Current thinking on autism and PDA?

Raising awareness of PDA.

Hi again everyone - today I’m excited to bring you news of a conference that will discuss the current thinking on autism and PDA.

But first, I’d like to get off my chest the fact that I’ve spent the last 24 hours dealing with someone who decided to respond to a recent Instagram post from me, in which I was sharing information about PDA.

The above picture will take you to the Instagram post. My blog post those thoughts came from is: Ten things you need to know about Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA)

This is the difficult side of sharing on social media that I’d mentioned in my last newsletter. I’m trying to help other people but end up feeling attacked. This individual wanted to share their beliefs that PDA does not exist, which is fine by me - everyone is entitled to an opinion.

I have always been open to the idea of healthy debate and discussion, which is why I’m keen to share the news of an event where people will air different thoughts on the topic. However there are clearly some individuals who do not keep an open mind (and who haven’t read my post ‘Is PDA real?’).

It can be difficult and exhausting to respond/manage/deal with rigid, inflexible comments like some of the ones I’ve received recently. One thing I can say is that it is extremely unlikely that any of those who commented negatively have lived with a PDA individual. I am interested in science, and research, but I believe that lived experience is equally valid. If someone wants to tell me PDA is not a ‘thing’, does not exist, cannot be diagnosed, is not an autism profile, none of that will change our experiences, or change our daughter (who, incidentally, is receiving 1-1 education at a specialist school at the age of 17. This has not happened because we have ‘not been strict enough to make her fit into a mainstream school’).

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Current thinking on autism and PDA?

Enough of my social media troubles and onto news of the conference. It’s being hosted by Lives in the Balance, and the announced speakers so far are Dr Judy Eaton, Dr Barry Prizant and Dr Ross Greene. There may be more speakers announced (I’m hoping for a PDAer and maybe a PDA parent to be involved!) but I’ve already signed up to hear what these three well-respected individuals have to say. There’s no guarantee they will all agree with the term PDA but I know they all care about children and it will be a good discussion.

To access this event, click on the above image and register (there is a small charge, but it will be recorded which is great for those who may not be able to watch live). Or visit the Lives in the Balance website at livesinthebalance.org/workshops-and-trainings/

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Book reviews

I’ve posted a couple of book reviews on my blog recently - have you read either of these?!

Raising the SEN-Betweeners by Lisa Lloyd and I Didn’t See You There by Charlotte Gale.

Question Time

It’s a relevant question today….

Thanks for reading! If you have any questions, please get in touch via stephstwogirls@gmail.com or reply to this email. If you know someone else who would like more info about PDA, please feel free to forward them this email and ask them to subscribe to receive further updates!