Video-Feedback Interventions to Support Parents of Children with Neurodevelopmental Disabilities

Infants with neurodevelopmental disabilities (NDs) show emotional, cognitive, and socio-interactive dysregulation that dramatically impacts parents’ caregiving behaviors. Early video-feedback interventions (VFIs) are effective in promoting sensitive parenting, which in turn supports infants’ development, even in the case of NDs. In the light of limited resources of the healthcare systems, technological advances in telecare may facilitate the delivery of VFI to a greater number of families of infants with ND. To date, no study has tested the effectiveness of a telecare VFI (TVFI) for families of infants with this clinical condition. The first part of the present chapter presents the state of the art in the use of VFIs to support parents of children with NDs and evidence about its effectiveness in promoting both parents and children’s health. The second part of the chapter presents the Supporting Parenting at Home-Empowering Rehabilitation through Engagement (SPHERE) project, an ongoing randomized control trial aimed at assessing the effectiveness of an early family-centered TVFI for parents of infants diagnosed with ND, providing insights and future directions from both a research and clinical point of view.