This beautifully illustrated guide helps young people with Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) to understand their diagnosis, develop self-awareness and implement their own personalised problem-solving strategies. Written in consultation with young people with PDA and their families, this book recognises the importance of handing control back to the young person, and that there is no one-size-fits-all PDA profile. Readers are encouraged to engage throughout with interactive writing, doodling and checklist exercises to explore their own particular characteristics, strengths and challenges.
Me and My PDA is sensitively tailored to the needs and experiences of young people (aged 10+) with PDA. The guide is designed to grow with the reader, and can be used for many years as the young person develops and changes - making it invaluable to PDA-diagnosed individuals and their families.
Dr Gloria Durá-Villá is a consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist working in the Surrey and Borders NHS Trust with a main clinical interest in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). She is experienced in assessing, diagnosing and treating children and young people with ASD, and she works closely with parents and educational and social services. She is passionate about the importance of communicating the ASD diagnosis to parents and to the child in the best possible way. She is an Honorary Lecturer at University College London, Department of Mental Health Sciences.
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. I sincerely wish that this book had been available when myself and my daughter first began navigating this most complex of journeys and I cant 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.
- 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
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, its presented in a really positive, accessible style which most importantly puts the young person with PDA in the driving seat.
- The PDA Society.
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.
