TPP 307a: Eliza Fricker Talks Parenting a Child with PDA

Eliza Fricker joins me to talk about PDA or pathological demand avoidance – and in fact I know many people interpret PDA as persistent desire for autonomy. I’ve done a few episodes on PDA before but never from a parent’s perspective so after reading Eliza’s book, The Family Experience of PDA, I knew I wanted to share her perspective with the Tilt community. During this episode, we talked about how demand avoidance is more extreme in a child with a PDA profile vs. the inflexibility and rigidity we might see in other neurodivergent kids, what Eliza has learned about herself parenting a child with PDA, and what her resistance was to the changes needed to her parenting style.

Eliza also gave out some great tips for teachers who have a PDA student in their classroom and for parents who are struggling with family, friends, or people close to them who aren’t willing to understand what PDA is and what that means for their family.

Things you'll learn from this episode

* What makes demand avoidance more extreme in children with PDA

* Eliza’s experience in changing her parenting ways to become more flexible

* Tweaks teachers can use to work with children who have PDA in a classroom setting

* How PDA may look different than “typical demand avoidance” that we might see in some neurodivergent children

* What Eliza has learned about herself from parenting a child with PDA

* Advice for parents who are raising a child with PDA

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