The Educator’s Experience of Pathological Demand Avoidance: An Illustrated Guide to Pathological Demand Avoidance and Learning

I am an experienced parent of a child with an extreme pda profile and also have some experience with home education. This book will give you all the tools you need not only as a teacher, but anyone supporting a child with pda.It is an excellent guide on how your general approach should be which I like to consider as 'a way of being' as opposed to a 'strategy'. This is demonstrated through the use of practical examples showing the importance of qualities such as authenticity, flexibility and the need to be a working partner as opposed to traditional teaching methods. Anyone working with SEN should read this book as it could be the holy grail if unknowingly you find yourself working with a child with PDA you will be well equipped to provide the correct support. I like the way the book is laid out, with each chapter devoted to explaining the ethos as well as the clever illustrations which convey a message of equalness as opposed to a traditional hierarchy.

This book was amazing in helping me understand PDA. I read it in one sitting! It’s so easy to read, explained really well and not complicated at all. There is so much advice and suggestions in the book. I now have so much I want to try after the Easter break.10/10 would recommend for any teacher, parent or person that is interested in PDA!

I have purchased this book 3 times now, first for myself, my son is Pda. I'm not a big book reader but this book is brilliant, from the texture of its cover to the amazingly written details around education for pda'ers. I've used this book in my son's EHCP any professional working with my son needs to be familiar with this book. Nanna has also requested a copy she has read mine and thought it captured pda so well and love the book, and the third copy is for a family friend who has a daughter and grandchildren with pda and wants to know more so she can help with education and communication. I’ve seem many reviews on this book and I thought it was about time I gave mine. This book is a must read in my opinion, it's so nice and refreshing to read a book that you can identify with your child and the tips and advice are envaluble for any one wanting to help their pda'er thrive.

There are a few good books about PDA and I would recommend reading more than one to get the full picture of how to work with a child. But usually LSAs are the ones having to support a child whose needs are vastly different from most of the class pupils and so this book is a quick read and a good reminder of all the main helpful approaches. I love how Laura is positive and reminds of about why these approaches are important to the child. There are a good variety of examples and Eliza's illustrations help you stop and think through what really is happening for the child. I have supported many children with PDA and this book is one I would keep in my toolbox to keep reminding me that its okay to do things differently and that children with PDA are the ones who need us to understand them.

very interesting to read, and gave examples of what to do and how to try to avoid conflict.

As a home educating parent, I read this with two hats - educator and parent. Great insights and information. We’ve learnt a lot by trial and error, plus now reading so much more about PDA and autism etc.Elixir Fricker’s illustrations are amazing as always.Now trying to decide whether to share with my family or child’s tutors first! I do tend to feel like ‘that parent’ who can seem to micro-manage child’s life, this book validates that we’re supporting our child’s needs to enable greater autonomy.

I've been so excited about this book and it is everything I hoped for. I love that the book is concise and straight to the point, but it includes the most important points and lots of strategies to support children and young people with PDA. I will definitely add these to my strategy toolkit. There are lots of anecdotes about the author's experiences which I found helpful.They say pictures paint a thousand words and Eliza Fricker has an amazing talent for this with illustrations that are very relatable and really make me think.All in all, a fantastic resource which I highly recommend.

“The Educator’s Experience of Pathological Demand Avoidance” is an essential resource for teachers, teaching assistants, and other school staff supporting pupils who are sensitive to pressure and demands. The early chapters helpfully reframe these pupils’ desire for control as underlying needs for safety, connection, trust, and autonomy. Later chapters emphasise the importance of flexibility, choice, humour, and reducing pressure. These principles, and the practical strategies which Laura recommends, are a welcome contrast to more traditional behaviourist strategies which focus on rewards and sanctions at the expense of curiosity and empathy. The “Quick One Minute Reminder Guide” after the final chapter should be required reading for all educators supporting neurodivergent pupils. The book is illustrated throughout by Eliza Fricker. As with Eliza’s other books, the cartoons help to paint an accessible and relatable picture of everyday scenarios which will be familiar to many educators.

Great book. Very easy read packed with helpful information. I knew this was for educators, but as a parent of a PDA child I found it to be very useful as I start learning more to help my child.

as a person who has already read quite a bit about PDA, i was hoping for more from this book.it was accessible, simple to read, not too long. I would have really liked it to have a lot more specific examples of strategies and case studies, that's the place where I often get hung up with my own son.

This book was extremely informative and very easy to read. I am a teacher and I used to inform professional learning for my staff after I read it.

A great little book for anyone needing more information regarding PDA children and the education system.I wish everyone who works in special ed (administrators including) would read this book.I've had a horrific experience with the public school system and if I could start over, I'd ask specifically all the people who evaluated my child in the IEP process (especially the assistant director for the committee for special education) read this before making decisions about my child.I realize they likely wouldn't read it had I asked but thats the problem I've encountered. No empathy, no compassion.If you have someone in your life who interacts with your PDA child and you wish they knew more about their condition, this book is great because it has a lot of good info but it's also a light and quick read.

A wonderfully informative and supportive book for teachers/educators/adults or anyone supporting PDAers! It could be used to introduce the PDA experience to a new teacher or to help inform, reassure and further assist those of us who have been working with PDAers for years!Best of all, for those of us who are extremely anxious and demand avoidant, this book is a truly easy read with lots of thought provoking illustrations!As an adult PDAer and parent of PDAers, I found this book to be incredibly respectful and insightful. I just hope my own children’s teachers will take the time to read it!!