clanfoki.blogg.se - Pathological demand avoidance treatment

An extreme resistance or avoidance of everyday, ordinary demands.

It is also possible that a PDA child may have other co-occurring conditions. While there are a group of behavioural features that define PDA, every PDA child will have a unique presentation, so treating and getting to know each PDA child as an individual is extremely important. It is important to be aware that describing autistic children’s demand resistance as pathological is based in adult-centric, developmental and neurotypical assumptions held about how children should behave and may not be very respectful of PDA individuals. They argue that, when the difficulties that autistic people have trying to navigate through a neurotypical world (and schooling system) are recognised, the demand avoidance strategies shown by PDA children could be viewed as completely reasonable and rational, and as a positive expression of agency and self-advocacy. Some people are uncomfortable with the use of the term ‘pathological’ in the name of the condition. This is known as ‘masking’ or ‘fawning’, and it can be extremely exhausting for a child to maintain. PDA can also be a hidden disability, with children using their greater social understanding to seem ‘normal’ to others.

However, PDA children often have better social understanding, which can make their autism less obvious. Like other autistic individuals, those with PDA hold the same constellation of characteristics that make up the autistic spectrum, including specific strengths (such as an eye for detail or talent for logic or memorisation), and distinct patterns of social interaction and communication, thinking, experience of emotions, and over- or under-sensitivity of particular senses. What are the specific characteristics of PDA? Although it is relatively uncommon, PDA is very distinct from other autistic profiles, and children with PDA require unique support in ECE and school unlike that usually provided for autistic children. It is dimensional, which means that it will affect individuals in varying ways, and interact with other developmental factors, conditions, and personal situations. PDA is a lifelong disability that affects girls and boys equally. Many PDA children find the demands of complying in school and ECE settings overwhelming, and they experience exclusion or have difficulty attending regularly or completely. Some PDA children can be very good at masking the difficulties they experience with demands, and will find passive ways to avoid demands without confrontation. This is not by choice, but is a neurological response that cannot be avoided and is better understood as a form of panic. A child may love an activity, and want to do it, but if there is too much expectation to do it, or if the child is reminded or prompted to get ready to do it, they will suddenly not be able to.ĭemands, and the expectations and reduced feelings of control that accompany them, cause PDA children extreme anxiety, and they will often resort to highly oppositional behaviour. Importantly, it is the demand and not the actual content of the demand that is difficult for these children.

For example, demands might include answering their name in class, transitioning between activities, or even performing basic self-care tasks such as washing, dressing, and sleeping. A demand is implied whenever someone is made or expected to do something, and when requests, reminders and prompts are used in a way which suggests that a particular behaviour, action or response is required.

Children with PDA are driven to extreme measures to avoid everyday demands and expectations. Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) is a particular profile characterising a small minority of children on the autistic spectrum.