However, they can also be confident and engaging when they feel secure and in control. People with this profile can appear excessively controlling and dominating, especially when they feel anxious. Uses social strategies as part of avoidance, for example, distracting, giving excusesĪppears sociable, but lacks some understandingĮxperiences excessive mood swings and impulsivityĪppears comfortable in role play and pretenceĭisplays obsessive behaviour that is often focused on other people. Resists and avoids the ordinary demands of life The distinctive features of a demand avoidant profile include: However, these apparent social abilities can often mask difficulty with processing and understanding communication and social situations.

People with a PDA profile can appear to have better social understanding and communication skills than some other autistic people, and are often able to use this to their advantage. The need for sameness, often resulting in repetitive or rigid thoughts and behaviours. Features of a PDA profileĪutism is dimensional, meaning individual profiles can vary considerably depending on the combination of a person’s strengths and difficulties across two key dimensions: However, it’s important to recognise and understand this distinct profile as it has implications for the way a person is best supported.ĭemand avoidance isn’t just seen in those with a PDA profile so would need to be seen with a number of other features, as described below. This demand avoidance is often (but according to some PDA adults, not always) accompanied by high levels of anxiety.Īlthough there is no prevalence study as yet, the demand avoidant profile is thought to be relatively uncommon. People with a PDA profile are driven to avoid everyday demands and expectations to an extreme extent. Here we will detail what is meant by this profile. What is generally agreed upon is what is often referred to as a PDA profile. With limited evidence-based research there is no conclusive and agreed upon definition of PDA. The existence of PDA as a ‘diagnostic term’ and how it fits within the autism spectrum is widely debated. The term Extreme Demand Avoidance emerged as an alternative term to Pathological Demand Avoidance as some feel extreme is a more acceptable term than pathological. Pathological demand avoidance (PDA) is increasingly, but not universally, accepted as a profile that is seen in some autistic people.

Currently the categories of Pervasive Developmental Disorders are now being replaced by autism spectrum disorders. The diagnostic criteria for autism are continually reviewed and developed. PDA first appeared in a journal article in 2003.Įlizabeth Newson described PDA as sitting under the umbrella of Pervasive Developmental Disorder. Pathological demand avoidance (PDA) was a term first used by Professor Elizabeth Newson in the 1980s, to describe the profile of a group of children she had seen for assessment. We also link to some useful resources for parents and educational professionals when supporting people with a PDA profile, and highlight some personal and professional insights. Pathological demand avoidance (PDA) is a profile that describes those whose main characteristic is to avoid everyday demands and expectations to an extreme extent. We explain the history of PDA, what a PDA profile is, the assessment process and what current research tells us. From the National Autistic Society - see the original here.

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