PDA North America - Pathological Demand Avoidance

PDA North America - Pathological Demand Avoidance Our mission is bold. We want to spread awareness of PDA to parents, individuals, educators and therapists throughout the US and Canada.
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Our mission is to provide advocacy, education, and resources to autistic PDA individuals, others who identify as PDA and their families along with the professionals who support them. 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 t

o know that they are understood. In short, to build a strong and vibrant community for this underserved population.

🚨 Don't Miss Out! Today's the final day to purchase the 2026 PDA North America Conference Recordings!Didn’t catch the PD...
04/30/2026

🚨 Don't Miss Out! Today's the final day to purchase the 2026 PDA North America Conference Recordings!

Didn’t catch the PDA North America Conference? Now’s your last chance to access the full experience.

Explore 3 days of insights, tools, and approaches, directly from PDA experts, that support PDAers, and those who love and support them, across the lifespan.

🗓 Purchase by the end of today
📺 Watch anytime through August 31, 2026

→ Get access now: https://buff.ly/xqNWRru

⏰ Next week: PDA 101!Join Diane Gould for a clear introduction to PDA and supportive strategies.🗓 May 7 | 7 PM CSTFREE e...
04/30/2026

⏰ Next week: PDA 101!
Join Diane Gould for a clear introduction to PDA and supportive strategies.

🗓 May 7 | 7 PM CST
FREE event
🎟 https://buff.ly/rzYG9va

Missed the conference but still want the insights?Learn from seasoned PDA experts on critical topics, with resources and...
04/29/2026

Missed the conference but still want the insights?

Learn from seasoned PDA experts on critical topics, with resources and systems designed to help PDAers of all ages—and their loved ones—thrive across the lifespan.

⏳ Just one more day to purchase the full conference recordings!

🔗Get access here: https://buff.ly/xqNWRru

If you’ve ever wished more people understood PDA…If you’ve ever felt alone navigating it…This day is for you.On PDA Day,...
04/29/2026

If you’ve ever wished more people understood PDA…
If you’ve ever felt alone navigating it…

This day is for you.

On PDA Day, we’re hosting a free, full-day event centered on connection, lived experience, and community.

Come as you are.
Take what you need.
Leave the rest.

🗓️ May 13th | 10:00AM-4:00PM (CST)
💛 Free to attend
🌍 Voices from across the PDA community
✨ Optional opportunity to support PDANA

We’d love to have you there.
🔗https://buff.ly/5jGn0AV

PDA: A Father's PerspectiveSchool calls, emotional meltdowns, systems that don’t understand—being a dad to a PDA child i...
04/28/2026

PDA: A Father's Perspective

School calls, emotional meltdowns, systems that don’t understand—being a dad to a PDA child is exhausting, isolating, and full of pressure nobody talks about.

You keep going anyway, holding it together, putting your kid first… but who’s holding space for you?

Join PJ “Starling” Letourneau, PDA dad and PDA North America board member, as he shares what fathers are really navigating: the stress, the quiet sacrifices, and why support, connection, and understanding for dads matters just as much as it does for kids.

📅 Thursday, June 18 | 7:00 PM CST
🎟️ Reserve your spot:

👥 Dads need community just as much as anyone else.Join PJ Starling () on June 9 @ 7 PM CST for PDA & Fatherhood — a spa...
04/27/2026

👥 Dads need community just as much as anyone else.
Join PJ Starling () on June 9 @ 7 PM CST for PDA & Fatherhood — a space just for you.

🎟️ | https://buff.ly/okkIa1h
You deserve community that gets it.

Supporting a PDA teen can feel confusing, exhausting, and overwhelming.You’re not alone—and there’s more going on beneat...
04/24/2026

Supporting a PDA teen can feel confusing, exhausting, and overwhelming.

You’re not alone—and there’s more going on beneath the surface.

🧠 PDA Teens & Their Neurocomplexities by Calial McCarty offers a deeper look at what’s really happening—and how to support teens in a way that actually works.

💬 Comment “TEENS” and we’ll send you the full PDA Insights article and the corresponding webinar link.

To celebrate PDA Day, we’ve put together a day-long fundraiser event that is completely free to attend, will be recorded...
04/23/2026

To celebrate PDA Day, we’ve put together a day-long fundraiser event that is completely free to attend, will be recorded, and will be made available to all who register.

Join us on PDA Day (May 13) starting at 10am central for:
- A full day of FREE live discussions with various PDA experts, including a GLOBAL conversation with PDA advocates in UK, Germany, Denmark, Hungary, South Africa and Belgium!
- Live conversations with various PDA experts and advocates including Chris Wenger aka Speech Dude, Amanda Diekman, PDA Society UK CEO Ed Archer, Lindsay Flanagan of Hive Parents, PJ Starling & other dads, Dr. Sarah Wayland, Helen Lowery and more!
- A day of giving to support PDA information, resources, and training
- 50% off our Learning Lab for one day only

This is a day to feel seen, and to help others feel seen too.

Comment "PDA day" and we'll DM you the link to RSVP for this free global community event!

We’re so glad you’re here. 💛

Loving a PDA partner can feel confusing, intense, and deeply meaningful all at once.When we shift from control → curiosi...
04/21/2026

Loving a PDA partner can feel confusing, intense, and deeply meaningful all at once.

When we shift from control → curiosity and pressure → safety, everything changes.

💛 If you want to learn more from a PDA couple - comment "PDA relationship" to read the full PDA Insight.

☀️ Summer learning starts with understanding PDA.Join Diane Gould for PDA 101 — a 75-minute intro to PDA with Q&A.🗓 Thur...
04/21/2026

☀️ Summer learning starts with understanding PDA.
Join Diane Gould for PDA 101 — a 75-minute intro to PDA with Q&A.

🗓 Thursday, June 4 | 7 PM CST
FREE ($25 suggested donation)
🎟 https://buff.ly/Rzspj7K

💡 Next Week! 💡Gifted or 2e child described as “capable but resistant,” “brilliant but explosive,” or “motivated only on ...
04/20/2026

💡 Next Week! 💡
Gifted or 2e child described as “capable but resistant,” “brilliant but explosive,” or “motivated only on their terms”? This may be PDA.

Dr. Danika Maddocks () — Autistic, gifted PDAer; parent of PDAers; founder of Gifted Learning Lab — explores why demand avoidance shows up so intensely in bright kids and what truly helps, all without blame or behavior charts.

📅 April 30th | 7 PM CST
💛 Learn more & join us: https://buff.ly/30iNHGh

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.