Daily experiences of parenting a child with suspected FASD and the applicability of a psycho-educational group.

The present study explored the types of challenges parents with children of suspected FASD face on a daily basis and parents' experiences of those challenges. Participants were 7 foster and biological parents who were raising children with suspected FASD these parents were scheduled to participate in a psycho-educational parenting group and their children were on a waitlist for assessment. Qualitative data was gathered using semi-structured interviews and journals. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis and incorporated aspects of the constant comparative method. Results suggest that participants have faced challenges related to a challenging environment, the child's impaired cognitive functioning, other medical conditions, seeking to facilitate the child's independence, and the child's confrontational attitudes. Meta themes included parents having hope that improvement was possible, parents' self-awareness and self-reflection, parents' flexibility and creativity, and parents' understanding of situations form the child's perspective. Implication for programming, counselling, and future research are discussed. --Leaf ii.