Here is an evolving list of links to web materials and sources related to PDA.

• PDA Society: Awareness Matters. A British organization that “aims to offer support, advice and information to anyone involved with an individual with PDA, whether suspected or diagnosed, child or adult.” A rich site with strong sections on ‘What is PDA?’ and advice for families, teachers and other professionals.
• The PDA Resource. Another British site offering help for teachers, carers and professionals.
• PDA Parents. A US site begun in 2021 and run by two mothers in Michigan. It’s intended “as sort of a ‘community-building’ exercise for parents of PDA children.” Along with an extensive list of resources – including links to practitioners in the field of PDA – there’s a blog and a series of podcasts.
• The Blue Millicent Videos. A series of videos about various aspects of PDA. Very watchable and informative. The one on Managing Meltdowns is powerful and helpful.
• Pathological Demand Avoidance Syndrome: an autism spectrum condition. A British-based blog that “explores the concept of PDA as well as offering an insight into life with a child with PDA.”
• Jekyll and Hyde or Pathological Demand Avoidance Syndrome (PDA)? An Australian blog article mentioning the lack of recognition of PDA there too.
• Steph’s two girls. A lively blog by Steph, a mother of two young girls, one of whom has PDA. This post, focusing on strategies for living with a PDA child, is particularly interesting.
• Me, myself and PDA. A blog by Julia, an adult with PDA.
• Interview with Ruth Fidler, a British PDA expert, by Julia (see above).
• The Distinctive Clinical and Educational Needs of Children with Pathological Demand Avoidance Syndrome: Guidelines for Good Practice. An important 2007 paper by Phil Christie, a leading UK figure on PDA.
• Obsessional avoidance of everyday demands. Phil Christie describes the symptoms of PDA in children and young people, and explains how therapists – and, through them, teachers and parents – can understand and work with it. This article was first published in BACP Children & Young People Journal, June 2015. Republished here by permission of Phil Christie.
• Pathological demand avoidance: Exploring the behavioural profile. A 2013 British academic paper by Elizabeth O’Nions, Francesca Happé and others. It claims: “[The study] represents the first clear evidence that children fitting the PDA description display severe impairments across multiple domains.” It also identifies key issues for further research.
• Identifying features of ‘pathological demand avoidance’ using the Diagnostic Interview for Social and Communication Disorders (DISCO). Another academic paper (2015) by O’Nions, Happé and others. Its main thrust is that there has been progress towards a clinician-related measure of PDA features. Interestingly, when looking to the future, the authors also note: “These data suggest that a subset of those individuals reported to have PDA features may experience some remission over time. It would be of great clinical interest to determine what factors may promote this.”
• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): Links to other websites. A page on the website of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC is a highly reputable organization within the US Department of Health and Human Services, so its recommendations carry more weight than some. The links are about ASD in general rather than PDA specifically. Even so, a few may be of interest to those whose main concern is PDA.
• PDA in Spanish. This Spanish-language site is by Rocio Manzanera, a Spanish psychologist with professional experience of PDA who lives in Liverpool, UK. He also runs some Spanish-language PDA-related Facebook sites, including this page, a private group for families and carers and a private group for professionals.
• A Helpful Online Safety Guide for People With Autism Spectrum Disorders. This isn’t PDA-specific but it has lots of suggestions that could help PDA children (and their carers) cope better with life online.