PDA Professionals Bundle

A complete, research-informed toolkit for professionals supporting children with a Pathological Demand Avoidant (PDA) profile — bringing together eight of SENDinMama’s most widely used, neurodiversity-affirming resources in one downloadable pack.

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Professionals working with PDA children often face a frustrating reality: training is inconsistent, guidance is limited, and reliable, practical resources are hard to find. Families may know more than the professionals assigned to help them — not through lack of care, but through lack of opportunity to learn.

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The PDA Professionals Bundle bridges that gap. It provides a cohesive, evidence-led framework for understanding, planning, and responding to the needs of children and young people with PDA, informed by the latest research, including Frontiers in Education (2024).

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Developed from lived experience and current best practice, this bundle supports trauma-informed, collaborative approaches that reduce overwhelm for both the child and the adults involved.

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What’s Included

A downloadable set of eight professional-grade PDF resources designed for use across educational, healthcare, and social care settings:

1. PDA Indicators Checklist – A reflective guide to recognising potential signs of PDA and understanding behavioural drivers.

2. PDA Language Checklist – Reframe deficit-based language into strengths-based, connection-focused alternatives.

3. PDA Dysregulation Support Framework – A three-part framework for responding before, during, and after emotional dysregulation.

4. PDA Calm Plan – A customisable, safety-led plan ensuring every adult knows their role in supporting regulation.

5. PDA Case Studies Pack – Eight detailed scenarios with discussion prompts and suggested responses for training and reflection.

6. ‘About Me’ Profile Template – A child-led resource that centres voice, preferences, and sensory needs.

7. Sensory Space Setup Guide – Practical advice for creating calming, regulation-friendly spaces in classrooms and homes.

8. Neuro-affirming Conversation Starters – Thoughtful prompts to build trust, autonomy, and open communication.

 

Who It’s For

• Education Staff: Teachers, SENCOs, learning support staff, and school leadership teams.

• Healthcare and Social Care Professionals: Health visitors, early help teams, mental health practitioners, and allied staff.

• Multi-Agency Teams: Those collaborating around family support, assessments, and personalised plans.

• Training Providers and CPD Leads: For use within professional development or reflective supervision.

 

Why It Matters

Professionals often meet PDA children at moments of crisis, but with the right understanding and tools, those moments can become opportunities for connection, regulation, and trust.

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This bundle helps professionals shift from a behaviour-management mindset to a relational, regulation-first approach grounded in evidence and empathy.

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Each resource is practical, printable, and ready to use — ideal for embedding in EHCPs, classroom plans, or multidisciplinary frameworks.

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Together, they provide a shared language and structure for consistent, compassionate support across home, school, and service settings.

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"The resources provided by Natalie are excellent and strongly informed by neuro-affirming practice and current research. I shared the regulation strategies and calm plan resources with staff at an additionally resourced provision during a PDA training session. These materials aligned perfectly with the key messages I wanted to convey—particularly the complexity of PDA and the role of anxiety and autonomy in driving behaviours.

 

Practitioners found the resources helpful for reflecting on their language and reframing current thinking. This led to staff feeling more equipped to plan for dysregulation and, crucially, to consider preventative adaptations to the environment and their approaches to reduce distress escalation. I would be more than happy to recommend these resources to any colleagues involved with supporting children and young people whose needs may be best understood through the lens of PDA."

Emma - Educational Psychologist