by Lorna Parle | Dec 19, 2025
In May 2023, the PDA Society launched the ‘Being Understood’ survey to help us gather up to date information about what life is like for the PDA community. PDA people (age 17 years or over) and parents, carers and partners of PDA people were invited to take part and...
by Lorna Parle | Dec 19, 2025
In May 2023, the PDA launched a community survey, to which 921 people responded. The report presents the survey findings focusing on the experiences of three groups of survey respondents-PDA children and young people, PDA adults and parents and carers. The aim of the...
by Lorna Parle | Dec 4, 2025
This qualitative study explored the experiences and support needs of ten mothers of autistic children with a PDA profile. Parents reported limited understanding of PDA among professionals, resulting in misinterpretation, stigma, and inadequate or even harmful support....
by Lorna Parle | Dec 4, 2025
This mixed‑methods study investigated how anxiety and intolerance of uncertainty (IU) are linked to Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) in adults. In Experiment 1, an online survey of 163 adults found that both general anxiety (measured by MASQ‑D30) and IU (via...
by Lorna Parle | Dec 4, 2025
The study explored the experiences and support needs of parents caring for autistic children who display Extreme or Pathological Demand Avoidance (E/PDA) behaviours. Through interviews with 21 parents, the researchers identified four key themes: a lack of...
