{"id":15653,"date":"2025-08-08T13:06:30","date_gmt":"2025-08-08T12:06:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pdasociety.org.uk\/pda2025staging\/?p=15653"},"modified":"2026-04-19T14:44:43","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T13:44:43","slug":"calling-young-pdaers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pdasociety.org.uk\/pda2025staging\/calling-young-pdaers\/","title":{"rendered":"Calling young PDAers: do you want to change how adults see PDA?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What<\/strong>‘s the project about?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Too often, children and young people with a PDA profile are misunderstood. Expectations that adults should ‘manage’ or ‘control’ behaviour often override your need for autonomy and collaboration. It\u2019s no wonder so many of you end up out of school, out of friendship groups, or out of the kinds of support that could really help you thrive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We know that support rooted in human rights \u2014 that respects autonomy and reduces power imbalance \u2014 can make all the difference. But too often, adults are told they must stick to strict, adult-led approaches\u2026 even when you\u2019re clearly saying, that doesn\u2019t work for me<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This project is about flipping that script. About you using your voices, ideas and lived experiences to shape something that can change how adults think about support – and why they need to change it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

What we’re looking for<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re building a small team (around 13\u201318 people) of PDA young people aged 16\u201325, who are interested in helping shape this work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over six months, starting this September, we\u2019ll meet online every couple of weeks to explore:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • What kinds of support have felt helpful – and unhelpful?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • What do we want adults (especially professionals) to understand better?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • What could we\u00a0create<\/em>\u00a0that helps them actually hear us – and change?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    The format is fully flexible – you can dip in and out. No one has to attend every session. We\u2019ll also share written prompts for anyone who prefers to work quietly or needs time to process; there will be options to contribute via video, voice notes or any other medium that works for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/div>\n\n\n\n

    What we’ll be doing<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    This project is co-produced – that means you\u2019ll help guide what we make, who we want to reach, and how we get it out there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Want to make a film? Design a toolkit? Host a podcast? Paint a mural? Plan a conference? If it helps get your message across, can be done with the resources available, and collectively you think it\u2019ll work – then we\u2019ll support you to make it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    You\u2019ll be supported by two adult facilitators, whose role is to support and advise <\/em>on what approaches could be effective in making the changes you think are important, not lead. They\u2019ll handle any admin, help bring ideas to life, and do their best to ensure you feel safe and comfortable taking part in whatever way works for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/div>\n\n\n\n

    What you’ll get<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
      \n
    • A real chance to shape the conversation around PDA and support<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Opportunities to be creative, thoughtful and powerful<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Flexibility to contribute in the ways that feel best for you<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • A space where your voice, your views and your comfort matter<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
      <\/div>\n\n\n\n

      Want to be involved?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      All we need for now is a quick email. Just let us know:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      • Your name<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Your age<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Your preferred way for us to contact you<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        Email\u00a0lorna.parle@pdasociety.org.uk<\/strong>\u00a0with the subject:\u00a0I\u2019m interested in the PDA support project<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        We\u2019ll then be in touch with more info about next steps.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Blog article calling for young people with a PDA profile to discuss what helps them feel supported.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":16368,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[151,150],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blogs","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pdasociety.org.uk\/pda2025staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pdasociety.org.uk\/pda2025staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pdasociety.org.uk\/pda2025staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pdasociety.org.uk\/pda2025staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pdasociety.org.uk\/pda2025staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15653"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.pdasociety.org.uk\/pda2025staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15653\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pdasociety.org.uk\/pda2025staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pdasociety.org.uk\/pda2025staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pdasociety.org.uk\/pda2025staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pdasociety.org.uk\/pda2025staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}