Understanding PDA: Frequently Asked Questions
Supporting Parents & Carers with Clarity and Compassion
This page answers the most common questions parents and carers ask when they first encounter the term Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA). Whether you’re at the start of your journey or seeking more clarity, these responses are designed to be gentle, neurodiversity-affirming, and rooted in lived experience and up-to-date research.
What is PDA?
Pathological Demand Avoidance or Pervasive Drive for Autonomy (PDA) is described as a neurodevelopmental profile. This means it’s a way of experiencing the world that affects how a child thinks, feels, and behaves, especially when faced with everyday demands or expectations. Children with PDA often feel very anxious about these demands and may go to great lengths to avoid them. They also tend to have a strong need to feel in control of situations.
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It’s important to know that PDA isn’t currently recognised as a separate medical diagnosis in major manuals like the DSM-5 or ICD-11. This is not because PDA doesn’t exist, but simply because there hasn’t been enough research done yet to include it officially.
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A 2024 review of research explains that PDA is still a topic experts are exploring. It involves behaviours like avoiding demands, using role-play or distraction, and sometimes appearing sociable on the surface. However, researchers agree that more detailed and wider studies are needed to understand PDA better.
How do I know if my child has PDA?
There is no formal test or universally accepted criteria for PDA. Research methods, such as parent‑report tools like the EDA‑8 or DISCO interviews, remain preliminary and experimental in nature.
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Instead, look for a combination of:
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Extreme resistance to ordinary demands (including enjoyable tasks)
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Use of socially strategic behaviours to avoid pressure (e.g. negotiation, distraction, fantasy)
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Emotional intensity, rapid mood shifts, or shutdowns under demand pressure
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A pronounced need for autonomy, sometimes coupled with role-play as coping mechanisms
Careful observation over time, ideally informed by trauma‑acknowledging and neurodiversity‑affirming frameworks, is recommended
How can I tell the difference between PDA and general anxiety or defiance in children?
Research shows that anxiety and difficulty with uncertainty are important reasons behind PDA traits. These feelings often overlap with regular anxiety or oppositional behaviour but are not exactly the same.
In PDA, avoiding demands happens with any request—even ones that are helpful or things the child might usually enjoy. The way children avoid demands is often thoughtful and comes from inside themselves, not just to be difficult.
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General anxiety usually focuses on specific fears, like being afraid of crowds or being separated from someone, and often happens in certain situations rather than being about demands.
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Defiance or oppositional behaviour tends to be more outward and about saying “no” on purpose. In PDA, avoidance comes from feeling overwhelmed and an internal emotional struggle.
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Behaviours such as masking feelings, reversing roles (like trying to control the adult), negotiating with words, or finding creative ways to avoid demands are more common in PDA than in typical defiance or anxiety.
