At Peace Parents Podcast Ep. 115 - Journey of a PDA Parent with a PDA Child
Jun 3, 2025
A mother shares her experiences raising a child with Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA), detailing the unique challenges she faced. She reflects on the emotional toll of parenting during the pandemic and emphasizes the importance of empathy and understanding. The conversation delves into the transformative power of acceptance in both education and personal growth. Insightful anecdotes underscore the need for nurturing environments and adaptive strategies to support neurodiverse children. Self-acceptance emerges as a key theme in fostering strong parent-child relationships.
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Intense Infant Soothing
- Aoife shared how her first PDA child was a nearly constant upset baby requiring intense soothing.
- She used dancing and bouncing to ease her daughter's distress, illustrating early instinctive accommodation.
COVID's Impact on Burnout
- Covid removed many regulating supports for Aoife's eldest PDA daughter, worsening her anxiety and leading to burnout.
- Without school or friends' co-regulation, her daughter's symptoms escalated into suicidal ideation and an eating disorder.
PDA as Dysregulation Priming
- PDA children come into the world primed for dysregulation rather than regulation.
- Understanding this helped Aoife link disparate symptoms under PDA as a nervous system difference.