Objective: To analyse the context in which the diagnosis of autism is revealed and the impact of this revelation on family relationships.
Methods: This is a qualitative study with 10 families of autistic children assisted at the Psychosocial Care Centre for Children and Youths in a municipality of Paraíba. Data were collected between July and August 2013 through semi-structured interviews and interpreted using thematic content analysis.
Results: The identified Main Unit of Analysis and the respective categories were: the impact of disclosing the diagnosis of autism to the family; characteristics of diagnosis disclosure: the place, time, and the dialogic relationship between the professional and the family; changes in family relationships and the mother's burden when caring for the autistic child.
Conclusions: The health professionals who report autism should better prepare the family to cope with the difficulties of this syndrome and autonomously care for the autistic child.