PERFORMANCE OF PATERNITY: experiences of men with autistic children in youtube videos

Abstract

Paternity is perceived as a singular moment in a man's life. Being the father of one or more children with autism results in particular experiences and varied repercussions in families, which requires the reconfiguration of roles, models and expectations. Effective participation in the care of autistic children is challenging for men as well. Thus, the objective was to understand the performance of paternity, the participation in the care of children and the construction of male identity, through the experiences reported by participants in video recordings published on Youtube. This is qualitative research, with a descriptive-exploratory objective, having as procedure the translation of already existing visual information. The data collection was carried out in September 2022, by selecting free and open access videos. Twenty-three videos were analyzed, separated into two groups, the first composed of 14 spontaneous reports, and the second composed of 9 interviews. The data analysis was carried out by thematic content. The results indicated that the men shared their personal experiences to support other people experiencing the same situations and reported emotions and feelings, the process from diagnosis to acceptance, the mutual learning during the care of their children and the importance of support, including spiritual support. It was concluded that men associated the responsibility for the care of their children with the exercise of paternity and male identity and that social networks can help in the dissemination of information, in reducing prejudice and increasing the participation of fathers.