Me and my PDA. A Guide to Pathological Demand Avoidance for Young People.
Insightful, helpful, encouraging, hopeful and compassionate from beginning to end! Realising that your child may have, or has recently been diagnosed with ASD with a profile of PDA can be a daunting and overwhelming experience for many parents. But, help is now at hand in the form of this refreshing and unique addition to the current range of PDA literature. Written in a sensitive and compassionate manner the authors invite the adult and the child to work collaboratively together with a view to establishing the child's individual profile of strengths and difficulties and how these can best be supported. The authors skilfully embed PDA strategies throughout the book to allow the child a sense of autonomy and control throughout that will, hopefully, be a rewarding and cathartic experience for all. I sincerely wish that this book had been available when myself and my daughter first began navigating this most complex of journeys and I can't recommend it highly enough to those who are now beginning, or struggling in theirs. Jane Sherwin, author of ‘Pathological Demand Avoidance Syndrome – My Daughter is not Naughty’.
I think that one of the best ways to help your PDA child is to support them to gain insight in a nonjudgmental and open way. Helping them communicate this to you helps them feel understood and then empowers you as their advocate. It also helps you as the parent see all those truly wonderful positives about your PDA child. This book provides a wonderful framework for doing that. I hope that it will help structure conversations between you and your child, therefore helping you both develop awareness of the individual strategies that can support them. Listening and then adapting to those preferences will strengthen the bonds between you and your child.Cassandra Davies, parent of a young person with PDA and member of ‘PDA Action Group Somerset’ and ‘PDA, Pathological Demand Avoidance Support – Families & Practitioners UK’.
Glòria and Tamar's book is an essential read for children and young people with PDA and their families. ‘Me and my PDA’ is packed with pages which encourage young people with PDA to develop their understanding of Pathological Demand Avoidance, and create their own supportive strategies. It is a sensitive book based on an excellent understanding of PDA, which is probably the hardest form of Autism, and so exhausting for the children, young people and families that it affects. I cannot recommend it highly enough. Sarah Wild, Headteacher of Limpsfield Grange.
This book is a very valuable addition to the PDA library. Part self-help guide, part gentle workbook, it's presented in a really positive, accessible style which most importantly puts the young person with PDA in the driving seat. It helps young people on their journey to self-awareness, understanding what PDA means to them and what strategies work best. The book also helps to facilitate discussion with families, carers and teachers, enabling everyone to develop deeper insight into the young person they are supporting. The PDA Society.
PDA is being increasing recognised and understood as a profile within the autism spectrum. Parents and teachers of children and young people realise the critical importance of facilitating emotional and social understanding and self-awareness. Using the same style as their “My Autism Book’ this publication provides a starting point for a conversation with the child about their form of autism and how it is part of their unique personality and profile. The accessible and informative style will provide an invaluable resource to anyone looking to support a child in developing his or her self-awareness.Phil Christie, Consultant Child Psychologist, author of ‘Understanding Pathological Demand Avoidance Syndrome. A Guide for Parents, Teachers and Other Professionals’.
This book provides a helpful, informative and personalised framework to help young people make sense of their PDA profile with support from their families and other adults they know. Its strengths are in its flexibility, its regard for promoting emotional wellbeing, and in the key messages it highlights about individuality and the importance of devising strategies collaboratively. Ruth Fidler, Education Consultant in complex Autism, author of ‘Can I tell you about Pathological Demand Avoidance Syndrome? A Guide for Friends, Family and Professionals’.