--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Parents don't particularly care whether…" description: "\"Parents don't particularly care whether it's early infantile autism or whatever label the clinicians have put on it. All they want is treatment, and th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a24/darold-treffert-20114_autism_parents-don-t-particularly-care-whether_2428087.jpg" --- # Parents don't particularly care whether it's early… ![“Parents don't particularly care whether it's early infantile autism or whatever label the clinicians have put on it. All they want is treatment, and they want what's best for their child, whatever that is. And when it comes to treatment, it may be that there's much more shared interventions that…” quote by Darold Treffert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a24/darold-treffert-20114_autism_parents-don-t-particularly-care-whether_2428087.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a24/darold-treffert-20114_autism_parents-don-t-particularly-care-whether_2428087.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a24/darold-treffert-20114_autism_parents-don-t-particularly-care-whether_2428087.jpg) > “Parents don't particularly care whether it's early infantile autism or whatever label the clinicians have put on it. All they want is treatment, and they want what's best for their child, whatever that is. And when it comes to treatment, it may be that there's much more shared interventions that don't make any difference what label we're putting on it.” [Darold Treffert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darold-treffert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Parents prioritize effective care over diagnostic labels, focusing on what benefits their child. **In simple terms:** Parents care more about help than names. Key Takeaway Focus on outcomes, not labels. Themes parenting healthcare autism Mood concerned hopeful Type informative advocacy When to use this quote - family meetings - therapy decisions - school planning Key Concepts labeling intervention strategies Questions to Reflect On - What treatments work best regardless of diagnosis? - How can we reduce stigma of labels? A Different Perspective Labels can still affect insurance and services. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Autism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autism/) [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Clinicians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clinicians/) [Differences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences/) [Intervention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intervention/) [Labels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labels/) [Parent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parent/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Parents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parents/) [Treatment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/treatment/) ## Related quotes > [I think that if I could do any sort of research of autism that I wanted to do, at this point I would take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darold-treffert/i-think-that-if-i-could-do-any-sort-of-research-of-autism-that-i/) [Darold Treffert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darold-treffert/) > [I think one of the problems with the definition of autism is we keep expanding it. It started as "early infantile autism", and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darold-treffert/i-think-one-of-the-problems-with-the-definition-of-autism-is-we-keep/) [Darold Treffert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darold-treffert/) > [I have a fairly strict definition of early infantile autism. That is not to say that people who don't meet that classic description don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darold-treffert/i-have-a-fairly-strict-definition-of-early-infantile-autism-that-is/) [Darold Treffert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darold-treffert/) > [ Hillary \[Clinton\] even said that, whether or not teenagers want treatment, they have to get it. So it's involuntary treatment. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-breggin/hillary-clinton-even-said-that-whether-or-not-teenagers-want/) [Peter Breggin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-breggin/) > [Treatment Plans and Interventions for Depression and Anxiety Disorders provides clinicians with essential guidelines to treat patients in the era of managed care. Seven…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-s-beck/treatment-plans-and-interventions-for-depression-and-anxiety/) Judith S. Beck > [We now live in the era of the super-specialist - of clinicians who have taken the time to practice at one narrow thing until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/we-now-live-in-the-era-of-the-super-specialist-of-clinicians-who-have/) [Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/) > [Suppose it was demonstrated that one out of twenty alcoholics could learn to become a moderate social drinker. 