Sometimes parents may feel that something about this diagnosis doesn’t quite fit. Many children are not diagnosed until they are older and may already have a diagnosis of autism or Asperger syndrome. Recognition of PDA as a condition is fairly recent, and the apparent social abilities of many children with PDA mask their problems. Limited evidence so far suggests that the earlier the diagnosis and the better support that they have, the more able and independent they are likely to become.Ī diagnosis is the formal identification of PDA, usually by a professional. People with PDA are likely to need a lot of support into their adult life. These parents will need a lot of support, as their children can often present severe behavioral challenges. Many parents of children with PDA feel that they have been wrongly accused of poor parenting through lack of understanding about the condition. It is important to acknowledge that these children have a hidden disability. Many parents describe their child with PDA as a ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ character.

However, they can be enigmatic and charming when they feel secure and in control. People with PDA can be controlling and dominating, especially when they feel anxious.

When many occur together it is helpful to use the PDA diagnosis, as the strategies and interventions that help a person with PDA differ to those that benefit others on the autism spectrum. Other children and young people on the autism spectrum can display one or more of the features of PDA. It is believed that there may be neurological involvement in some cases, with a higher than usual incidence of clumsiness and other soft neurological signs. Often in cases of PDA there will have been a passive early history, but this is not always the case.

* obsessive behavior, often focused on people.Īs the term spectrum suggests, individuals are affected in different ways and to varying degrees. * language delay, often with good degree of catch-up * comfortable in role play and pretend, sometimes to an extreme extent * appearing sociable, but lacking depth in understanding * resists and avoids the ordinary demands of life * problem in jobs better in jobs with less human interaction People with PDA seem to have a better social understanding and communication skills than others on the spectrum and are able to use this to their advantage. This is because they have an anxiety based need to be in control. However, the central difficulty for people with PDA is the way they are driven to avoid demands and expectations. Individuals with PDA share difficulties with others on the autism spectrum in social aspects of interaction, communication and imagination. These are parents who often have tried everything (therapy, medication, behavior plans, private schools, etc.) to no avail, leaving them feeling hopeless, helpless, and incredibly frustrated.Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) is now considered to be part of the autism spectrum. It can dominate the household, wreak havoc with marriages, and affect siblings. PDAers often enjoy and engage in role playing, sometimes to an extreme.Īll of this makes these individuals highly misunderstood often they have experienced years of trauma (being persistently in fight or flight mode), and the years of trauma bring on new layers of anxiety and depression. Conversely, they might do well at home (if there are low demands) but fall apart with the demands of school. So, they might do well at school (camouflage) then completely fall apart at home. Some PDAers only struggle in one setting. PDAers may not do as well with routine and seem to need more novelty than most autistic individuals. Individuals with PDA can do really well for short periods of time and then (seemingly) all of a sudden stop doing well (Jekyll and Hyde), which makes it look like their behavior is entirely volitional (it isn’t). Parents and teachers say, 'He doesn't know he's a kid' or 'She thinks she's one of the adults.' PDAers have great difficulty seeing the social hierarchy. PDAers tend to be more socially savvy than most people with autism and can actually use manipulation pretty well (though I prefer strategy to manipulation, since all of their challenging behaviors are aimed at regaining a sense of autonomy). Their relatively good superficial social skills often make people wonder whether or not they are really on the autism spectrum (but in my experience they are). These individuals tend to have better eye contact and better social reciprocity than most with autism, and they can often appear to be socially typical.

Pathological demand avoidance vs autism