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Chapter & module overview

An in depth, entertaining and wonderfully detailed exploration of PDA from the inside out.

Our book and modules put you first as readers and viewers so you are empowered to forge harmonious and peaceful family dynamics in which everyone thrives.

We know PDA familes are some of the most vulnerable, and will offer discounts and payment plans so that help is within reach.

1) Introduction to PDA

Our introduction to PDA considers whether “pathological” is a dirty word before examining each of PDA’s traditional core traits in vivid depth: “pathological” demand avoidance; anxiety; control-need; social naivety; social focus (which may become obsessive); fondness of novelty; strong changeable emotions (including meltdowns); using creative and/or social strategies to avoid demands; being drawn to fantasy and role-play; disregard for social hierarchy. Plus why this traditional traits list isn’t exhaustive.

2) How PDA is Hidden

Ways in which PDA is hidden, covering internalized PDA, externalized PDA, meltdowns, alexithymia (emotion blindness), an introduction to atypical adrenal responses, invisible demand avoidance, quibbling, four different types of masking, situational mutism and “spare” (tandem) play.

3) Adrenal Defense Strategies


Fight, flight, freeze and seven more potential “F” responses: fawn, flop, fib, funster, fantasy, forget and flood. How adrenal responses play into masking. Polyvagal theory, and how it explains PDA “F” proneness, but not “pathological” demand avoidance.

4) Other conditions

Conditions commonly co-occurring with PDA: ADHD, non-speaking autism, avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), circadian sleep disorders (CSDs), Ehlers Danlos syndromes (EDS) & hypermobility, fibromyalgia & ME/chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), hyperlexia, learning disabilities (including dyslexia and dyspraxia), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), rejection sensitive dysphoria (RSD), sensory processing disorder (SPD), synesthesia, Tourette’s syndrome. 

Conditions PDA is frequently misdiagnosed as comprise: attachment disorder, autism & ADHD combined (auDHD), bi-polar disorder, burnout, complex post-traumatic stress disorder (cPTSD), conduct disorder, depression, emotional dysregulation, extreme demand avoidance (EDA), fabricated or induced illness (FII), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), non-verbal learning disorder (NVLD), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), PANS & PANDAS, personality disorders (including avoidant, borderline and narcissistic).

5) PDA Positives

Peer research results. Humor, creativity, verbal ability, word play, social ability, unconventional solutions, passion, compassionate empathy, social equalizing drive, self-exploration.

6) Babyhood & Toddlerhood

Babyhood: pre-birth PDA. Passive PDA babies, trancing out, masking. Core PDA traits in babies: PDA-style avoidance; high anxiety; high control-need; interest in people; fondness of novelty; strong changeable emotions; using creative and/or social strategies to avoid demands; role-play; not being bound by social hierarchy.

Toddlerhood: walking, talking and avoiding!

7) Childhood

“My legs don’t work”, co-sleeping, food avoidance, screen time, problems with praise, 
    
School and PDA: effective PDA strategies for educators, the fight adrenal response, masking, friendship problems, bullying, petty crime, situational mutism & spare play. Schools not believing the child has an issue. Autism strategies failing. Expulsion. School refusal. Invisible mental health crisis for PDA kids. Alternatives to mainstream schooling. 

Telling a child about their PDA diagnosis. 

8) Adolescence

Supporting PDA teens. Issues for PDA teens: mental health problems, mirrored personality disorders, late sleeping, messy bedrooms, poor hygiene, violence against siblings & parents, people obsessions, self-harm, rejecting their PDA diagnosis, not leaving their room. Burnout. Further education. Employment. 

9) Adulthood

Supporting your PDA child as an adult: financial issues, cohabitation, emotional support, healthcare, granting responsibility. Invisible mental health crisis for PDA adults. Abuse and vulnerability to abuse: unintentional abuse, forms of abuse (scapegoating, gaslighting, defensive narcissism, taking responsibility to stop abusing others, vulnerability to grooming. Alienation from families. Employment & PDA (including disability benefits).

10) Effective strategies & Interventions

PDA strategies (deflection, anxiety reduction, negotiation, candor, empathy & reducing demands). Standard accommodations: low demand or low pressure parenting, Ross Greene’s collaborative approach, declarative language. Therapies. Medication. Nutritional supplements and allergies. “But how will they prepare for the real world?

Praise for our content by Linda K Murphy

If you are new to PDA, this guide will offer you a thorough understanding of PDA – the challenges across the lifespan, how to tease out what is PDA versus what is not, what you can do that will be immediately helpful, and more. 

And, if you are already familiar with PDA, this guide will undoubtedly expand your knowledge by exploring the nooks and crannies of topics and questions you didn’t yet know you had and serve as a handy guide to refer to by topic on an as-needed basis. I know I will have a few copies ready on my bookshelf as specific questions arise for myself, my colleagues, and my clients of all ages.