” to their baby’s unique cues which increases the caregiver’s responsive caregiving. There is strong evidence that increased sensitive and responsive caregiving styles early in life has positive downstream effects on child development and wellbeing. Inklings builds on strengths, not deficits; connection, not correction; and insight, not surveillance.
Where is Inklings being delivered?
Inklings currently has two three-year state-wide pilots in Western Australia (WA) and South Australia (SA). The WA pilot is funded by the National Disability Insurance Agency and the SA pilot a joint venture between the Australian Department of Health, Disability and Aging and SA Government.
Over the last three years, The Kids has developed a framework to engage with the community, train and deliver a very early childhood program through health service providers and in collaboration with state health and government systems in WA and SA. A total of 343 families have commenced Inklings in WA (more than 200 have completed the program) and 151 in SA. Strong partnerships have been established between key stakeholders and consultation has been undertaken with over 500 stakeholders across the two states, contributing to consistent referrals into the program.
In WA, five Inklings delivery partners (i.e., organisations) have been onboarded and now offer Inklings across 11 metropolitan, regional and remote clinic sites (alongside telehealth and home visit delivery options). To date, 48% of families have self-identified a need for support and self-referring, and the remainder have been professionally referred. 24.9% of families participating in the program reside in regional and remote areas, and 7.6% identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.
The SA Government has onboarded 11 SA Inklings delivery partner organisations and now offer Inklings across 30 metropolitan, regional and remote clinic sites, as well as via telehealth and home visits. Since the pilot’s launch in April 2025, over 340 families have been referred to the Inklings program, with 39.4% of families self-identifying a need for support and self-referring, and the remainder via professional referral. 8.4% of families identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.
A dedicated digital platform has been developed to enhance both the efficiency and user experience of program delivery for families and practitioners. Furthermore, an Inklings Practitioner Training Program has been established, through which 28 Inklings Practitioners have been trained in WA and 32 in SA.
What is the evidence base for Inklings?
Inklings is backed by high-quality research evidence. Clinical trials have consistently demonstrated that the program is safe, it is acceptable to caregivers (with high program retention), and is associated with enhanced caregiver–baby interaction, caregiver responsiveness, and child social communication development.
Inklings began as iBASIS-VIPP with an initial pilot back in 2010 and was followed by two randomised controlled trials (both including control groups), with full ethics oversight and follow-up of the babies up to two years after the program ended (at 3 years of age). The clinical trials that led to Inklings were run with high research rigour and were published in high impact, peer-reviewed journals. More details can be found here.
External evaluations of the SA and WA pilots of Inklings are underway; NDIA and La Trobe University are leading the WA evaluation and the SA Government and ARTD are leading the SA evaluation. Outcomes will be shared in due course through these parties.
Inklings also collects caregiver and practitioner feedback for ongoing quality assurance purposes.
From Inklings data feedback to date;
- 97% of caregivers agreed that they, and their baby, benefited from participating in Inklings.
- Practitioners delivering the program agreed that of all families they have delivered the program to, 87% of caregivers and their baby benefited from participating in Inklings.
- 87% of caregivers agreed that Inklings enhanced their baby’s communication with them.
Analysis of caregiver qualitative feedback to date has highlighted the following:
Key Program Strengths:
- Video feedback - caregivers highlighted the video feedback as a key component of the program. The opportunity to stop and review their interactions with their baby was a helpful way to reflect and learn.
- Activities – caregivers enjoyed the various activities undertaken throughout the program. Explanations of why some actions, such as slowing down and watching, can support their interactions with their baby, were a key take-away for many caregivers.
Opportunities for improvement:
- Session structure – a small number of caregivers described a desire for more flexibility in the Program. Some reflected on the session scheduling or session length.
Is Inklings evolving?
Yes, absolutely, as it should through ongoing evaluation, feedback and iteration to best meet children’s and families’ needs. This is consistent with best practice in all aspects of health and disability care. Modifications to programs as they move from research to health service delivery are both necessary and expected to support implementation and sustainability. We have recently undertaken a rigorous process to map the evolution of Inklings, applying the Framework for Reporting Adaptations and Modifications-Enhanced (FRAME; Stirman et al., 2019). The modifications made to Inklings as it evolved from research to implementation were largely intended to improve the fidelity with which practitioners could implement the program in health service contexts and improve its fit with intended recipients of the program.
The majority of these modifications (86%) were planned and overwhelmingly have been determined not to impact the fidelity of the program (that is they did not change core components or elements). A peer-reviewed publication is currently being prepared which provides a transparent overview of the modifications that have occurred from the trial to the pilot. Such a publication is uncommon in this field of work, again highlighting the commitment of Inklings to upholding the program’s rigour, transparency and fidelity as it has moved from research to implementation.
