Parents’ perception about autistic children : a descriptive study

Abstract

Introduction: the infantile autism is a developmental disorder that affects social interaction, language, cognition and quality of life. Objective: describing the parents’ perception about daily care for autistic children. Methods: it was a descriptive and qualitative study performed with parents of autistic children attending a reference health center in a Brazilian city. A semi-structured interview was used to collect data. The participants gave information about their socioeconomic status, daily care activities, hope and social interaction. Results: based on the speeches of the participants, the following categories were described: negative feelings about the disorder; the (in)dependent autistic children and future perspectives for them; family acceptance of autism, which required appropriated changes in the family environment. Conclusion: analyzing the parents’ perception of autism is essential because it enables the multidisciplinary group of health professionals to establish adequate and specific health interventions.