Diagnosed with Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) in his teenage years, Harry Thompson looks back with wit and humour at the ups and downs of family and romantic relationships, school, work and mental health, as well as his teenage struggle with drugs and alcohol. Furthermore there is no trait that is specific to DAP and its traits often have many interpretations in different labels. Pinpoint provide help and information to parents and carers of children and young people aged 0-25 with additional needs and disabilities in Cambridgeshire.

Additionally, he's mean-spirited and hurts people for sport, defending it by saying it's a PDA characteristic. Even past toddlerhood, your kid might continue to dig their heels in on doing homework, eating healthy foods, or getting up in the morning. They threatened me with court and safeguarding procedures (including threats to remove him from my care) when I was advocating for my son and pleading a different approach, they told me I didn't know my son and he was playing me. They made his issues WORSE by far and left a hell of a mess for me to deal with (no support) at home.minute read - An open letter to Atkins on how their new recipe for the Mocha Latte Shake recipe affected an autistic adult. May have a ‘special interest’ in a certain person, people, society, social systems, studying and understanding people, e. my sons 100% autistic and he never deliberated mis behaves… he may get hyper and try and take the focus from the environment which may look like attention seeking behaviour but that means he needs a break from the environment causing the behaviour not be punished for “Mis behaving” because he is deliberately trying to cause a scene…. This is where a lot of our problems lay; he and I were in a constant battle of wills; fighting for control over every situation, decision and activity. Harry Jack Thompson, the “ naughty autie taking the neurotypical world by storm” known for his advocacy work in awareness for Pathological Demand Avoidance ( PDA) and [ former] director of Neurodivergent Education Support and Training ( NEST), a common profile among autistics and other atypical neurotypes, has recently had his harmful and manipulative behaviors come to light, resulting in his disappearance from the digital space.

Finally, a good way to reduce stress at home is to simply reduce the number of battles by reducing unnecessary asks, Henderson says. I want to use words that make sense to them, that capture their moment-to-moment experience, creating a more solid ground on which to build the fragile scaffolding of healing and perhaps their own change.These range from teeth-brushing and getting dressed to getting out of bed, doing homework, responding to questions, responding to their own bodily functions,” says Harry Thompson, co-founder and former director of U. PDAers need to do things their own way, and find many everyday things demanding, including things that they “should” or “want to” do. We ask that you tell us if you have any concerns and respond to our questions or queries within the agreed time limits. When the younger sister ran to her mom asking to curl her own hair, her mom was able to explain that curling irons don’t really work on dirty hair. My daughter is now working with various organisations including NHS England to try an improve understanding and services and to get person centred holistic treatment for every neurodivergent youngster.

The why of it is that, from our own experiences of services and support in our local area, there is a vast expanse between the understanding of professionals, school staff, etc. It ended with him becoming a school refuser and, at that point, I completely stopped any attempts to get him into school and ignored any demand from the school, etc.Many times, the next demand comes before the PDA-er has a chance to calm down from the last one: get ready for school, open your books, go to lunch, please sit still in class. But when you remind them to grab their cleats and jump in the car, they suddenly will do anything to get out of practicing their favorite sport. Pointing this out does not negate my compassion or understanding that this experience is not Cooper’s fault, but rather is a way of holding space for those moments of the violation of self.

The only way to be sure of avoiding this doubt is to not diagnose DAP and use recognised labels from the diagnostic manuals, as argued by Green et al (2018a). Caring for a child or young person with additional needs or disability is tiring and, in a big county like Cambridgeshire, can be extremely isolating.I can embody non-violence in my daily facial expressions, words, tone, and movements, no matter how hard this feels. This is horrific and terrifying, the frequency of mistreating/ ignoring neurodiverse conditions and sensory processing issues is bloody scary…it is just like gaslighting… the more you say it’s a tantrum, the more it is perceived as one…making someone look crazy when they are just not coping 😡! Harry Thompson, 48, of Lackford Place, Ipswich, appeared at Ipswich Crown Court on Wednesday to be sentenced for three charges. No formal diagnosis is required to access support from Pinpoint – a child may be on a waiting list, accessing services, had a referral turned down, or just be struggling. Adopt the National Autistic Society’s core values, policies and procedures and fairly represent the organisation.