The modifications have centred around updates to the iBASIS Inklings manual. Previous manuals were written many years ago where language was largely deficit based and within an academic context. The updated manuals have reflected these changes to a more strengths based, neuro-affirming and clinically practical language. Although Autistic voices have always been central to our work, the most recent manual version was written in partnership with two AuDHD clinicians —a speech pathologist and psychologist. These professionals have a deep understanding of child development, along with neuro-affirming practice, and their input has elevated and refined the Inklings manual further.
Inklings is also evolving into adapted offerings at the request and need of the community. The goal of these additional offerings is to provide evidence-informed social communication support for babies 0-2 years whether they are in their home with a caregiver, within an early childhood education and care space or attending a playgroup.
Components from Inklings along with broader early child development research have been used to create a supported playgroup, called Tiny Moments. The Tiny Moments Playgroup has been co-designed with early childhood educators and consultants with the aim to support caregivers to sensitively respond to their babies and feel more connected through everyday interactions. The playgroup is being piloted with Westfield Park Child and Parent Centre in Perth, Western Australia, before it will be made available for broader dissemination.
Similarly, The Kids has created an early educator course for those working with babies 0-2 years. This 1-hour short course is designed to deepen early childhood educators understanding of how babies communicate in their first two years of life.
Additional information about Inklings
The following additional information is provided to further information to the Inquiry about Inklings:
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Is the aim of Inklings to reduce or cure autism?
No. Autistic children are born with neurodivergent brains, which extensive research has found is largely genetic in origin. The program seeks to affirm neurodiversity by supporting caregivers to understand the unique skills and abilities of their baby, and to empower caregivers with the confidence to engage with their baby in a way that makes their baby feel understood.
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Were neurodivergent people consulted in its development?
Inklings has benefited from the input of neurodivergent people throughout its development.
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A recent study by a group of autistic and non-autistic researchers conducted an international consultation with more than 100 autistic adults regarding supports for very young children. As part of the consultation, autistic adults were asked about their views and preferences on a range of strategies that are used to support learning in babies. Strong agreement in favour of the use of a variety of strategies was found – all which form the core of the Inklings program.
Additionally, the most recent Inklings manual version was written in partnership with two AuDHD clinicians —a speech pathologist and psychologist. These professionals have a deep understanding of child development, along with neuro-affirming practice, and their input has elevated and refined the Inklings manual further.
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Are there current evaluations of the Inklings pilots?
Yes. Both states have internal and external evaluations and are currently in the phase of program delivery and data collection. Some internal data has been included in this submission and we regularly update WA pilot data on the Inklings Research page on the website. More information on the WA NDIS Pilot can be found on the NDIS Research and Evaluation webpage.
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Is videoing parents a problem?
Video feedback in Inklings is a reflective, collaborative tool where practitioners and caregivers review short clips to highlight strengths, understand cues, and build confidence. It is not a punitive assessment or judgement process. This approach is widely used in infant mental health, attachment-based support, and communication coaching - and the Inklings research trials found that caregivers reported high satisfaction with this process. Participation in Inklings is also voluntary. Families are fully informed about what to expect, can withdraw at any time and provide consent to participate.
How can Inklings support Thriving Kids?
Inklings can support Thriving Kids by providing an evidence-based early support within a stepped support model. Inklings has demonstrated that it is safe, effective, and desirable to many children and families. The program is operating across two states and has existing successful working relationships with various state government departments.
A high quality digital platform has been developed which can facilitate Inklings being delivered across Australia at scale. Inklings is well set up to provide initial connection and support to families across Australia for babies under 2 years that could then move to triage and connection to other services and supports, as required.
Summary
Inklings is a program for babies aged 6-18 months who are showing early differences in their communication and/or connection with others.
The program supports caregivers to understand their baby, and adapt the environment to meet the needs of how the baby naturally communicates and interacts.
The supporting research includes two rigorous clinical trials, making Inklings a program with the highest quality evidence in this area.
While Inklings has its origins in the autism field, the program itself has evidence for supporting babies of all neurotypes who are showing early differences in communication and interaction.
The research has engaged Autistic people as collaborators throughout multiple stages and has been further strengthened recently through partnership with Autistic health professionals to ensure it remains strengths-based and inclusive.
We would welcome the opportunity to provide more detail regarding the work of Inklings.
Yours sincerely
redacted
Professor Andrew Whitehouse
Deputy Director, Research The Kids Research Institute Australia