PDA Parents Episode 6 - Creative Accommodations for the PDA Child
May 9, 2021
Explore creative strategies to support children with Pathological Demand Avoidance at home. Discover tips for navigating mealtime and sensory challenges, fostering a healthy relationship with food. Learn how to handle bedtime routines while balancing resistance and routine. Embrace innovative engagement techniques like 'strewing' to spark curiosity, and enjoy collaborative drawing activities that boost creativity and emotional development. Gain insights into using effective communication to nurture independence and manage anxieties.
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Episode notes
Reframe PDA as Disability
- Viewing PDA as a neurobiological disability helps parents feel grounded and less guilty about accommodations.
- Framing parenting as accommodating a disability rather than being lenient creates strength and protection.
Regulation is Key Goal
- The primary goal in accommodating PDA children is supporting their ability to stay regulated.
- What looks like leniency to others is often an intentional strategy to manage dysregulation.
Distraction Eases Mealtime Anxiety
- Katie uses distraction like reading or screens during meals to help her PDA child eat without overwhelming demand.
- Modeling hunger through narrating her own experience helps her daughter recognize internal hunger cues.