PDA North America - Pathological Demand Avoidance

PDA North America - Pathological Demand Avoidance A non-profit to provide information, resources and support for individuals and families with PDA Our mission is bold.
(1)

We want to spread awareness of PDA to parents, individuals, educators and therapists throughout the US and Canada. We want families to have a place to turn for support and guidance. We want professionals to be able to receive training, consultation and information in order to effectively teach or treat PDAers. And we want PDAers to know that they are understood. In short, to build a strong and vibrant community for this underserved population.

🎃 No Tricks, Just Tools — PDA 101 Webinar This NovemberThis October, give yourself the gift of understanding — no costum...
10/30/2025

🎃 No Tricks, Just Tools — PDA 101 Webinar This November

This October, give yourself the gift of understanding — no costumes or candy required.

Join Diane Gould, LCSW (), founder of PDA North America, for a free PDA 101 webinar that offers a clear introduction to Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) — a complex and often misunderstood profile of autism.

👻 Perfect for parents, professionals, educators, and anyone new to PDA
🎃 Grounded in real insight and practical support
🕯️ Ends with a live Q&A

🗓️ Thursday, November 6
🕖 7:00 PM CST
💻 Register here: https://buff.ly/ZRqAilj
🎥 Recording available for all registrants
💵 Free | $25 suggested donation

Let this be the kind of learning that lingers — the good kind.

Did you know 87.7% of caregivers of PDA children and teens say their child struggles with school avoidance or school ref...
10/27/2025

Did you know 87.7% of caregivers of PDA children and teens say their child struggles with school avoidance or school refusal?

There is hope.

PDA North America has just launched our PDA & Education training as a self-paced 2-part training with a bonus video on communication.

If your PDA child is struggling, please invite their educators & school admins to join us for a dynamic 2-part SELF-PACED training created for educators supporting PDA & other neurodivergent profiles.

Our PDA & Education Training Includes:
- 2-part Self-paced virtual training from our expert presenters with over 5 hours of content
- Bonus material on Communication with PDA children in a school setting
- Downloadable PDFs of all presentation slides
- Supplemental downloadable materials
- Unlimited replay access to all sessions for the rest of the school year

By taking the PDA & Education training your educator will walk away able to:
- Recognize and understand PDA students
- Design classrooms that meet their unique needs
- Support students behaviorally and emotionally
- Develop effective 504 Plans and IEPs for complex learners
- Apply these approaches to benefit all students — even those without formal diagnoses

This groundbreaking training program will give educators the practical skills to create a

safe
accessible
and engaging environment...

where PDA students can find comfort—while reducing crisis incidents, increasing trust, and improving overall school climate.

💬 Comment “PDA & Education” to learn more.

💬 December Support Group for Male-Identifying Caregivers of PDAers 💬As the year winds down and the holidays ramp up, par...
10/27/2025

💬 December Support Group for Male-Identifying Caregivers of PDAers 💬

As the year winds down and the holidays ramp up, parenting a child with PDA can feel especially intense. This is your chance to pause, connect, and find support with others who get it.

Join PJ Starling (), adult PDAer and PDANA board member, for the final 2025 session of this monthly support group for fathers and male-identifying caregivers.

🗓️ Date: December 9, 2025
🕖 Time: 7:00 PM CST
💵 Cost: $15
📲 Register here:https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/pda-and-fatherhood-december--2025

✅ Space to decompress
✅ Guidance from lived experience
✅ A community that understands your journey

Finish the year feeling seen, supported, and connected.

SAVE THE DATE! The 7th Annual PDA North America Conference will be here before we know it and promises to be our biggest...
10/25/2025

SAVE THE DATE!

The 7th Annual PDA North America Conference will be here before we know it and promises to be our biggest and most inspiring yet with 3-days of live community, connection and learning.

Hear from PDA voices, PDA-affirming professionals, and PDA families who are reshaping how we understand autonomy, learning, and support.

And this year for the first time ever, all three days will be recorded and made available to ticket purchasers. Early bird tickets coming Nov. 3rd!

