Coparenting is a systemic concept that refers to the way parents work together in their roles as parents. This study examined coparenting in 5 parents of children with autism aged between 4 and 7. A semi-structured interview was used, based on the McHale´s coparenting dimensions and on categories originated by this study. The results showed that parental tasks are not equally shared between the couple and this occurs due to the demands related to the autism itself and due to the way the family is organized to attend these demands. The solidarity and mutual support occur mainly during the diagnoses process and the behavioral challenges. Finally, one of the major sources of conflict between the couple are divergences related to the childrearing practices and in particular the overprotection/limits issues.
Coparenting; autism; family