Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) Position Statement
We are very pleased to be able to share with you the recently published position statement on PDA. Family Voice Surrey have been actively involved in the development of this along with some parent carers with lived experience. We would like to thank everyone who has shared their experiences to help shape this.
It has been written collaboratively by, experts by experience, children and young people, parent carers of children and young people with a Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) profile and with a range of professionals.
The aims of this position statement are to:
- Develop and validate a shared understanding of PDA
- Raise awareness of PDA
- Provide insights into the lived experience of people with a PDA profile
- Improve the experiences and lives of autistic people with a PDA Profile
Autistic people with a PDA profile often have inconsistent and negative experiences due to a lack of shared understanding of how to meet their needs.
The purpose of this position statement is to recognise and validate that autistic people with a PDA profile live and work in Surrey.
The aspiration of this position statement is to achieve validation of PDA throughout the service system and improve the experiences of autistic people and their families.
We are delighted that this position statement has been endorsed by the Joint Education and Commissioning Board and the Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust Quality Management Group. This means that professionals across Surrey should have a shared understanding and be reflecting the good practice outlined in the document when supporting families.
We know there are currently many poor and inconsistent experiences for children and young people with a PDA profile so we hope that families can feel empowered and able to bring this document to professionals attention if needed – please do share this with schools and professionals working with your children as we want to ensure the message gets out as far and wide as possible.
You can access and read the full statement via this link: