151K views · 11K reactions | PDA, ('pathological demand avoidance',...

What is Pathological Demand Avoidance or “Pervasive Drive for Autonomy”? The answer depends on the audience. For example, if I am interacting with my son’s friends’ parents, I keep it simple (unless they want to know more): “My son has a nervous system disability, which is a little known part of the Autism spectrum.” If I am communicating with teachers or grandparents, I would talk more about the physiological mechanisms (fight/flight/freeze and what happens in his body with metabolism, adrenali

How can I support my PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance) child or teen to stay regulated? 🧐 Experiment with the 4 S’s: 👉Screens 👉Safe Nervous System (yours) 👉Special Interest 👉Sensory intense experience, dopamine or novelty This is the framework I use to think through unsctructured time with my PDA son and has helped 100s of parents think through everything from long weekends with their PDA child to beginning #unschooling after school refusal. I hope it serves you ❤️ . . . #pathologicaldema

Casey Ehrlich, Ph.D. on TikTok