🗓️ Save the Dates: Feb. 27th (virtual), March 5th & 6th will be hybrid (both virtual & in-person)
📍 In-Person: Skokie, IL (outside Chicago)
🎟️ Early Bird Tickets Go on sale November 3rd, 2025

More details, including speakers, schedule, and special community sessions coming soon! Comment "Conference" for a link to see more details!

If you've just learned about PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance/Pervasive Drive for Autonomy) - you're in the right plac...
10/24/2025

If you've just learned about PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance/Pervasive Drive for Autonomy) - you're in the right place.

You may have spent years trying to figure out why no traditional parenting strategies work with your child and PDA North America is here to help.

We've created the training we ALL wish we had when first discovering PDA.

Our 12-part video series “I Just Found PDA, Now What?” is the soft landing every parent & caregiver needs.

The training we all wish we had.

Comment "New to PDA" and we'll send you a direct link to enroll today.

“In a nutshell PDA equalizing is pushing back against the many ways the world and people in it push at us.When it feels ...
10/23/2025

“In a nutshell PDA equalizing is pushing back against the many ways the world and people in it push at us.

When it feels like the world pushes us down, we need to find a way to push ourselves back up.

What PDA’ers are really looking for is to be in balance.

Everyone equalizes, not just PDAers. We just add a super charged dose of intensity.
We push back in equal and opposite ways based on how intense it

FEELS INSIDE - not based on what other people think would be reasonable pushback.

The instinctive urge to equalize is lesser or greater depending on our perception of mutual empowerment and connection, in relationship and balance with others.

When we develop patterns of safety,
connection and fun with a child, the actual words we use matter less."

- Keri Shouten, PDAer & PDA Parenting Coach

Comment “equalizing” to get a direct link to the upcoming 2.5 hour workshop with adult PDAer, parent of PDAers and PDA parenting coach, Keri Shouten. This workshop will teach you how to understand all the different types of equalizing, how to categorize it, and respond to it to meet foundational needs for young PDAers.

😤 Tired of hearing ""That’s not fair!"" a hundred times a day?💥 Sibling battles, comparison spirals, constant negotiatin...
10/22/2025

😤 Tired of hearing ""That’s not fair!"" a hundred times a day?
💥 Sibling battles, comparison spirals, constant negotiating...

If you're parenting a PDA child, you might be deep in the thick of equalizing — and it can feel never-ending. You're not doing anything wrong. And you're definitely not alone. 💛

On October 30, join Keri Schouten — adult PDAer and coach to PDA parents — for a 2 1/2-hour webinar that gets real about:

🔍 What equalizing actually is (it’s more than just wanting things to be ""fair"")
🧠 Why it’s happening — and what’s going on under the surface
🧰 And how to reduce it with compassion, clarity, and proactive support

This is a new, practical framework built around the core PDA needs of autonomy and equity — not just another behavior chart or band-aid solution.

🎟️ Save your seat now:
👉 https://buff.ly/bCKOHr9

💬 Bring your questions, your coffee, and your parenting fatigue — we’ll meet you where you are.

Our sense of interoception tells us about the status of our organs and body. It includes things like:Knowing when we are...
10/21/2025

Our sense of interoception tells us about the status of our organs and body.

It includes things like:

Knowing when we are hungry
When we have to use the restroom
Identification of energy & regulation levels
Identifying emotions

Information from the interoceptive sense is used in the understanding of a variety of body statuses.

Biological needs/status: hunger/fullness, bathroom needs, cardiopulmonary effort/status, pain/discomfort/illness
Sexual arousal
Romantic feelings
Physical cues associated with emotions
Regulation state

Want to learn about important considerations for PDAers and interoception?

Join us Thursday for a special webinar with Nicole Cipriani — an Adult PDAer and Occupational Therapist — as we explore the powerful connection between interoception (our internal “gut” feelings) and a sensory-informed approach to supporting neurodivergent lives.

