This study examined how asthmatic children construct meanings about asthma and the information given to them. A case-study design was used with three subjects involved in a Program of Asthma. A cultural approach which assumes the use of narratives was used to search for children's meanings. Observations in the hospital and interviews with the children's mothers were carried out. Narratives of play were examined to investigate children's subjectivity. These narratives were analysed using Todorov' s structural model. Results showed structural alterations in narratives generated in play which may be explained by asthmatic children's psychological particularities. Culture features were strongly present allowing for the analysis of how children negotiate their personal and familiar meanings with the meanings of the medical culture in which they are embedded. The educational approach which informs children about their diseases is discussed.
Play; asthma; narrative