What is ASD and PDA?
Young people with ASD have language which is both delayed and deviant. Their social language skills are poor. Young people with PDA have obsessions which tend to be social in nature. They can be over-powering in their liking for certain others.
What is PDA autism symptoms?
Pathological demand avoidance (PDA) is a profile that describes those whose main characteristic is to avoid everyday demands and expectations to an extreme extent.
Can a child have ASD and PDA?
The main characteristic of PDA is high anxiety when demands are made on the person. Demand avoidance can be seen in any child with an ASD but when the avoidance reaches pathological levels, major difficulties arise. This is the main criterion for diagnosis. People with PDA become experts at avoiding demands.
How can I tell if my child has PDA?
Children with PDA will engage in pretend play (typically absent in autism), but will dominate play. The activity must be on the child’s terms – they will tell others which character to move and how, inevitably leading to difficulties with friendships.
Do children with PDA tell lies?
Children with PDA may have difficulty telling the difference between real and pretend. Stories and games may be taken seriously. Children with PDA are often taken advantage of because they don’t realise they are being tricked or lied to.
Is PDA caused by trauma?
Some research suggests that PDA can be explained by interaction of various common co-occuring conditions, and the majority of these conditions are associated to childhood trauma/ aversive experiences. Many of the features assessed by PDA’s validated screening and diagnostic tools are associated with trauma.
What does PDA look like in kids?
While children with ASD may resist demands by refusing, withdrawing or ignoring the demands, children with PDA use strategies which can be seen as socially manipulative to avoid demands, for example, by making excuses, distracting, procrastinating, using threats and physically incapacitating self (“My arms don’t work”) …
How is PDA autism diagnosed?
The assessment should include: A detailed history from parents or carers (this is usually gathered using an autism specific interview/diagnostic tool such as the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADIR) or the Diagnostic Interview for Social and Communication Disorders (DISCO))
How do you discipline a child with PDA?
Use a collaborative, respectful communication style. Allow the child a sense of control and be prepared to negotiate (start high and allow the child to feel that he has won). Visual timetables can help to depersonalise demands. Allow the child extra time to process what is said to them.
Is PDA linked to ADHD?
Many of the problematic features of PDA are often seen in persons with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and impulsivity. ADHD and impulsivity are also common in the backgrounds of offenders.