Category Pathalogical Demand Avoidance

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The Importance of Understanding Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA)

Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) is a behavior profile within the autism spectrum characterized by an extreme avoidance of everyday demands and expectations, often driven by high levels of anxiety. Despite growing recognition of PDA, particularly in the UK, it is not formally recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), which is the leading diagnostic tool used by mental health professionals globally.

Getting Lost: Preparing your Autistic Child and Yourself

Child looking lost with blurred background
The concern of an autistic child getting lost can be amplified due to the unique challenges their children might face. Autistic children may have difficulty understanding danger, communicating their needs, or finding their way back to safety. It's crucial for parents to address this topic with sensitivity and clarity, and to implement practical safety measures to help prevent such situations.

What are Social Stories?

Group of Children and Adult at a table with flash cards
In the realm of supporting individuals with social and communication challenges, Social Stories have emerged as powerful tools for fostering understanding, empathy, and positive behavior. Developed by Carol Gray in the early 1990s, Social Stories are concise narratives designed to help individuals, especially those with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) or other developmental differences, navigate social situations with greater ease. This article explores the concept of Social Stories, their purpose, and the impact they can have on social development.

What is Neurodiversity?

Neurodiversity is a concept that refers to the natural diversity of human neurological states and conditions. The terms was first used first used by sociologist, Judy Singer. It recognises that differences in brain functioning and behaviour are normal and natural variations of the human experience, rather than a medical disorder or disease to be cured.

How to Talk to Kids About: Their Disabilities

When our child is different, there’s so much more we need to learn about parenting. Our first go-to will be to learn all we can about the diagnosis. We learn everything we can, so we can understand and provide the necessary support, intervention or therapy that they need to thrive. Whether it’s by reading books, attending courses or through community groups, we learn what we can, when we can.

Your Child is Having A Neuro-Crash

What is a Neuro-Crash? It’s what happens when the imposed situation overwhelms your child or adult’s brain, so their coping mechanism shuts down. (We’ll get into why I use the term “imposed situation” in a bit.) You’ve probably had your own version of a Neuro-Crash at some point (many points?) in your life. Have you ever felt so completely overloaded and overwhelmed you just couldn’t take it anymore?

5 Ways to Speak to A Child with Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA)

PDA is a condition driven by very high anxiety. Therefore, the idea behind talking to someone with PDA is to deflect the request from yourself. Anything we ask from them, even if it’s as simple as "drink water" or "sit down" is considered a demand and is enough to trigger their fight or flight response. Here are 5 strategies on talking to some with PDA.

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