Pathological Demand Avoidance

Anyone here with a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of PDA or have a child diagnosed with PDA? My 2.5 year old is showing signs of PDA but has not been officially diagnosed. At our first consult with the paediatrician, he only mentioned demand avoidance and said that it is not a diagnosis as of yet. We have a clinical psychologist appointment scheduled sometime this year but we’re thinking of holding back on the diagnosis since the label will definitely come with a lot of limitations. To add context, our child is highly verbal for her age and does not show any apparent autistic traits other than the demand avoidance and showing no interest in socialising with her peers in pre-nursery. Im posting tbjs to find out from others if there is any early intervention program targeted specifically for the PDA profile? It’s so uncommon that my online search yields nothing specific to PDA locally and PDA kids need an atypical therapy approach as the therapy itself maybe perceived as a demand by their nervous system. If anybody has any experience in relation to this, please get in touch. Any advice at all will be helpful for a mum spiralling into depression

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Vô danh
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Honestly, I think it's good that you're observing and seeking help early instead of ignoring the signs. At 2.5 years old, children are still developing very quickly, so I wouldn't be too hard on yourself or spiral too much over the label first. It's also okay to take time before deciding on a formal diagnosis if you feel uncertain. Sometimes the more important thing early on is understanding your child's needs and finding the right support approach rather than focusing purely on the diagnosis itself. You might also want to speak to a child psychologist or counsellor who has experience working with neurodivergent children and parenting support. You can check out Sofia Wellness Clinic, they do child counselling [LINK REMOVED] and parent support as well, which could help you navigate this without feeling so alone!

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    Thank you so much for your kind words and recommendation. Will check them out. Shes doing much better since the last time I posted this but there are still some lingering concerns.. I think the pediatrician is just as unsure as I am so we may have to wait it out. In the meantime, I could really use some parental support so thank you again for your recommendation

    We just came back from CDC at KKH for assessment as I noticed same traits of PDA and avoiding social interactions even when friendship have been established. There were also a lot of regulation issues but at the age of 2 ish to three it may be typical so I held back for a year. I didn't notice autism traits even as a teacher myself, but during the assessment going through the checklist some traits were highlighted. So I'm trying to digest that it might be possible though I'm more worried about being able to support adequately through the years instead of getting a diagnosis(though that helps narrow therapy) We decided to go through subsided route which was to raise the issue at polyclinic and wait for referral to child Dev clinic at KKH. That could be an option or Nuh or any private clinics might be Ur thing too.

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