The aim of this master’s thesis was to study everyday life experiences of the parents whose child is diagnosed with developmental language disorder and the possible effects of group activities on these experiences. The data was gathered by interviewing parents who participated in group activity. The parents also filled out questionnaires. Gathering data took place in September, October, and November 2020 before and after the group activity. The study is a part of “Vuorovaikutuksen avaimet” project created for families concerned about their children’s language improvement.

The results of the study show that unclear speech of the child and weak level of understanding have made the parents worry about their child’s language improvement. Parents relate the biggest challenges to situations where they do not understand the child, or the child does not understand given instructions. Other challenging situations occur when the child needs to move from one place to another, when the child is speechless or needs to get the parents’ attention. Parents also find it difficult when the child wakes up during the night, and occasional aggressive behaviour. After the group activities the parents could give more alternate explanations for child’s challenging behaviour and tried to see the situations from the child’s perspective. The results of the study indicate that supporting parents’ reflective function will help them to better understand their children’s behaviour.