PDA North America - Pathological Demand Avoidance

PDA North America - Pathological Demand Avoidance A non-profit to provide information, resources and support for individuals and families with PDA Our mission is bold.
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We want to spread awareness of PDA to parents, individuals, educators and therapists throughout the US and Canada. We want families to have a place to turn for support and guidance. We want professionals to be able to receive training, consultation and information in order to effectively teach or treat PDAers. And we want PDAers to know that they are understood. In short, to build a strong and vibrant community for this underserved population.

🎓 JUST ANNOUNCED: PDA Level 2 Training for Professionals- LIVE!Mark your calendars to join us for an interactive, neurod...
10/10/2025

🎓 JUST ANNOUNCED: PDA Level 2 Training for Professionals- LIVE!
Mark your calendars to join us for an interactive, neurodiversity-affirming training led by PDA autistic professionals

🗓️ Live: Friday, January 16th
🕙 10:00 AM–3:30 PM CST
📍 Level 1 completion required
📄 5 NASW CE hours*

🎟️ Register Here: https://buff.ly/ZvQWT3T
Comment "Level2" to recieve the direct link

Led by:
✨ Diane Gould, LCSW ()
✨ Zach Morris
✨ Sandra McConnell

*Live attendance required for certificate
(*CEs not valid in NJ, NY, WV)

Can we really heal while living in an environment that still feels traumatic?For many parents raising neurodivergent or ...
10/09/2025

Can we really heal while living in an environment that still feels traumatic?
For many parents raising neurodivergent or high-needs kids, healing can feel impossible. But maybe it’s not about arriving somewhere calm — maybe it’s about learning to stay compassionate with ourselves in the middle of the mess.

Afshan Tafler () offers a powerful reframe of what healing truly means.

💚 Read the full article here: https://pdanorthamerica.org/the-meaning-of-healing-your-nervous-system-even-in-stressful-or-traumatic-environments/

🧠💬 Struggling with daily pushback or emotional storms at home?You are not doing it wrong—and you are not alone.Join us o...
10/09/2025

🧠💬 Struggling with daily pushback or emotional storms at home?
You are not doing it wrong—and you are not alone.

Join us on October 16, 2025 at 7:00 PM CST for a powerful webinar with the host of Neurodiverging Podcast, Danielle Sullivan:
Nonviolent Communication for PDA Families

This session is for parents and caregivers who feel stuck, even after trying “all the things.” Danielle will show you how to:

💛 Decrease daily conflict
🤝 Build connection and cooperation
🧭 Parent in a way that truly aligns with your values
🧰 Walk away with tools you can actually use

✨ Let’s move from power struggles to partnership—together.

🎥 Can’t join live? No problem! All registrants will receive a recording within a week.

🔗 Save your spot: https://buff.ly/YrfRPMm

🚨 LIVE PDA Level 2 Training for ProfessionalsTake your PDA knowledge deeper with this advanced, interactive training — c...
10/08/2025

🚨 LIVE PDA Level 2 Training for Professionals

Take your PDA knowledge deeper with this advanced, interactive training — created and led by PDA autistic professionals, including PDA North America founder, Diane Gould, LCSW (), Zach Morris and Sandra McConnell.

🧠 Real strategies. Real insight.
🎓 5 NASW CE hours*
📆 Friday, January 16th | ⏰ 10 AM–3:30 PM CST
🔗 https://buff.ly/ZvQWT3T
(Level 1 required)

NEXT WEEK 👥 Dads & Male-Identifying Caregivers — Let’s Talk.Parenting a child with Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) i...
10/07/2025

NEXT WEEK 👥 Dads & Male-Identifying Caregivers — Let’s Talk.
Parenting a child with Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) is tough—and often isolating for fathers and male caregivers. This monthly group is here to change that.

🗓️ Next session: October 14 @ 7 PM CST

Led by PJ Starling (), an adult PDAer and PDANA board member, this space is all about:
✅ Real conversation
✅ Zero judgment
✅ Support you can use

💵 Just $15
📲 Save your spot now, register here: https://buff.ly/2dBgYpm

Whether you’re a biological dad, adoptive parent, uncle, or someone who identifies as male and shows up as a caregiver—you’re welcome here.

🏥✨ Searching for a provider who truly understands PDA? Or want to uplift someone who’s been a PDA-affirming lifesaver in...
10/07/2025

🏥✨ Searching for a provider who truly understands PDA? Or want to uplift someone who’s been a PDA-affirming lifesaver in your journey? This resource is for you.

The PDA-Affirming Providers List now includes 700+ therapists, doctors, educators, and other support professionals — and it's still growing!

