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This month's blog article was featured in the April 2025 issue of our digital newsletter, Aspire Wire.


By Molly Jagoda, MS, BCBA
Program Coordinator, Child Services


In recent years, there has been discussion about what is colloquially known as the “PDA Profile,” which has sometimes been an acronym for “Pathological Demand Avoidance,” or the more neurodiversity affirming, “Persistent Drive for Autonomy.” PDA has yet to be scientifically validated, but there has been discussion as to whether PDA is an aspect of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or if it is its own category that may or may not include ASD. Those who have written about PDA might also describe these children as “self-directed,” or as individuals who “march to the beat of their own drum.”

While Aspire has no position about the scientific validity of PDA, some have theorized interventions they believe effectively support children with a demand avoidant profile. At Aspire, we have implemented many of these supports for a long time, and here, we elaborate on a few of them.

Our programming emphasizes autonomy. This includes helping the child understand their own preferences, needs, strengths, and challenges. To help children build their self-awareness, we spend time learning about our participants’ tendencies, triggers, interests, and personal values. We do this through low-demand group activities at the start of programming; for example, the child may be required to show they are listening to a speaker in whatever way feels best for them, whether that is sitting at a table, standing, or even doing a quiet individual activity, like drawing, during group discussion. Allowing them to act in a way that aligns with their own personal values is essential for children who are unlikely to do what adults want just because adults want them to. We teach children how they can “do their own thing” without disrupting others or missing out on valuable learning opportunities. 

We give previews often, especially when we can anticipate a non-preferred situation for the child. We ensure we have a participant’s attention so they can access the preview; the preview may be verbal, visual, or sometimes both. We also ensure we have the participant’s attention before delivering a demand we expect them to respond to. Doing this helps us avoid making our participants feel rushed or blind-sided by something like the sudden need to move on from a preferred activity. If a child does not hear a preview and then suddenly needs to follow a direction immediately, that child is going to continue to experience a broad range of demands as uncomfortable or distressing. Reducing the distress experienced when demands are in place is one way we help our participants learn to stay calm and engage in more group or adult-led activities.

We facilitate, support, and provide feedback for peer interactions. Peer interaction is one of the main reasons families choose to have their children participate in Aspire groups. Peer interaction can also feel like a demand imposed by others, and as such may be aversive to some children. Our peer matching process helps ensure that children contact peers they are likely to get along with, with whom they share common interests or values. We want our participants to learn that positive interactions are possible for them, that spending time with others can be fun, and we give them the tools they need to feel confident taking social risks across settings.

We use declarative language. Giving children information, rather than instruction, so that they can make their own informed decisions is a good way to help them follow the group plan without feeling as though we are trying to control them. Some children may be especially sensitive to others’ tones of voice, so we are mindful of our tone. They need to know that, even when they are not following directions, they are still allowed to be in control of their own actions and choices to the greatest extent possible.

For children who struggle, even with these supports in place, we systematically reduce demands to allow them to participate meaningfully in our group programming. This type of support is individual to each participant, and we collaborate with the child and caregivers to make a plan that works for them and the group they are participating in.

We will continue to implement proven strategies to support our participants. We are committed to listening to participants, caregivers, clinicians, advocates, and researchers to improve our understanding of the needs and strengths of our participants, and to improve our ability to support them.