"É tão difícil alguém vestir nossos chinelinhos": relatos de mães de crianças com TEA

Involving families of children with disabilities in treatment is a change that began in the 1960s, which has become more and more consolidated. Fathers and mothers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are part of this group that may benefit from such measures. The objective of this research is to identify strengths and weaknesses of the parental role from the mothers’ report. Data collection was carried out through the application of the Brazilian Family Interaction Quality Program - a special interaction program that included ten participants, allmothers of children with ASD. The meetings were recorded and the audios analyzed for semantic similarities of the mothers’ speeches. Three central themes were identified: being the mother of a child with autism, my autistic child and support networks. The characteristics of ASD have an impact on the role of the mother and on the options of inadequate parental educational practices. Limitations and suggestions for future studies are discussed.