Adaptation in families raising children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Part II: What would help

ABSTRACT

Background

Our aim in this paper is to build upon the experience of family adaptation and to describe one unique stressor experienced by adoptive parents of children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) that may hinder successful family adaptation.

Method

Fifty-one adoptive parents of children with FASD from 36 families in Ontario, Canada, participated in a mixed methods study. Parents completed 2 questionnaires, the Family Crisis Oriented Personal Scales and the Questionnaire on Resources and Stress – Friedrich’s Short Form, and participated in in-depth, semistructured interviews, which were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis.

Results

Parents expressed that improved knowledge and awareness of FASD from healthcare professionals, teachers, and society as a whole would help in their adaptation to raising their children with FASD. Specifically, parents discussed the lack of recognition of the symptoms of FASD, the lack of understanding about what a diagnosis of FASD means, and the need to promote better messages of prevention.

Conclusions

Our findings display a clear need for more supports for families, particularly in the area of increasing public and professional knowledge about the realities of raising a child with FASD.

KEYWORDS:

• adaptation
• families
• fetal alcohol spectrum disorder
• mixed methods
• knowledge

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by The Laurentian University Research Fund (LURF); The Consortium National de Formation en Santé; Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada [Grant Number 766-2012-0854].