Published on 12, July, 2020
I am diagnosed with depression, anxiety and emotionally unstable personality (don't like the "disorder" bit -- I don't think I am disorderly...…) But I have wondered for years whether I was somewhere on the AS.
I tried the online test and didn't pass it. But have just discovered something called Pathological Demand Avoidance which is part of the AS. It's another horrible name! But there are a few bits of it that fit with me.
I am curious whether there are other adults on this forum who have this diagnosis or think they might have it.
I don't personally but I have worked with children that have. It's a complicated condition. The main thing with it is that any kind of demand causes huge anxiety making many things inaccessible and leading to big reactions to small things. People with PDA generally can't take any kind of instruction and need everything to be done with deals, negotiations and alternative ways of asking.
What traits do you have that you share with it?
Binary, do you still visit this site?
I wanted to ask you a bit more about your view of the anxiety the children are experiencing when asked to do something. I can see now that my demand avoidance is anxiety based, and I am looking online to find out more about this. Unfortunately there does not seem to be a great deal of research where adults are involved.
Yes I still visit the site. Sorry I must have overlooked your other replies. What exactly do you want to know about the anxiety? The children I know with PDA tend to get angry very quickly when a demand is put on them. We see very challenging behaviour unless we use strategies to give instructions in a different way.