Emerging quantitative research found self-compassion to be a unique predictor of parental stress in parents of children with ASD above other predictors. However, research on the lived experience of self-compassion in families of children with ASD is limited. Using a qualitative thematic analysis approach, nineteen mothers of children with ASD with a mean age of 39.19 years (SD = 3.56, Range = 31.00 -50.00 years) were interviewed about their lived experiences of stress and self-compassion. Themes derived from interviews include: the impact and causes of stress, benefits of self-compassion, barriers to self-compassion, and aids to self-compassion. The findings deepen our understanding of the experience of self-compassion in this population.Limitations and future directions are discussed. Keywords: Qualitative, self-compassion, parenting, mothers of children with ASD, parent stress.Autism Spectrum Disorder is characterised by persistent impairments in social interactions and communication across different contexts, as well as restricted, repetitive behaviour, activities, or interests (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). ASD is a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting 0.74% of children under the age of seven in Australia (Bent, Dissanayake, & Barbaro, 2015) or approximately one in 160 children more globally (Elsabbagh et al., 2012). Parents of children with ASD report higher levels of stress than parents of typically developing children, children with intellectual disabilities, children with Down Syndrome, children