As stated above, PDA stands for Pathological Demand Avoidance.



This phrase is used to describe an innate resistance to demands that many autistic individuals experience. Individuals with autism that struggle with PDA may refuse anything that they perceive as a demand, even things they need or want to do. They may come up with real or fantastical excuses as to why they cannot complete the task or enter a meltdown.

What You Can Do

PDA may stem from increased anxiety and a need for predictability and autonomy in what they do. So what supports can you implement as a parent? While there is no all around fix for PDA, there are many things you can do to help support those that struggle to be more willing to follow a demand.

• start with a low demand environment to build trust, familiarity and safety
• Give choices in demands (do you want to run or skip to the table?)
• Change the language of demands to be more neutral and all encompassing (we need to..., I like to..., do you want to join me in...etc)
• Start with smaller demands that you know they will succeed in, and build up from there
• Find out what motivates them and be as flexible as possible in implementation

All humans want autonomy over the choices that they make.

Respecting this need for autonomy and working WITH the child as opposed to ordering them around can create an environment where the child's nervous system is more willing and able to accept and respond to demands openly.