Young people
Found 35 listings
The PDA-Saurus
The PDA-Saurus has decided to embark on an adventure to find her autonomy, but will she find it? Come along on her journey of self discovery, as she meets new friends and discovers who she really is.
This book invites PDA children into a world where they can see themselves [...]
Understanding PDA: For Kids & Grown Ups
'Understanding PDA: For Kids & Grown Ups' is a book about Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA), from the perspective of a little boy called Ethan. Ethan shares his personal experiences with PDA, and how it affects his ability to handle certain demands and expectations. The book offers valuable insight and [...]
Surviving A-Levels – Jo’s story
Personal Reflection: Surviving A-Levels by Jo.
Jo is a PDA young adult. He studied A-Level Philosophy, Maths and English at a mainstream school and shares his personal experience here, offering valuable insights for both young people and adults. Jo reflects on some of the challenges he faced and the approaches [...]
Neurodiversity! What’s That?
Neurodiversity! What’s That? is for children aged 7 and upwards.
This book is a fun introduction to neurodiversity written by a neurodivergent mum aiming to improve the self-esteem and confidence of children.
The book includes many positive messages and can also help parents navigate the world of neurodiversity.
Neurodiversity! What's That? mentions [...]
Calendar Girl: The memoirs of a PDA child in a dysfunctional family
Calendar Girl is the first of Sally Cat’s planned series of short memoirs which, book by book, will recount her entire childhood with the aid of her rare photographic, calendar memory.
This first book, covering the author’s first eight years, includes crystal clear memories of babyhood, toddlerhood and young childhood [...]
All the Pieces of Me
From the bestselling authors of Can You See Me? comes the fourth exceptional Tally book!
Year 9 can be tough for everyone, but for Tally it feels even tougher. Everything seems to be changing as she and her friends get older. Make-up, boys, social media, GCSE prep – why is [...]
The Panda on PDA
In this positive, gentle and PDA-friendly guide for young children, PDA is explained by a playful Panda who is PDA and very proud of it. The Panda is full of talents and strengths, but finds it very hard to do what others want. In fact, the Panda has become [...]
The Adventures of Pickle
To most people, a pebble on the beach is just that – a pebble.
For a little girl with Pathological Demand Avoidance, it’s much more and a very special bond is formed. To help with her anxiety, the little girl chooses Pickle the pebble to accompany her through all that [...]
PDA & school avoidance podcast with James
15 year old James shares his thoughts on why school is difficult for young people with a PDA profile. He openly talks about his experience of school and the daily challenges around demands, masking, sensory difficulties, school avoidance, friendships and transitions. He also offers some possible solutions and tips [...]
The Amazing Autistic Brain Cards
150 Cards with Strengths and Challenges for Positive Autism Discussions.
This deck of cards is a resource to help professionals, parents and anyone working with autistic young people to have discussions about an Autism diagnosis in a personalised, positive and meaningful way.
The beautifully designed cards each show a strength - [...]
PDA & masking with James
In this video 14 year old James kindly shares information about his experience of PDA and masking.
Hi, I'm James and I'm 14 years old. I was diagnosed with PDA at the age of 12 and would like to share some information about masking. A lot of people with PDA [...]
Ways to Be Me
From the bestselling author duo behind Can You See Me? comes this exceptional portrayal of autism diagnosis, with diary entries by 12-year-old autistic author Libby Scott based on her own experiences of autism with a demand avoidant profile.
Taking place before Can You See Me? and Do You Know Me? [...]
Winning a Blue Peter competition – Naomi’s story
Hi, I’m Naomi (age 12), I have PDA and I recently won a Blue Peter (BP) competition!
The whole filming experience was pretty overwhelming but also gave me some amazing and life-long memories. I think PDAers find it really difficult to experience and try new things as we usually try to [...]
James’ story
James is 14 and kindly shared this extract he wrote about his experience of PDA. His insightful and honest account covers how PDA can be misunderstood; masking; school; the need to have ‘demand free’ time; the importance of trust in relationships; the impact of the Covid pandemic and what [...]
Pretty Darn Awesome
Pretty Darn Awesome: Divergent not Deficient: Understanding Pathological Demand Avoidance on the Autism Spectrum
‘Pretty Darn Awesome’ is a story about a little boy with Pathological Demand Avoidance - a not so well known profile of the autistic spectrum. It looks at his daily struggles but more importantly his amazing [...]
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 [...]
Recognising and regulating emotions – helpful books for children
Recognising and regulating emotions is something most of our children find very difficult. Whilst our children are young, the adults around them will need to be very vigilant in spotting the signs that anxiety is escalating. As our children grow older and their emotional intelligence develops, they may be [...]
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 [...]
The Spectrum Girl’s Survival Guide
How to Grow Up Awesome and Autistic
"Never be ashamed of being different: it is this difference that makes you extraordinary and unique."
This essential go-to guide gives you all the information and tools you'll need to help you flourish and achieve what you want in life. From the answers to [...]
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 [...]
Q&A with Sage – teenage PDAer
Q&A with a PDA teenager Sage who volunteered to answer questions posed by the online PDA community on a variety of topics. Sage wants to “help people understand that there’s light at the end of the tunnel and that PDA can be managed when it’s understood properly.”
Demand-Anxiety Cycle: resource template
A tool to help young people, parents & professionals understand demand avoidance and talk together.
Tick boxes that apply, write on it, or edit the document….
Whatever works for you.
Download editable template
A third party German translation of this document (by a German parent of a PDA child) is also available here.
Please [...]
What PDA means to me – editable resource
This resource was created to help a child going from being home-schooled into a special school, but could be used in many other situations. It lists traits like high anxiety, impulsivity and demand avoidance that made life difficult, with specific examples and thoughts on what helps. It also has [...]
General PDA support
A range of third party Facebook groups covering different topics, for different audiences.
General
The Autism and PDA Group
PDA Inclusive Universal
PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance) UK Group
PDA Global Group
PDA Pathological Demand Avoidance Families & Practitioners (formerly: PDA Pathological Demand Avoidance Discussion)
The NEW Lighter-Side of PDA (Pathological Demand [...]
Blogs and videos by children & young people
A platform to showcase the voices and talents of young PDAers who write; blog; create videos, art, music and other content. All links are independent and external to the PDA Society.
Me Just Me Facebook page follows a young teen who shares stories and real life experiences about PDA, autism, anxiety, [...]
Me and My PDA
Me and My PDA: A Guide to Pathological Demand Avoidance for Young People
This beautifully illustrated guide helps young people with Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) to understand their diagnosis, develop self-awareness and implement their own personalised problem-solving strategies. Written in consultation with young people with PDA and their families, this [...]
Can I tell you about Pathological Demand Avoidance syndrome?
Can I tell you about Pathological Demand Avoidance syndrome?: A guide for friends, family and professionals
Meet Issy – an 11-year-old girl with pathological demand avoidance syndrome (PDA), a condition on the autism spectrum. Issy invites readers to learn about PDA from her perspective, helping them to understand how simple, [...]
Its a PanDA thing
“It’s a PanDA thing” is the third in a series of short picture stories aimed at supporting those first conversations between parents, carers and their children about an Autism, Aspergers or PDA related diagnosis.
Inspired by her own journey with her now 8 yr old boy Leo and his brother [...]
Can You See Me?
With diary entries written by eleven-year-old Libby Scott, based on her own experiences of autism with a demand avoidant profile, this pioneering book, written in collaboration with esteemed author Rebecca Westcott, has been widely praised for its realistic portrayal of autism.
Tally is eleven years old and she's just like [...]