Gut Check: Occupational Therapy & Interoception
🗓️ Thursday, October 23 | 🎟️ Comment OT for the direct link

🎥 In the Learning Lab!"Autism Plus: Exploring the Complexities of PDA" with Dr. Megan Anna Neff () is now available on-d...
10/21/2025

🎥 In the Learning Lab!
"Autism Plus: Exploring the Complexities of PDA" with Dr. Megan Anna Neff () is now available on-demand! 💻✨

Originally recorded at our PDA North America 2025 Conference, this powerful webinar dives into the often-overlooked intersection of PDA, Autism, ADHD, and OCD.

In this session, you'll explore:
🧠 The lived experiences of multiply neurodivergent PDAers
🔍 How overlapping neurotypes shape daily life
💬 Language + frameworks to better understand complexity
🌱 Strategies that support resilience and self-compassion

Perfect for professionals, caregivers, and anyone wanting to better support neurodivergent individuals through a truly affirming lens.

👉 Watch now: https://buff.ly/rNfe8en

PDA doesn’t always look like defiance. Some yell, argue, or explode—but some quietly comply, mask, and withdraw. 💛Unders...
10/15/2025

PDA doesn’t always look like defiance. Some yell, argue, or explode—but some quietly comply, mask, and withdraw. 💛

Understanding both Externalized and Internalized PDA helps parents and professionals see the full picture: every “no,” every shutdown, every meltdown is a signal, not stubbornness.

Connection, safety, and autonomy are the keys to helping PDAers thrive, whether their PDA expression is visible or hidden.

👀 Scroll through to learn the differences, spot the subtle signs.
💬 Comment "both sides" to get the full article on exploring externalized vs internalized PDA today.

✨ Happening NEXT WEEK! ✨Gut Check: Occupational Therapy & Interoception🗓️ Thursday, October 23 🎟️ Grab your spot now- ht...
10/15/2025

✨ Happening NEXT WEEK! ✨
Gut Check: Occupational Therapy & Interoception
🗓️ Thursday, October 23
🎟️ Grab your spot now- https://buff.ly/cUAaIRC

Join Nicole Cipriani — an Adult PDAer and Occupational Therapist — for a thoughtful, sensory-informed exploration of interoception: the “gut feelings” that help us understand our body’s internal signals.

Whether it’s emotions, hunger, overwhelm, or just a need for rest — these signals matter. And for many in the neurodivergent community, especially PDAers, they can be hard to tune into.

In this webinar, we’ll explore:
💛 What interoception really is
🧠 How OTs support nervous system regulation & autonomy
🛠️ Simple ways to bring more sensory awareness into daily life
📚 Plus: resources you can take with you!

Perfect for neurodivergent folks, parents, caregivers, and professionals alike.

Don’t miss it — next week!

The first weeks of school can feel like a free fall — sharp pencils, hopeful hearts… and then suddenly, it’s all unravel...
10/14/2025

The first weeks of school can feel like a free fall — sharp pencils, hopeful hearts… and then suddenly, it’s all unraveling.

Your PDA child is crying, hiding, raging, or refusing to go. You’re whispering, “I don’t know how much longer we can keep doing this.”

You’re not failing. And neither is your child.

For PDAers, “school refusal” isn’t about defiance, it’s about survival. Their nervous system is overwhelmed by demands that feel unsafe.

It’s time to shift from compliance to connection. From “how do I make them go?” to “how can school feel safe enough to stay?”

💡 Comment “help with school” for a link to the full article by Amanda Diekman along with a link to our PDA & Education Training made just for educators of PDAers.

Address

Deerfield, IL

Website

https://pdanorthamerica.org/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when PDA North America - Pathological Demand Avoidance posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to PDA North America - Pathological Demand Avoidance:

Shortcuts

Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn
Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share via Email
Share on WhatsApp Share on Instagram Share on Telegram

Category

Our Story

PDA North America was established as a result of the March 2020 Chicago PDA workshop. At this first PDA event in America, there was overwhelming enthusiasm and support for an ongoing effort in the US and Canada by the parents and professionals who attended. Diane Gould hosted the workshop and she is the founder of PDA North America. The workshop presenters from the UK were Laura Kerbey and Harry Thompson who serve as advisors to PDA North America. Sandra McConnell and Ann Hackler-Foutch, parents of children with PDA have joined the PDA North America effort as Certified PDA Trainers and Consultants.