Strengthening families: enabling children with cerebral palsy and their parents to thrive beyond pain

Lead: Dr Manasi Murthy Mittinty, Senior Research Fellow, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences

Up to 76% of children and adolescents with cerebral palsy (CP) experience chronic pain, far higher than their neurotypical peers, yet it remains one of the most under-recognised and under-treated aspects of the condition. CP affects the whole family: parents taking on primary caregiving roles face chronic stress, social isolation, and declining health, while children's pain disrupts learning, play, and wellbeing. These challenges are compounded for families from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse backgrounds, who face additional barriers including language differences, cultural perceptions of disability, and limited access to culturally responsive services. Despite this, there is a significant gap in evidence-based, non-pharmacological interventions that support both children and parents across diverse cultural contexts.

This pilot project will explore two underexamined areas: how families affected by CP engage in dyadic coping (managing stress and pain together as a unit), and how they informally use music-based activities, such as playlists, singing, or drumming, to cope with pain and support wellbeing. The project will establish a Family-Focused Advisory Group to guide disability research involving Culturally and Linguistically Diverse families, examine whether dyadic coping relates to pain and disability outcomes, and explore families' readiness for structured music-based interventions.

The aim is to generate foundational evidence on how Culturally and Linguistically Diverse families living with CP and chronic pain cope together and use music informally, laying the groundwork for culturally informed, family-centred, non-pharmacological interventions that support both children and parents.