What is demand avoidance.

Are you a parent carer or professional in North Somerset? Have you heard of PDA? Recognizing some symptoms in your child? Join us!

Demand avoidance refers to a pattern of behaviour where a child or young person experiences high levels of anxiety when they feel demands or expectations are being placed on them. These demands can be everyday tasks—such as getting dressed, completing schoolwork, or even engaging in activities they usually enjoy.

For some children, particularly those with profiles linked to autism such as Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA), this response is not about being oppositional or “difficult.” Instead, it is a nervous system response driven by a need to feel in control and reduce overwhelming anxiety.

In this training, parent carers will explore:

• What demand avoidance is (and what it is not)
• How anxiety and the need for control underpin behaviour
• Common signs and triggers of demand avoidance
• Practical, compassionate strategies to reduce stress and support cooperation

The session aims to reframe behaviour through an empathetic lens, helping parent carers feel more confident in responding in ways that build trust, reduce conflict, and support their child’s emotional wellbeing.

This is a free training event for parent carers of children with additional needs and/or disabilities within North Somerset. This event is also open to professionals who work with children/young people with additional needs and/or disabilities in North Somerset. Priority on place allocation will be given based on the criteria above.