[Going through cloudy periods: the experience of families of children with Down Syndrome].

The purpose of this study was to understand how the family faces the challenge of having a child with Down Syndrome among its members, so that, from this understanding, nurses can propose and carry out a careful emphasis on family responses to current and potential problems experienced. Symbolic Interactionism and the initial steps of Grounded Theory were used. The study comprised eight families and the results of a phenomenon were presented: "Going though cloudy periods" and its categories: "Faced with the unimaginable", "Adapting to the new reality" and "Living with disappointments". Throughout the experience, families face periods of uncertainty and doubt, requiring new attitudes and coping with the unknown. Health professionals, specifically in nursing, have remained outside the work done with these families. The need to guide and support such families is vital, particularly in coping with periods of difficulties and doubts, in order to minimize and possibly avoid them.