On 20 June 2025, we’ll be hosting our in-person PDA Day, one of our highlight events of the year. It’s a hugely impactful day for all those who come along.
Why should you come along?
We have got brand new content this year and we are hearing from experts who haven’t joined us before.
Libby Hill is with us once again but she’s being joined by Sally Cat, one of the most well-known PDA voices within the SEND community. An author, artist and presenter, Sally Cat’s expression of PDA is one which resonates with so many people and helps parents to gain much more of an understanding of what’s going on.
We are also joined by Phil Christie who is an author and leading expert on PDA. His online live webinar with us was our biggest one ever with hundreds of people logging on to hear from him so it’s going to be a real bonus for those of us in the room on PDA Day to hear from him face to face.
Dr Judy Eaton, the founder of Help4Psychology, will be joining us along with a former patient who was identified by Judy as having a PDA profile. Together they’ll be providing us with an understanding of how we identify PDA together with a lived experience of growing up with PDA.
Finally, we are joined by PDA Society who are the leading charity for PDA in the UK. Their insight is always so valued as they provide us with practical strategies for how we support can children with PDA.
The opportunity to hear from all these experts in one day is one not to miss.
In the run up to the day, here’s a look at how we got to where we are now with PDA and why you still can’t secure an official diagnosis in the UK.
40 years after PDA was first recognised and here in the UK, children still cannot get a formal diagnosis. While none of us are seeking to label our children, being unable to attain a piece of paper which clearly states that this is the difficulty they have makes it even harder to secure the support that they need. So, why isn’t PDA being formally recognised?
The history of Pathological Demand Avoidance
PDA was first identified in the 1980s by Professor Elizabeth Newson, a child psychologist who observed distinct patterns of behaviour in some children that didn’t fit typical presentations of autism. She described PDA as a profile where individuals display:
- Extreme avoidance of everyday demands.
- Social strategies for avoidance, such as distraction or making excuses.
- Excessive mood swings.
- A need to control situations.
Newson’s work led to the term “Pathological Demand Avoidance Syndrome,” and she advocated for its inclusion within the autism spectrum. Her research resonated with parents and professionals who recognised these traits in children who struggled in mainstream autism support frameworks. However, PDA has not been formally recognised as a distinct diagnosis within the UK’s diagnostic manuals.
Why you can’t get a PDA diagnosis
In the UK PDA is not recognised as a standalone condition which means that you cannot get a diagnosis of it. Many people find their children will be diagnosed as either ‘autism with demand avoidance’ or perhaps ‘autism with a PDA profile’.
There are a couple of key reasons why doctors in the UK cannot diagnose PDA. These are:
Lack of consensus – While some clinicians will recognise PDA as a distinct profile there are others who view it more as a part of autism or as an anxiety-driven behaviour pattern. Over the years this lack of agreement on definition and the criteria for a diagnosis has mean that it’s not been included in the diagnostic manuals.
It’s not in the diagnostic manuals – In the UK the two most widely used diagnostic manuals are the DSM-5 and ICD-11, both of which do not list PDA as a separate condition and without it being in there, clinicians cannot diagnose it.
A complex presentation
PDA is very complex and many people feel that without being able to secure a diagnosis, they don’t then get the very specific support strategies which are needed to help a PDA child.
On this infographic you can get more of an understanding of that complexity by seeing the very wide spectrum of demands which can cause difficulty for a PDA child…
Help and support
If you are struggling with understanding PDA and how to help your child then please know that you are not alone. PDA Day is always a sell out event, simply because it’s a profile which people want to know so much more about.
Come along on 20 June and enjoy the transformative effect of being in the room with experts and other parents who truly understand the challenges you will be facing. Don’t miss out, grab your tickets now: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1037736406527
