Communication disorders have different impact in different families, as it is the child`s first social group and essential to the child`s development. The purpose of tis study was to identify the anxieties and desires of a group of 15 parents/caregivers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. The study was approved by the institutions ethic`s committee and all parents signed the consent form. Participants attended 18 45-minute sessions that co-occurred with their child`s therapy sessions. The analysis considered the thematic content of the sessions using the Word Cloud as a tool. Results suggest that each family deals with their child`s communicative disorders according to their own experiences, values and hopes. The most frequent concern was the absence of speech, as the lack of     
 verbal communication is stressful in everyday routines. 

Another issue refers to the difficulties in obtaining the diagnostic and the lack of information regarding the disorder. These results emphasize the important of supportive network comprised of caregivers and professionals that can share information, experiences and concerns or simply mutual support.  

Communication disorders are still an area where most parents express need for more information and social, cultural and educational contexts and backgrounds are essential to any supportive intervention. It is of utmost importance to think about the child with ASD considering their language and overall development, but also the social context and the expanded family as the origin of the meaning of symbolic exchanges.

FAMILY AND THE PROCESS OF COMMUNICATIVE DEVELOPMENT IN CHILDREN WITH ASD (AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS)