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Pathological Demand Avoidance: Three Strategies That Actually Help
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12 minutes • expires 20/10/2026
With Dr Pooky Knightsmith
With Dr Pooky Knightsmith
Three gentle strategies to ease PDA-related tension at home.
If you're parenting a child with PDA, you'll know how exhausting it can be when even the simplest request sparks a meltdown. Pathological demand avoidance isn't defiance, it's a nervous system that experiences everyday demands as genuinely threatening. In this short video, Dr Pooky Knightsmith shares three practical strategies that can ease the tension, with small, manageable shifts you can try this week.
If you're parenting a child with PDA, you'll know how exhausting it can be when even the simplest request sparks a meltdown. Pathological demand avoidance isn't defiance, it's a nervous system that experiences everyday demands as genuinely threatening. In this short video, Dr Pooky Knightsmith shares three practical strategies that can ease the tension, with small, manageable shifts you can try this week.
About Dr Pooky Knightsmith:
Dr Pooky Knightsmith is an internationally respected expert in child and adolescent mental health and special needs. She is autistic, a parent of autistic daughters, and combines lived experience with a PhD in psychological medicine to make complex ideas genuinely useful.
Dr Pooky Knightsmith is an internationally respected expert in child and adolescent mental health and special needs. She is autistic, a parent of autistic daughters, and combines lived experience with a PhD in psychological medicine to make complex ideas genuinely useful.