🌱 Whether you're:
✔️ Looking for a new provider who "gets it"
✔️ Hoping to share someone who’s been a game-changer
✔️ A professional ready to join the movement —

This community-built list is by and for PDA North America families — and it's helping people find the safe, supportive care they deserve. 💛

📎 The full directory: https://buff.ly/xTm3yfM

📎 The link to add a provider (or yourself!) https://buff.ly/eeQK8lZ

🌟 Webinar Now Available!Straight from our PDA North America 2025 Conference, we're thrilled to bring you:Mental Health f...
10/06/2025

🌟 Webinar Now Available!
Straight from our PDA North America 2025 Conference, we're thrilled to bring you:
Mental Health for PDAers and How to Support Them with Dr. Judy Eaton 🎤

💵 $39 | Now streaming in the Learning Lab

In this impactful session, Dr. Eaton explores the complex mental health challenges often experienced by autistic PDAers—like:
🌀 Anxiety and depression
🍽️ Eating challenges
🧠 OCD and complex trauma

She also shares insights from her upcoming book, co-authored with Sophie Lerman, a young autistic PDA adult whose lived experience brings depth, honesty, and authenticity to the conversation.

If you're supporting a PDAer—or want to better understand how to—this webinar offers the tools, empathy, and understanding you need.

📲 Start watching: https://buff.ly/bONQOFK

💛 Accommodating PDA in Eating Disorder Treatmentwith Megan Agee, M.A., LPATraditional eating disorder treatment often as...
10/02/2025

💛 Accommodating PDA in Eating Disorder Treatment
with Megan Agee, M.A., LPA

Traditional eating disorder treatment often assumes cooperation — but for autistic individuals with a PDA profile, even well-meaning support can feel like a threat.

Join Megan Agee, AuDHD psychologist and PDA specialist, for a compassionate webinar on approaches that center autonomy, safety, and real connection.

You'll explore:
✨ How PDA impacts eating behaviors
✨ Why resistance isn't defiance — it's protection
✨ Ways to support nourishment without power struggles

📅 October 9
🎟️ Register here: https://buff.ly/mZMHGTt

You can honor autonomy and support recovery — this webinar will show you how.

🔍 Curious about Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA)?Join us Nov. 20 | 5:30–8:30PM Hosted by Fusion Academy Malvern () fo...
10/01/2025

🔍 Curious about Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA)?
Join us Nov. 20 | 5:30–8:30PM Hosted by Fusion Academy Malvern () for an empowering evening of insight, support & connection!

🎤 Featuring:
✨ Talk by PDA expert Diane Gould
🧠 Panels with parents & PDA-affirming pros
🤝 Networking for parents & professionals
🍴 Refreshments + hors d'oeuvres

🎟️ RSVP now → https://buff.ly/qMqymIv
📍 700 Steel Lane, Suite 200, Malvern, PA
📧 Questions? info@pdanorthamerica.org

📣 New Webinar on The Learning Lab Managing Panic, Meltdowns, and Aggression with PDAersParenting a PDA child isn’t in th...
10/01/2025

📣 New Webinar on The Learning Lab
Managing Panic, Meltdowns, and Aggression with PDAers

Parenting a PDA child isn’t in the handbook. The panic. The shutdowns. The outbursts.— it’s a nervous system in overdrive. And it’s so much to hold.😔

You’re not alone and you don’t have to guess your way through it.

Join PDA parent + therapist Lindsay Flanagan () for real talk, practical tools, and hope. 💛

🎟️ Low Demand Learning on the Learning Lab: watch at your own pace, leave with validation + strategy.

Watch Here: https://learn.pdanorthamerica.org/products/courses/managing-panic-meltdowns-aggression-pdaers

💬 November Support Group for Dads & Male-Identifying Caregivers of PDAers 💬Caring for a child with Pathological Demand A...
09/30/2025

💬 November Support Group for Dads & Male-Identifying Caregivers of PDAers 💬

Caring for a child with Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) brings unique challenges—and sometimes, fathers and male-identifying caregivers are left without a space to talk about it.

That’s why this group exists.

Join PJ Starling (), adult PDAer and PDANA board member, for a monthly conversation built on connection, understanding, and lived experience.

🗓️ Date: November 11, 2025
🕖 Time: 7:00 PM CST
💵 Cost: $15
📲 Register here: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/pda-and-fatherhood-november

✅ Safe, supportive space
✅ Practical and emotional guidance
✅ A chance to connect with others who get it

You don’t have to figure it all out alone. This is your space.

Black and Brown neurodivergent kids are often misdiagnosed, because the systems evaluating them were never built with th...
09/29/2025

Black and Brown neurodivergent kids are often misdiagnosed, because the systems evaluating them were never built with them in mind.

Racism and ableism don’t operate separately. In schools, therapy, and diagnostic spaces, they collide and our children pay the price.

Dr. Destiny Huff (Autistic, ADHD, PDAer, PDANA Board Member, parent, and advocate) breaks down 6 common misdiagnoses that show up when race, neurodivergence, and systemic neglect intersect.

Let’s stop forcing kids to mask just to stay safe and start building systems that see them.

Address

Deerfield, IL

Website

https://pdanorthamerica.org/

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Our Story

PDA North America was established as a result of the March 2020 Chicago PDA workshop. At this first PDA event in America, there was overwhelming enthusiasm and support for an ongoing effort in the US and Canada by the parents and professionals who attended. Diane Gould hosted the workshop and she is the founder of PDA North America. The workshop presenters from the UK were Laura Kerbey and Harry Thompson who serve as advisors to PDA North America. Sandra McConnell and Ann Hackler-Foutch, parents of children with PDA have joined the PDA North America effort as Certified PDA Trainers and Consultants.