Parents/Carers
Found 62 listings
Pets and PDA
For some people, owning a pet greatly improves both their mental and physical wellbeing - research shows interacting with animals reduces blood pressure, lessens anxiety and improves social interactions.
Many autistic individuals and their families find pet ownership particularly beneficial. A study by Lincoln University, for instance, found that autistic [...]
Max’s story – Why Is He Still Here? book extracts
“Why Is He Still Here?” is a memoir written by Max, a young autistic adult with a PDA profile. It’s a powerful insight into his experiences of the education system and gaming world.
We’re grateful to Max for allowing us to share some extracts from his book to help [...]
The Great Minds Podcast: PDA Society
PDA Society trustees Paula Webb & Vikki Threlfall chat with Emma and Meg from Great Minds Together about lots of topics including terminology around PDA, helpful approaches, differences between ODD & PDA, EHCPs, working with professionals and more.
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Helen’s story – PDA in families and deciding to home educate
Helen self-identifies with a PDA profile and sees the same traits in other family members including her daughter and her Mum, with mutual understanding across the generations having led to an instinctively collaborative and compassionate approach to both parenting and education. Passionately believing that our education system is not [...]
Introduction to PDA (2021)
An introductory video about PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance).
This video is just over 20 minutes long and covers lots of information, including:
What is demand avoidance?
PDA & Autism
Key features of a PDA profile
Research & clinical themes
Why identify PDA?
How PDA can feel
What are demands?
Demand [...]
Home education “hub”
Elective home education - helpful approaches & resources for PDA
This resource consists of helpful approaches and resources to support parents who are home educating PDA children and young people. For general guidance and legislation about elective home education (EHE) in the UK please visit the relevant government website for [...]
Transition to adulthood
When we think about transitions we naturally think about the big transitions like leaving school or transferring from primary to secondary school. But transitions of any kind, at any time, may be difficult for PDA individuals. Starting a new club or activity, leaving home in the morning to go [...]
What is PDA? video
This short video gives a quick introduction to PDA and was created to help raise awareness of PDA with the general public and convey some essential information about PDA in a quick and easily shareable format.
Voiced by a wonderful group of PDAers and PDA Society team members.
Published by: PDA [...]
EHCP guide
Education, Health and Care Plans to support a PDA profile of autism.
An Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) is a document used in England and Wales to outline a child or young person’s special educational needs (SEN) and the provision that should be made to meet those needs.
Not every [...]
Pathological Demand Avoidance Explained
Pathological Demand Avoidance Explained. Available in paperback and as a Kindle/E-Book.
What is PDA? What does it feel like? What does it involve?
PDA stands for 'pathological demand avoidance'. It describes a neurotype (type of brain) which is classed as part of the autism spectrum. There's more to PDA than avoiding things. This book describes what [...]
What is PDA? booklet
This booklet is designed to be an introductory guide to the Pathological Demand Avoidance profile of autism for individuals, families and professionals.
The booklet covers an overview of PDA, how PDA can feel, an insight into what demands are and how they’re avoided, info about identifying PDA, helpful approaches and [...]
Understand Me
Understand Me: An inspiring journey of a boy with PDA
9 year old Spencer recalls his struggles at mainstream school and takes us on a journey of his experiences whilst going through diagnosis and the EHCP process to a successful specialist placement. Spencer’s feelings of isolation and sadness, and his [...]
Do You Know Me?
The sequel to last year’s bestselling Can You See Me? Co-written by autistic twelve-year-old Libby Scott, with diary entries based on her own experiences of autism with a demand avoidant profile. Great for reading with friends and family and engaging a wide audience, this book sees autistic protagonist Tally [...]
National Autistic Society PDA resources
Here are links to the National Autistic Society's PDA resources:
Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA)
Network Autism resources
What is Pathological Demand Avoidance? An adult's perspective
Pathological demand avoidance: an interview with Ruth Fidler and Phil Christie
PDA and mental health
Meeting the educational needs of pupils with PDA
Top [...]
PDA tools and resources – tes online
The following PDA-related resources are available to purchase or download for free from www.tes.com ...
Managing Demand Avoidance Toolkit
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The Demand Avoidance Toolkit, is an adapted framework of collaborative approaches used in education to teach pupils with PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance). This pack works alongside the Zones of Regulation [...]
