Inklings
Supporting babies who are developing differently
A landmark program
Inklings, facilitated by The Kids Research Institute Australia (formerly Telethon Kids Institute), is a landmark program designed to support babies aged 6 to 18 months who show early differences in social interaction and communication development. These babies may not display behaviours such as making eye contact, responding to their name, or engaging in back-and-forth communication. Developed over a decade by an international team of health professionals and researchers, Inklings is backed by strong clinical evidence demonstrating its ability to improve social and communication skills in young children while helping parents adapt their interactions to better meet their child’s needs.
With the guidance of a trained practitioner, the program connects trained health practioners and caregivers, enabling practioners to work with caregivers in interacting with their baby to help them to better understand and support the different ways that their baby communicates.
In 2023, a state-wide pilot was funded by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) to be delivered by The Kids Institute, in partnership with Child and Adolescent Health Service and WA Country Health Service. With a proven track record of delivering large-scale, complex projects, The Kids Institute partnered with equ to digitise the program. We undertook a ground-up development process to create an efficient and scalable solution, enabling seamless delivery of the program across Western Australia through a network of metro, regional, and remote delivery partners.
While the program itself was named Inklings, its interconnectedness inspired the digital platform to be aptly named Inklink.
Unique and complex requirements
The challenge of developing the Inklink platform was immense. It needed to address the unique requirements of four distinct audiences while seamlessly connecting them and providing robust tools for managing, administering, and delivering the program to end users. Each audience had specific needs that the platform had to accommodate:
- Caregivers: Parents or parental figures of babies with developmental differences, either currently participating in the program or expressing interest in joining.
- Practitioners: Trained professionals delivering the Inklings program, who rely on the platform for assistance with program delivery, record-keeping, and tracking developmental progress.
- Delivery Partner Staff: Administrative staff within clinics or sole traders offering the Inklings program.
- Inklings Operations Team: A team within The Kids, responsible for screening, intake, and allocation of families during the pilot, as well as overseeing the program’s day-to-day operations.
Given the scale and complexity of the project, effective collaboration between our team and The Kids Institute was essential to its success. Adopting an agile delivery model, our teams worked side-by-side, ensuring seamless communication and joint problem-solving to bring the program to life.
Extensive research
To ensure the platform met the specific needs of these audiences, comprehensive user research was undertaken. This included one-on-one interviews, surveys, and focus groups with representatives from each audience group providing a deep understanding of their workflows, challenges, and expectations.
Mapping the customer journey
Extensive customer journey mapping was conducted to understand the interactions of both caregivers and practitioners with the program. For caregivers, this process explored how they entered the program, engaged with practitioners, and navigated their baby’s developmental journey. For practitioners, journey mapping focused on their role in delivering Inklings, from initial family contact through to monitoring progress and outcomes.
Our research revealed that most caregivers with young children only have time to use their phone and cannot sit at a computer. This insight guided our mobile-first design approach, ensuring accessibility and ease of use for caregivers.
Understanding business workflows
Workflow mapping was also critical to understanding how the program should be delivered behind the scenes. This phase focused on mapping backstage operations, such as screening, intake, allocation, and program administration, to create an efficient delivery model.
Prioritisation was key
With a wide range of potential features to consider, and budget and timeframes to manage, prioritisation was essential. Using tools like Jira Product Discovery, we evaluated and ranked features based on their value, ensuring the platform delivered maximum impact within the available resources.
A digital ecosystem of interconnected platforms
equ developed three interconnected yet intentionally distinct systems to support the program's diverse needs:
- Caregivers: The caregiver platform, including onboarding forms, was designed to be clear, comforting, and easy to use on mobile devices. Recognising caregivers' limited time, the experience was optimised for quick interactions before, during, and after the program.
- Delivery Partners: The delivery partner platform serves both practitioners and administrators, functioning as a waitlist management tool and a session delivery tool. Built with tablets in mind, it ensures an optimal experience for practitioners delivering the program during sessions.
- Administrators: The operations platform supports the Inklings team in screening, triaging, and managing families through the program. Designed for efficiency and transparency, it emphasises timeframes, quick understanding of special circumstances, and robust audit logging to uphold best practices.
Administering the program
A comprehensive custom administration centre was developed to support the Inklings operations team. This platform enables the efficient management of referrals and screenings, and the resource allocation of families. It also provides a centralised system for administrative oversight, ensuring seamless coordination and transparency across the program.
Streamlining operations
An eligibility requirement of the NDIS funded pilot was a detailed screening questionnaire called the ASQ.
The ASQ involves adjusted age calculations, variations and weighted scoring, all of which were being done manually per application. Now, InkLink’s custom expression of interest form automatically triages families into the right questionnaire and calculates their eligibility, shortening the wait time for caregivers and automating the operations process.
Connecting practitioners and caregivers. Program delivery partners are notified when a caregiver application is successful, with the system proving tools to seamlessly connect a trained specialist to the caregiver, ensuring timely and efficient program delivery.
A 10-session program.
Caregivers participate in a 10-session program where they upload short videos of themselves interacting with their baby. These videos allow trained specialists to provide personalised support and mentorship, helping caregivers better understand and support their baby's unique communication style.Tracking progress.
Caregivers can seamlessly navigate their journey through the program by tracking their progress, viewing upcoming sessions, and accessing tailored learning materials and preparation activities before each session. This approach ensures every session is as effective and impactful as possible.Staying connected.
The platform enables trained specialists to view the uploaded videos and track caregiver's progress, enabling them to provide informed, tailored feedback during every session.Extensive technical scoping
To ensure the platform was built on a robust and scalable foundation, we conducted several technical scoping sessions. These sessions focused on documenting the client’s existing systems and processes, mapping out how they interacted, and identifying opportunities for optimisation. The outcomes were consolidated into a comprehensive High-Level Solution Architecture Design (HLD) document, which served as the blueprint for the platform.
Enterprise security. Security was a top priority, given the platform's handling of sensitive data. The architecture was designed with secure coding practices, rigorous testing, and a comprehensive penetration test to ensure resilience. Leveraging AWS's built-in security features and industry best practices, the platform achieved a strong security posture, meeting strict compliance standards.
Our focus was on building a scalable, secure, and highly integrated platform, leveraging AWS technologies to ensure seamless performance and adaptability to the client’s needs.
Successfully connecting families with the program
The InkLink platform has only recently launched, yet families are already successfully onboarding and engaging with the program. By seamlessly connecting caregivers, practitioners, and administrators, the platform is transforming the way early intervention support is delivered. This world-first digital solution has been successfully rolled out across Western Australia, laying the foundation for future national expansion and ensuring more families can access the vital support they need.
Next case study