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PDA Assessment

NAS88925

Has anyone paid for a private PDA assessment?

My child was diagnosed with autism last year aged 11. 
The assessment questions were based on ages 5-11 so he was right at the top of the age bracket and a lot of the questions were hard to answer as they were based on what he was like during his early years.

Anyway, his report didn’t mention anything about demand avoidance, even though that is one of the biggest reasons we seeked a diagnosis. 
A clinic local to us do separate PDA assessments (not a diagnosis as such) and will give us a report to highlight his struggles. I’m hoping I can use this to highlight to school, how much impact PDA has on his and our lives, as it’s obvious they don’t believe us.

It’s a lot of money to waste though if it isn’t going to be useful.

  • Hi. 

    I am guessing by your post that the school are not following best practice for reasonable adjustments and adhering to the EHCP? I guess I worry that you will be wasting your money and that the SEND provision by the school will not change even with a new assessment.

    I guess at 11, he is in his first year of high school. I think that the key to getting the best out of the school, is working out what sort of SEND support his school can provide and what other options you have.

    Best wishes to you and your son.

  • Hi and welcome to the community!

    PDA ("pathological demand avoidance") is not officially recognised as a medical condition so, as the NAS explains:

    "there is no standard assessment for PDA and usage of this terminology depends on whether the clinicians, practitioners or commissioners in your local area accept it."

    You might find the information and advice here helpful - it includes suggested support strategies:

    NAS - Demand avoidance

    As an aside, recent research also suggests a closer link between such behaviour and ADHD, rather than autism.