Parental Distrust as Protective Strategy

When families with stigmatised or misunderstood conditions (here, autism) withhold or sceptically manage information, it can be a rational defensive response to prior harms, misdiagnosis, and punitive or incompetent services rather than simple obstructionism. Policy responses that default to blaming ‘uncooperative parents’ risk ignoring the institutional causes of non‑cooperation and worsening outcomes. — Recognizing parental distrust as an adaptive strategy reframes accountability debates after tragedies and points policy toward rebuilding service trustworthiness, not punitive oversight.