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Published on 12, July, 2020
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Autistic adults
Pathologial Demand Avoidance versus Asperger's syndrome
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Pathologial Demand Avoidance versus Asperger's syndrome
NAS63284
over 4 years ago
I was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) last year. And I just assumed that in the past you had Autism & Asperger's syndrome as two separate categories. But now they have been combined into the same category.
That is only partly true. There are other categories also placed inside ASD. Each of these categories have features in common (eg trouble with social conventions and sensory issues), but are still distinct in certain ways.
The least understood category that is part of ASD is something called Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA).
I was diagnosed with ASD but I think PDA (which is a sub-category of ASD) is the "flavour" of autism I have.
Somebody with classic autism might struggle with social understanding due to a low IQ.
Somebody with Asperger's syndrome might struggle with the same thing due to a lack of cognitive empathy.
Whereas somebody with PDA will struggle with social understanding due to a pathological need to rebel against all social norms and conventions imposed on them by society. Each and every demand placed on them causes anxiety in their brain which causes them to rebel against the social norm they are expected to abide by.
Science is only interested in labelling behaviours. It is not so interested in the reason behind them. In the same way that physics is only interested in predicting the outcome of an experiment rather than understanding why.
Behaviourly Autism, Asperger's and PDA have similar outcomes but for very different reasons.
This guy has PDA (which remember is part of the Autistic Spectrum).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gqjbMSY4JA
I am just curious if others can relate to this? Or perhaps there are more knowledgable members who feel I am overlooking something important in my analysis?