So, I just took a foster adoption class and one presenter was an expert and advocate of FASD.

Children with FASD present with a HUGE list of behavioral and developmental problems and is very often misdiagnosed as ADHD, ODD, Autism, etc. It is/can be very, very difficult to parent a FASD child, especially when there is no diagnosis and a lack of support.

Anyway, she told us a story about a couple - a good couple - who were charged with abuse of their adoptive or foster son because he was sleeping locked in a room with no bed and a bucket for a toilet. The child was so misbehaved and difficult that this was eventually what it came to. That the stress and difficulty led them to do things that they would never have done under normal circumstances. And it wasn't done with the intent to harm or kill, but just to survive. (And iirc the child was ok, it's just obviously a situation that doesn't look good.)

Now, obviously this still is not a good solution and should not be condoned, but again, it is simply survival mode. FASD is no fucking joke and it's estimated that 70-85% of children in foster care have had pre-natal exposure to alcohol and fall on the FASD spectrum.

It is entirely possible that this girl had extreme issues and parents were just in survival mode. (I did not see in the article if it said why she was so small).

Again, still not ok, they should have sought additional help, but after learning what I learned and seeing she was adopted, I have to reserve a bit of my judgement on the parents. (But not all of it).