Pathological Demand Avoidance information (autism) - PDA Summit 2024

Would you like more information about the Pathological Demand Avoidance profile of autism? Do you know someone else who might benefit from learning more about PDA? Have you heard about the PDA Summit?

I have been writing about the PDA profile of autism for over twelve years, after stumbling across the words Pathological Demand Avoidance online. I had realised that the descriptions of PDA characteristics fitted our daughter perfectly, and I desperately wanted other people to understand how her brain worked and why she seemed to react differently to the majority of young children in many situations. My first post about our 'lightbulb moment' was in January 2013: Pathological Demand Avoidance = my daughter; and a challenge for all... 

PDA Space Summit 2024

The PDA Summit is an annual conference organised by Nicola Reekie, mum to two awesome boys, one with a PDA diagnosis. Nicola's motivation was to inspire a deeper understanding of what drives PDA, and what the behaviours that come with it are trying to communicate to us. She had planned to run the first PDA conference in person in 2020 but we all know what happened that year... so instead, this became a global online event that has been growing in numbers every year.

For 2024 the PDA Space Summit will be taking place from 26-28th April.

Over these three days, a variety of speakers will be discussing PDA in detail, sharing lived experiences, educational challenges, therapeutic support and parents’ experiences. Global specialists, professionals and families of PDAers, as well as the personal stories of PDAers, all sharing varied perspectives of living and working with PDA individuals. 

Each day at 10am there will be a set of webinars released, that will then be available for 24 hours viewing. The Summit will end at 10am on Monday 29th April to allow for three full days of access.

The webinars will be free to access for each of those three Summit days. Those who would like to have full continued access to ALL the webinars until 25th April 2025 are able to purchase a Back Pocket Pass (current price £49). There is also the option to have full transcripts and CPD Accreditation.

Speakers and Topics:

There are so many awesome speakers this year, including author of The Explosive Child, Dr Ross Greene! I'm thrilled to be on the speaker line-up alongside him and all the other fab speakers who have such a wide wealth of PDA knowledge and understanding between them. Here's the list of speakers and what their webinars will be covering:

Amanda Maguire Neurodiverse Adventures: Discovering Your PDA Identity.

Asher Jenner: Managing Challenges In School.

Chris Bonnello: Conditions PDAers Need For Learning.

Clare Truman: Facilitating Learning For PDAers.

Corrina Wood: Secure planning for PDA children and young people.

Creative Neurodivergent: Keep Calm It's Only Tourette’s!

Dr Ross Greene: Why we need to be proactive.

Gabriella Russo: There are no stupid questions - helping parents and carers have a voice about the safety of their children.

Hannah Harris, The Autistic Advantage: Why you are so much more important than you may ever believe.

Heidi Brandis: We Are Parents Of PDAers - Hear Us Roar!

Heidi Steel LivePlayLearn: How Behaviour Impacts Learning.

Julia Daunt: Behind The Behaviour from an adult PDAer‘s perspective.

Libby Hill: He talks really well, why would he need a speech and language therapy assessment?

MindJamDan: The benefits of gaming and game design with MindJamDan.

Nanny Aut: Stressed Students Can’t Learn.

Neurodiverse Journeys: Life through the lens of one PDAer.

NeuroWild: Shifting Expectations with NeuroWild.

Nicola Reekie: Time to challenge your own beliefs and values around behaviour.

Nick Wood Counselling: Dad’s talk on PDA: ‘Help! Where is the Roadmap!’

No Pressure PDA: PDA and Adolescence.

PDA Dad UK: Embracing PDA Fatherhood.

Rebecca A Boy Less Ordinary: Coping with distressed behaviour - a parent’s perspective.

Riko: Why low demand parenting isn’t working.

Rosie Anne: Healing Complex Trauma within the PDA Community.

Sally Cat: How PDA is hidden.

SENStory: Managing sensory motor needs and hypermobility for PDA children.

Steph Curtis: PDA in the Family.

The Sensory Projects: Using Foundations for Advocacy.

Tigger Pritchard: Bridging the Neurodivide.

Jess Garner: Part 1 ‘Understanding and Critiquing the Context’.

Helen Autistic Realms: Part 2 ‘Monotropism and Burnout’.

Iain Girvan & Simon Farnsworth: PDA – A Dad‘s Journey.

Kay & Dan Aldred: Self regulation is vital.

Scott Nielsen & Laura Hellfeld: Cortisol, the master hormone, and its impacts on well-being & behaviour.

Great news: it's free!

It's totally free to register for the Summit now, and you don't have to decide about whether you'd like to purchase the Back Pocket Pass just yet. For more information and to register, please visit: The PDA Space Summit 2024.

This is such a great way of learning more about PDA, so please do feel free to share this news far and wide, with anyone and everyone - friends and family, work colleagues, school staff and healthcare professionals, maybe even people you meet in the street?!

* The PDA Space Summit links in this post are affiliate links which means that I may earn some commission if people go on to sign up for the Back Pocket Pass after registering using my link. No hard sell from me though, I'm just happy that more people get to hear about and understand more about PDA!