There’s a growing dialogue around Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) and its connections to justice and fairness. Some research and PDAers themselves suggest that PDA is a persistent drive for autonomy, where avoiding demands is a response to maintaining control and resisting perceived threats to independence. This framing shifts PDA from being solely about anxiety or a sensitive nervous system to a broader perspective that includes autonomy and fairness. The anxiety, in this view, may result from unmet needs for autonomy or control rather than being the sole cause of demand avoidance behavior.
Neurodiversity advocates often explain PDA as a rational response to societal pressures and demand-heavy environments, rather than a pathological one. This approach suggests that PDA behaviors are not inherently negative but may serve as adaptive strategies for individuals navigating challenges tied to autonomy and self-determination.
I hope you find the following resources helpful. Please share any additional ones you'd like others to be able to research too!
PDA Society
The UK's PDA Society is favorite resource for many PDAer adults, parents, caregivers, and professionals since 1997. Below is PDA Society's PDA Traits worksheet as well as a PDA Traits example worksheet for downloading. We recommend checking out PDA Society's website for the many other resources available to you.
PDA of North America
PDA of North America is another helpful resource with seminars, support groups, and classes available, including the PDA North America Conference coming March 5-7, 2025. Registration is available here. Two of many free resources you may find helpful include the Internalized PDA and What is PDA, a sheet that might be especially helpful when trying to explain Pathological Demand Avoidance to therapists, doctors, teachers, IEP teams, and family/friends. You can also find PDA North America's list of certified providers here.
Sally Cat's PDA Blog
Sally Cat's PDA Blog is extremely popular with many PDAers. Sally shares that PDAers have the most employment difficulties of all neurotypes, including non-PDAer autistic adults. PDAers often find both school and work very difficult because of attendance and compliance. Sally has been writing her blog since 2018 and you'll find a wealth of information.
PDA Neurodivergence & the Perpetually Determined Advocate Podcast
Cassandre created her podcast to raise awareness of and acceptance of PDA and other forms of neurodivergence. In Cassandre's podcast episode "Explaining PDA to others," she talks about teaching others about PDA from her son's point of view. Cassandre's son resists his own demands as much as those placed upon him by others, a key trait to PDA that isn't present in other forms of demand avoidance. Cassandre explains that PDA not only "pushes others around" but also "pushes" her son around with himself. Cassandre shares in an internal demand example, when she's "seen her son tense up and panic when trying to decide on a snack or what direction to take on a video game or whether he wants to keep doing what he's doing on stop." After a pretty rough meltdown, Cassandre's young son was able to explain that "his body tells him to do one thing but his brain tells him to do something else and he cannot stop it." Cassandre explains that PDAers are at war with themselves, which is something we hear often from our coaching clients.
I am Mindblind
Meet Amanda Dittlinger of "I am Mindblind." She is an AuDHD woman with PDA, Aphantasia, the inability to visualize, and SDAM, a lifelong inability to vividly recollect or re-experience personal pass events through a first-person perspective. Like many other late diagnosed autistic or AuDHD women, Amanda did not receive her ADHD and Autism diagnoses until age 42.
In one "I am Mindblind" Vlog episode, PDA Survival Guide: Tips and Tricks for Adults with Autism, Amanda shares that PDA is not something that is easy to overcome. Amanda then offers examples of how she sometimes works with and around her PDA.
In another "I am Mindblind"Vlog edition, Do I Fit the PDA Autism Profile, Amanda talks about loving volunteer work but that when money is involved, she can no longer do the "thing" she loves to do. And, once someone talks about something she wants to do, she often no longer engage in the activity, which is very frustrating, but a common trait of PDA.
Kristy Forbes, Australian-based Autism & Neurodiversity Support Specialist
In Kristy's Youtube video, Working With My PDA Brain When Triggered, she shares many of the ways a PDA brain can be traumatized, such as when someone is raised by a PDA parent. Because a PDA brain needs control, you can imagine the difficulties with the parent and child's PDA jockeying for control. Kristy also talks about a short exchange with a friend in which Kristy found herself in need of disconnect and self preserving when a very small demand was made by her close friend. In order to preserve the friendship , Kristy sat with herself and allowed the other parts of her brain to have a "conversation"with her PDA parts and think through the situation with her friend. In order to solve this challenge, Kristy also talked with another PDAer friend who could empathize and help her get back on track.
We hope you will find these resources helpful and there will be more to come in the near future. You can also check out our original post on managing your PDA here.
Autistic Adults with PDA Support Group:
This group meets monthly on the second Tuesday. Folks are free to be on or off camera and participate or just listen. No RSVP necessary. So that the space feels safe for all participants, we ask that only PDAers join our session. Here is our monthly Zoom invitation, time zone info, and details:
Meeting ID: 885 9702 4863
Passcode: 521434
New Book: Navigating PDA in America
For folks wanting to help children, teens and young adults with PDA, there is a new resource. Ruth Fidler and Diane Gould's book, Navigating PDA in America: A Framework to Support Anxious, Demand-Avoidant Autistic Children, Teens, and Young Adults just became available.
The PDA movement in America is in its very early stages and this book should prove to be very helpful toward moving things forward. I especially appreciate Fidler and Gould's PDAer support recommendations that suggest prioritizing emotional well being, keeping the PDAer involved in all discussions and decisions, accepting what is, and preparing the PDA for future autonomy.
Active on Linkedin?
Consider joining our brand new PDA at Work group.
Looking to learn more about PDA?
Check out these articles: Creating Safety for the PDA Nervous System, PDA Resources, and Managing Your PDA.
Questions about PDA?
Consider booking a free consultation. We can take a few minutes together discussing PDA (pathological demand avoidance) and possible next steps to help you move in the direction you want.
Self Help for PDAers from PDA Society.
Are you a professional trying to serve your PDA client better? You may find this PDA Society pdf helpful.