PDA-related suggestions for healthcare passports
The National Autistic Society has created a health passport template that you can either complete online and print out, or print out and complete by hand, for yourself, your child or someone you care for.
There is also helpful guidance on the National Autistic Society’s website about how to fill [...]
Articles
The most recent PDA articles published in professional publications and on national support websites.
Providing PDA support - Aileen Hosty - nasen Connect www.nasen.org.uk (shared with kind permission) May 2020
Understanding PDA – Ruth Fidler & Libby Hill - The Link (speech and language magazine for schools) January 2020
[...]
Helpful approaches infographic: PANDA strategies
This infographic illustrates the key strategies which are helpful in working with and understanding someone with a PDA profile of autism.
Conventional support strategies, including those often recommended for ASD, are often ineffective and counter-productive with a PDA profile of autism.
In place of structure, routine, firm boundaries, praise, rewards/consequences, is [...]
Keys to care
A single page help sheet for supporting and helping someone with a PDA profile. Ideal for those working with individuals whose care-needs have been identified as relating to demand avoidance. Useful as a grab-sheet for members of staff - a regular reminder of what can help.
Also helpful for family [...]
Practice Guidance for Professionals – Ireland
The 'Mapping Experiences of PDA in Ireland Study', Doyle and Kenny, was published in 2020.
A report describes the research and findings in detail.
In addition, the study resulted in the development of a series of seven practical and appealing advice sheets for professionals and parents. They have been published by PRISM [...]
Good diagnostic assessment – children
This information has been produced by the PDA Development Group, August 2017. The PDA Development Group is an informal group comprised of representatives from the NAS and PDA Society and individual practitioners with an interest in PDA from a range of disciplines (education, paediatrics, psychology, research) working in both [...]
Bill Nason’s PDA insights
Bill Nason is a mental health professional with a masters degree in clinical psychology and more than 30 years of experience in treating individuals with developmental disabilities.
He regularly shares helpful posts relating to PDA on his autism discussion page on Facebook:
Anxiety, Opposition and Demand Avoidance
The Anxiety of [...]
Super Shamlal – Living and Learning with Pathological Demand Avoidance
This illustrated storybook is aimed at children aged 7-11 to help them recognise the features of PDA, and develop tools to support them. A helpful introduction for parents and carers explains how it feels to live with PDA, and the appendices at the back provide useful strategies to be [...]
Life on an Alien Planet: A PDA boy and his journey through the education system
With useful advice and observations, Katie Stott provides a detailed account of the PDA specific behaviours in her son Fraser and how she learnt to lessen the impact of these by focusing on the cause (anxiety and a need for control), rather than the effect. Katie explains how Fraser’s [...]
Saturdays at Noon
This debut novel by the parent of a PDA child is told from the point of view of the three main characters, Emily, Jake and six-year-old Alfie. PDA is woven into the storyline with relatable situations reflective of real life.
Author: Rachel Marks
Publisher: Penguin
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Reasonable adjustments for schools – editable
Whether at primary school or secondary school, this resource can be re-written to suit your own child. Written by a parent who wanted to share it, it is a detailed example of the types of accommodations a school might make.
It is important to read through and decide which parts [...]
Coping with Christmas
A description of approaches that can be helpful for managing Christmas and other family celebrations.
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NDTi – short introduction to PDA (2019)
NDTi has partnered with the PDA Society to help raise awareness and increase understanding of PDA – a profile on the autism spectrum.
Following the high profile programme File on 4 about Transforming Care, featuring the story of 17 year old Bethany who has PDA traits, it was felt that [...]
Understanding PDA – Part 1
A two-part webinar conducted live in March 2017 and now available here. The webinar was primarily designed for parents and carers of PDA children or who feel that PDA may be the best ‘fit’ for their child’s profile, but may also be helpful for professionals (medical, education, social care) [...]
Understanding PDA – Part 2
A two-part webinar conducted live in March 2017 and now available here. The webinar was primarily designed for parents and carers of PDA children or who feel that PDA may be the best ‘fit’ for their child’s profile, but may also be helpful for professionals (medical, education, social care) [...]