The Teacher's Introduction to Pathological Demand Avoidance

by Clare Truman

This essential guide for working with PDA pupils outlines effective and practical ways that teachers and school staff can support these pupils, by endorsing a child-led approach to learning and assessment.

Beginning with an introduction to PDA and how it can affect the education experience, it is then followed by thoughtful, useful strategies school staff can implement to build a collaborative relationship with pupils and help them to thrive in the school environment. The activities presented aim to make children more comfortable and at ease, and therefore better able to learn. It covers key issues for children with PDA, such as sensory issues, preferred language and phrasing of demands, social skills, and recognising distressed behaviour. The chapter summaries and simple activities listed throughout make this a useful tool for busy teaching staff working with PDA pupils.

Genres: Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Nonfiction, Education

176 pages, Paperback

Published July 21, 2021

Reviews

[Tara Serene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant compassion.
If you know PDA this is validating. Changing perspective on how a child learns vs forcing the traditional is key.

[Bliss R · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a helpful book to read regarding PDA with an easy to follow structure as each chapter finishes with a summary. The books notes the importance of reducing demands in ways such as prioritising the demands, child-led learning and also has some really useful advice on activities to present to children. Being flexible and tailoring learning activities to the childs interests in an inviting way to increase engagement is noted and overall the book is a worthwhile read. A further reading section is included and the author also makes an interesting point in the afterword that the world is changing with increasing recognition of neurodiversity.

[Erika Breezy (Sustainably.Spooky) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had some helpful tips. Mostly, I found the repeating theme of "At the Spectrum Space, we had the time/budget/resources to do this really fun/creative/well prepared approach for the student, but this might not be feasible for teachers in traditional schools so just so your best." Or, "If the student exhibits XYZ negative behavior, wait until they're calm and talk to them to figure out how you can avoid this next time." I appreciated the examples pertaining to a few individual students, but more in-depth breakdowns of these tactics to resolve or apply on a larger scale would have been amazing.

[Rosemary Dinsdale · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book explains ASD PDA very well. It is meant for use in the classroom but I think most of the suggested methods can also be used in everyday life situations at home. A great source of information!

[Victoria White · Rating 5 out of 5]

So interesting!! Really easy to read and some super ideas to try. The empathy towards both the students and their teachers oozed out of the book, creating a space for respect, understanding and positivity.

[Tc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent resource for parents and teachers alike with great examples. Easy to read (completed in one sitting in a waiting room), couldn’t take enough notes!! More suited for practical application in younger years but some very real examples shared for high school students too.

[Jessica Maher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very useful and informative. Well set out with clear and practical advice.

[Cheyenne McCoy]

what a time to be alive

[Evie Kinnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

The tone for this book was a little more clinical, and I connected with it a bit less because of that. But the practicality was useful.

[Leslie Groulx · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great points and actions to ponder and implement

Enjoyed the content!

[shar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really helpful guide to working with children with PDA profile to adapt into a school or learning setting

[Philisha Paragi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for educators who work with students with PDA!

[Charlotte CanCountAndRead · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introduction with plenty of practical tips for teachers, backed up with lived experiences. I would have liked to see more neuroscience to help me understand the root of PDA profiles.