Pda - How Do We Support?

The term “PDA” was coined by Professor Elizabeth Newson in the 1980s. The group of children it describes experience chronic anxiety about demands made upon them, whether those are real or perceived, and find school environments challenging. They are commonly identified as being on the autistic spectrum - although this is controversial, as there is a lack of research on PDA.

While PDA is still not widely understood, the number of children who are expressing anxiety in school after the pandemic has brought it to the awareness of more people. There is growing recognition that adopting teaching strategies and behaviours to reduce stress for these children can support all pupils to better respond to the increased demands of the curriculum and the classroom.

The effects of pathological demand avoidanceNow, consider pupils who struggle with task demands. They will find it impossible to hold multiple steps in their head when flooded with worry. Add to this poor cognitive function or auditory issues, and we can begin to see how hard it is for children with cooccurring needs to regulate their anxiety.

Our job, as educators is to explain each step through a range of techniques. Modelling, scaffolding and explaining the metacognitive processes of how we learn can all help.

Using positive reinforcement, offering choice, using clear and concise language and giving time to process information are good tactics, too, as is using visual aids.

In addition, teaching should be adaptive enough to avoid rigidity and allow routines to flex, giving pupils some control over their learning while accommodating their individual needs.

Ultimately, teachers need to better understand the concept of demand avoidance and how it affects different individuals they need to learn to recognise the specific triggers that exacerbate anxiety and avoidance behaviour. More research is needed to support teachers in this. But one thing we can no longer avoid is acknowledging that inclusive teaching benefits everyone.