Overview of PDA

Our overview of PDA differs from others that have been published online because we––Sally Cat and Brook Madera––are PDA ourselves. This means that or descriptions of individual traits have been informed by our direct, lived experience.

Both a type of avoidance & a neurotype

PDA—Pathological Demand Avoidance—can be confusing because the same term is used to describe both a pattern of avoidance and a full neurotype (brain type). The neurotype involves many more traits than demand avoidance alone, which is why misunderstandings often arise.

Because PDA is the name of a neurotype, people sometimes use the acronym as a noun (pronounced “pee-dee-ay”) or as an adjective, much like “autistic.” For instance, someone might describe themselves as a “PDA person.”

Isn’t “pathological” a dirty word?

While some people dislike the term because “pathological” is traditionally linked to illness, many PDA individuals feel it best captures the intensity and involuntary nature of their avoidance. Much like the disability community reclaimed the term “disabled,” some PDA people aim to repurpose “pathological” to mean that the trait is biologically rooted rather than a product of trauma.

In this context, “pathological” is used simply to express that the avoidance is not consciously chosen and often not fully understood even by the person experiencing it.

PDA traits overview

The PDA neurotype is associated with a collection of traits, including:

  1. an extreme form of demand avoidance

  2. pervasive anxiety

  3. a strong need to control one’s environment

  4. deep interest in people, sometimes to an intense degree

  5. an attraction to novelty

  6. fast-shifting or heightened emotions

  7. creative or socially strategic avoidance tactics

  8. a pull toward fantasy or role play

  9. resistance to social hierarchy

It's worth exploring each of these traits individually in order to gain a rounded understanding of what PDA is (because it's not just demand avoidance!)

Pathological demand avoidance (as a trait)

PDA-style avoidance is an innate, automatic drive to resist demands of any kind—even those that would clearly make life easier. The avoidance doesn’t arise from realistic danger; instead, the brain generates a sense of threat around anything perceived as an expectation.

This avoidance can surface in everyday moments, such as resisting a simple physical action, abruptly struggling with a task that was easy the day before, or reflexively rejecting invitations before considering whether they might be enjoyable.

Importantly, the reaction is tied directly to the presence of a demand. When an expectation is softened or reframed as optional, the internal pressure often decreases. When avoidance is no longer possible—because of school, work, deadlines, or external accountability—the resulting stress can produce intense emotional overload, shutdown, or panic. To others, the reaction may appear disproportionate, but it reflects an involuntary defense response.

This is why PDA traits often become noticeable during major life transitions, such as starting school.

Anxiety

Many PDA individuals experience unusually high levels of anxiety throughout their lives. The quality of the anxiety may be typical, but its frequency and intensity are not. It fuels overthinking, catastrophic predictions, and an ongoing sense of internal pressure.

While PDA was once described as “anxiety-driven avoidance,” many now consider this too simplistic. For many PDA people, the instinct to avoid occurs first and anxiety builds only when avoidance is blocked or discouraged.

Anxiety may attach itself to small, specific fears as well as broader social concerns, such as fear of judgment, rejection, or unwanted attention. In some cases, people may seek interaction or express themselves dramatically, only to feel overwhelmed when the attention actually lands on them.

Medication or therapy may help with anxiety, but the instinct to avoid demands often exists independently of it.

Control need

The PDA need for control is primarily about managing one’s personal world rather than directing others. However, attempts to stabilize one’s environment can inadvertently spill over into others’ plans or expectations.

This need intensifies when others make decisions that interfere with one’s own intentions, sometimes resulting in rigid reactions or frustration. When two PDA individuals interact, mismatched control needs can lead to conflict, and feeling out of control may quickly activate demand avoidance.

Social naivety

Many PDA individuals are socially motivated but may misunderstand social cues or intentions. This combination—wanting connection while missing subtleties—can lead to repeated social missteps that feel baffling and discouraging.

Despite this, many PDA people can be unusually engaging, charismatic, or humorous. At the same time, their humor or conversational style may occasionally push boundaries or confuse others, especially if wordplay or socially unexpected phrasing is involved.

Social focus (which may become obsessive)

A hallmark of PDA is strong social focus—often thinking about other people, their intentions, their relationships, and how one fits into social dynamics. PDA individuals may long for friendship yet struggle with the skills or confidence required to sustain it.

Special interests may revolve around people rather than objects or topics. This focus can sometimes become so intense that it resembles fixation—either idealizing someone or, in some cases, interpreting someone as a threat.
This heightened attention to others is central to understanding PDA; it often shapes how avoidance strategies develop and why social interactions carry so much emotional weight.

Fondness of novelty

New experiences often feel less threatening for PDA individuals because novelty hasn’t yet accumulated the “demand weight” that familiar routines carry. Whereas many autistic people rely on routine for comfort, many PDA individuals find routines restrictive unless they created them themselves.

Self-established routines can help bypass some demand-related stress by turning multiple tasks into a single predictable flow. But novelty is often even easier: it feels open, flexible, and free of imposed expectations.

This can lead to preferences for new places, new activities, or spontaneous changes, as long as those changes aren’t dictated by someone else.

Strong, changeable emotions, including meltdowns

Emotional intensity is common in PDA. Feelings may shift rapidly, sometimes moving from calmness to frustration to relief within short periods. Meltdowns, when they occur, stem from overwhelming internal pressure rather than anger. They are comparable to emotional overload, where the brain temporarily stops coping.

Overload can result from sensory strain, sudden changes, or mounting anxiety. PDA children may be especially prone to meltdowns due to the combination of high control needs and constant demand-related stress.

Using creative and/or social strategies to avoid demands

Many PDA individuals use imaginative or socially nuanced methods to avoid demands. Instead of directly refusing, they may explain their avoidance in playful or fantastical ways, or use negotiation, humor, distraction, or inventive reasoning.

These strategies can appear whimsical, inconsistent, or exaggerated from the outside, but they help soften the internal pressure caused by demands and can reduce the anxiety associated with them.

Being drawn to fantasy and role play

Fantasy can offer relief from stress, giving PDA individuals a mental space where they retain full control. Imaginative worlds or daydreams can buffer anxiety and provide emotional escape.

Role play—temporarily adopting a different persona—can make certain tasks feel fresh and less demand-laden. Viewing an activity through a different character or identity may convert a routine expectation into something playful or novel, making it easier to engage.

Disregard for social hierarchy

PDA individuals often resist systems that require obedience or deference. Even when they intellectually understand authority structures, they may still feel uneasy, mistrustful, or vulnerable within them.

This resistance doesn’t necessarily mean treating everyone equally; like anyone else, PDA individuals can carry biases shaped by upbringing. However, they typically respond poorly to environments where their autonomy feels threatened or where rules appear arbitrary.

Why the traditional list of PDA traits isn’t exhaustive

These established traits of PDA were first outlined by Professor Elizabeth Newson and her team in the 1980s. Their work remains foundational, but research into neurodiversity is still developing, and there is no definitive boundary around what PDA “is.”

Lived experience continues to broaden the understanding of PDA. Personal accounts often reveal traits or patterns not captured in early descriptions, highlighting the complexity and diversity within the neurotype.