Anne Hedelius

Supporting Caregivers of Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Anne Hedelius

Parenting is an extraordinary job under the best of circumstances but becomes even more daunting when parents are attempting to parent children with a Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). Often they are parenting children that have come into their home via kinship, foster or adoptive placement. Parents may have been ill prepared to deal with the special challenges of parenting children with an FASD and the secondary disabilities that often accompany them. A majority of children with an FASD live in out of home placements and often are at high risk of placement disruption. By improving and implementing supports in the home, school and community, placements can be stabilized. Permanency is important for these children because frequent interruption in caregivers increases their risk of developing secondary disabilities and mental health disorders. Parents can find tremendous benefit from participating in a support group designed to address these unique challenges. This paper addresses the challenges of creating and sustaining a support network for parents of children with an FASD.