ABSTRACT:
This paper aims to reflect on historical aspects related to autism in Brazil from the 1970s to 2008. We analyzed two autobiographies written by mothers whose children were diagnosed with autism between the 1970s and the 1980s. The writings of these women were produced in distinct moments (one in 1988 and the other in 2008), and they are understood here as pertinent sources for producing stories that illuminate issues related to maternal activism in the period in focus from the female perspective. We concluded that the two analyzed documents demonstrate that the family, in the case of the autistic spectrum, was a fundamental subject in the development of an incipient protection network for autistic people, in a moment of democratic transition in the country. Despite the temporal distance of the narratives, it is possible to verify elements in common, such as the motivations to write about the subject, the role of associations of mothers and fathers of autistic people and the difficulties in finding adequate services for the needs of their children. Differences are also found, especially in terms of maternal activism.
KEYWORDS:
Autism; Motherhood; Activism