Leveraging monitoring, evaluation, and learning to scale the Enabling Inclusion program for children with disabilities in India and globally.

Introduction: Children with disabilities in low- and middle-income countries face many challenges and lack adequate services, including access to rehabilitation professionals. To address this lack of access, Amar Seva Sangam Ayikudy (ASSA), a non-governmental organization (NGO) in India, designed a technology-leveraged rehabilitation program called Enabling Inclusion (EI), and implemented it in one state (Tamil Nadu, India) before scaling it. The model is supported by the EI app, which enables organizations to screen, assess and monitor progress of children with disabilities via rehabilitation specialists and community rehabilitation workers, and to provide family-centered, goal-based interventions.

Rapid-Cycle Evaluation in an Early Intervention Program for Children With Developmental Disabilities in South India: Optimizing Service Providers' Quality of Work-Life, Family Program Engagement, and School Enrollment.

This paper explores how implementation and refinement of an early intervention (EI) program for children with delayed development was informed by an iterative, intentional and structured process of measurement. Providing access to early intervention therapy for children in rural areas of India is challenging due to a lack of rehabilitation therapists and programs. Following a biopsychosocial framework and principles of community-based rehabilitation, a non-governmental organization, Amar Seva Sangam (ASSA), overcame those barriers by designing a digital technology supported EI program in rural Tamil Nadu, India.

Impact of a family-centred early intervention programme in South India on caregivers of children with developmental delays.

Background: This study evaluated the impact on caregiver strain and family empowerment among caregivers of children with disabilities who received training and education as part of a family-centred community-based early intervention programme in South India.

Methods: This prospective open cohort longitudinal study compared change from baseline to two years post-intervention among caregivers of the first cohort of children who were enrolled in the programme. Paired t-tests determined effect on the Modified Caregiver Strain Index (MCSI) and Family Empowerment Scale (FES), and -values were adjusted for multiple comparisons using the False Discovery Rate approach.