For instance, not seeing a difference between themselves and an authority figure, having difficulty in adjusting their own behaviour in response to the needs of others and not always understanding how, or why their behaviour can affect others at an emotional level and thus have a negative impact on their relationships. Their conversational skills may appear better than others on the autism spectrum, but this is still often lacking depth in their understanding. People with PDA may have a more socially acceptable use of eye contact. 2)Using social strategies as part of the avoidanceĭistracting – “I like your earrings, where did you get them from”, giving excuses – “I can’t walk because my legs are broken”, delaying – “I’ll do it in ten minutes”, withdrawing into fantasy – “I’m a cat and cat’s don’t wear clothes” and drowning out your request with noise “I can’t hear you because I’m singing – la, de, la, de, la ….”. This is a meltdown and should be viewed as a panic attack. Others may, shut down, withdraw or run away. When initial avoidance strategies, such as those described below fail the situation can quickly escalate and some individuals may resort to more extreme measures to avoid the demand such as shouting, swearing, hitting and damaging property. This may be the case even when the person wants to do what has been suggested, such as watching a film that they have been looking forward to.

This might include getting up, joining a family activity or getting dressed to name but a few. Because PDA is a fairly recent profile, it’s often misdiagnosed as other conditions that look similar on the surface such as Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), Conduct Disorder (CD), Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD).įeatures of Pathological Demand Avoidance ( from the PDA Society, UK) 1)Resisting and avoiding the ordinary demands of life The interest in PDA as a distinct profile is growing and more research is being done. We have not heard much about PDA in North America yet, although the term is starting to become more known.

PDA is not recognized in the DSM-V so not all professionals agree with this profile. It is not caused by a how a person was raised or their social circumstances it’s not the fault of the parents or the individual with the condition. There are no prevalence rates available at this time. Someone with a PDA profile will also have tremendous difficulty complying with their own self-imposed expectations and with doing things that they really want to do. This extreme avoidance extends to the most basic demands of everyday living, not just the avoidance of unpleasant, difficult, specific anxiety-provoking or unappealing tasks. Research done at the University of Newcastle in November 2016 found that Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) was also associated with PDA, in fact even stronger than anxiety.ĭemand avoidance in the PDA profile looks different from what others on the autism spectrum experience because of its extreme nature and obsessive quality. British psychologist Elizabeth Newson came up with this term which describes an anxiety-driven need to be in control and avoid other people’s demands and expectations. Pathological Demand Avoidance of PDA is becoming more widely recognized as a distinct profile of autism.

Pathological demand avoidance adults