What is pathological demand avoidance (PDA)?

 

Demand avoidance’ involves not being able to do certain things at certain times, either for yourself or others, and the use of techniques to avoid these things.

It’s a natural human trait – avoiding demands is something we all do to different degrees and for different reasons.

When it occurs to an extreme extent, it may be that it relates to poor physical or mental health, or to personality development or to developmental conditions. So, it’s important to understand that a PDA profile of autism may not always be the explanation for demand avoidant presentations.