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Mills and Crowley have masterfully captured essential elements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-k-zeig/milton-erickson-was-a-master-at-using-experiential-techniques-to/) [Jeffrey K. Zeig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-k-zeig/) > [“the line between what clinicians can do well and what they cannot do at all well is not obvious, and certainly not obvious to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/the-line-between-what-clinicians-can-do-well-and-what-they-cannot-do/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [Getting lab results to child clinicians faster compliments our Action Plan for Health Care by helping more patients get the right care, at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deb-matthews/getting-lab-results-to-child-clinicians-faster-compliments-our-action/) Deb Matthews > [I think the gold standard is a clinical diagnosis, that an astute clinician interacting with a child, interviewing the parents, talking with teachers makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-fischbach/i-think-the-gold-standard-is-a-clinical-diagnosis-that-an-astute/) [Gerald Fischbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-fischbach/) > [The first reason for psychology's failure to understand what people are and how they act, is that clinicians and psychiatrists, who are generally the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-weisstein/the-first-reason-for-psychology-s-failure-to-understand-what-people/) [Naomi Weisstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-weisstein/) > [The great success stories of chemotherapy were always in relatively obscure types of cancer. Childhood leukemia constitutes less than two percent of all cancers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-w-moss/the-great-success-stories-of-chemotherapy-were-always-in-relatively/) [Ralph W. Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-w-moss/) ## More by Darold Treffert > [The ways in which acquired savants show up are usually the same ways that congenital, or non-acquired, savant syndrome shows up. They tend to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darold-treffert/the-ways-in-which-acquired-savants-show-up-are-usually-the-same-ways/) [Darold Treffert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darold-treffert/) > [Not only when one does meditation one is getting into a different realm, cognitively, but if you look at the imaging that's done on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darold-treffert/not-only-when-one-does-meditation-one-is-getting-into-a-different/) [Darold Treffert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darold-treffert/) > [When I met my first savant in 1962, I was impressed by the abilities in these youngsters who had severe disabilities. They appeared to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darold-treffert/when-i-met-my-first-savant-in-1962-i-was-impressed-by-the-abilities/) [Darold Treffert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darold-treffert/) > [I have a fairly strict definition of early infantile autism. That is not to say that people who don't meet that classic description don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darold-treffert/i-have-a-fairly-strict-definition-of-early-infantile-autism-that-is/) [Darold Treffert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darold-treffert/) > [What happens is most of us are so busy in our lives with our families and our vocation which we should be, but we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darold-treffert/what-happens-is-most-of-us-are-so-busy-in-our-lives-with-our-families/) [Darold Treffert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darold-treffert/) > [With respect to why some acquired savants are musical, and some are good at the arts, and some are mathematical, why aren't they all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darold-treffert/with-respect-to-why-some-acquired-savants-are-musical-and-some-are/) [Darold Treffert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darold-treffert/) > [Savant syndrome and autism, I think, are not disorders of brain structure, but they're disorders of brain function.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darold-treffert/savant-syndrome-and-autism-i-think-are-not-disorders-of-brain/) [Darold Treffert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darold-treffert/) > [Savant syndrome, characteristically, consists of left hemisphere dysfunction coupled with right hemisphere emergence, and what you see in the savant are basically right brain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darold-treffert/savant-syndrome-characteristically-consists-of-left-hemisphere/) [Darold Treffert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darold-treffert/) > [I think one of the problems with the definition of autism is we keep expanding it. 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And some kids are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/temple-grandin/autism-is-a-big-continuum-going-from-someone-who-remains-nonverbal/) [Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-grandin/) > [Metaphor isn't just a fancy turn of speech. It shapes our thoughts and feelings, reaches out to grasp new experience, and even binds our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-richardson/metaphor-isn-t-just-a-fancy-turn-of-speech-it-shapes-our-thoughts-and/) [James Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-richardson/) > [The position of Autism Speaks has been for quite awhile that we need to find out what's happening. We know there's a genetic component,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-emken/the-position-of-autism-speaks-has-been-for-quite-awhile-that-we-need/) [Elizabeth Emken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-emken/) > [Some people with autism who don't talk, all they hear are vowel sounds. Like if I said 'cup,' they might just hear 'uh.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/temple-grandin/some-people-with-autism-who-don-t-talk-all-they-hear-are-vowel-sounds/) [Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-grandin/) > [Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/children-must-be-taught-how-to-think-not-what-to-think/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Mild autism can give you a genius like Einstein. If you have severe autism, you could remain nonverbal. 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