The PDA Society is the only specialist PDA charity in the UK. 

We began in 1997 as the PDA Contact Group, which was founded by parents of PDA children to share information about PDA. In 2016 we became the PDA Society and registered as a UK charity. Our small team has continued to grow, and we now provide high-quality information, training and support to PDAers and everyone in their lives. 

We care about PDA people and believe that happy autonomous lives are possible. Everything we do is about trying to make life better for PDAers and the people who care about them.  

We do this by:  

• Raising awareness: We provide high quality, trustworthy information and resources about PDA. 

• Creating training: We deliver training and events to support PDAers, parents and professionals to help them understand helpful approaches and to build safe, supportive connections. 

• Providing support: We offer tailored support to PDA people and their families through our support service, which is entirely staffed by PDA people or their carers. 

• Influencing change: We work with our community to drive positive change for PDA people in research, policy and practice. 

Underpinning all of this is our commitment to research and using evidence to influence better understanding, better support and better outcomes for autistic-PDA people.

PDA is most commonly described as a profile on the autism spectrum. This means that PDAers are autistic, and may have differences in social interaction, communication and sensory processing, and some restrictive or repetitive behaviours. In addition, PDAers have a fear response to demands and may use social strategies to avoid them. The cluster of traits common to autistic people with PDA is known as a PDA profile.  

Demand avoidance is not uncommon in autistic people; however, most demand avoidant autistic people do not fit a PDA profile. Whilst their behaviours might seem similar on the surface, the approaches needed for PDA people and other demand avoidant autistic people can be different.  

We believe that all autistic people have a right to access professionals who are focused on meeting their individual needs, whether they have a formal diagnosis or not. For this to happen, it is essential to have an understanding of what works for people with less common presentations of autism, such as PDA.