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 itself 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 autistic children.
