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Can PDA be masked at school?

​Extensive involvement in fantasy/role play. Meltdowns/shutdowns/behaviour that challenges – or equally a child may mask and internalise whilst at school (please see below) It is not uncommon for children with PDA to experience multiple exclusions from an early age.

pdasociety.org.uk - Working with PDA – information for education professionals
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Information for education professionals

What is PDA?

Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) is best understood as a profile on the autism spectrum – for more information please see About autism & PDA. Our Being Misunderstood report highlights that 70% of children with a PDA profile of autism are not in school or regularly struggle to attend. This figure is much higher than for the ASD population as a whole, and shows how challenging school can be with PDA. You may have a child in your school whose presentation is hard to understand, who may not respond to conventional teaching approaches (as highlighted in this article in SEN Magazine) and whose behaviours may differ considerably between home and school. If so, exploring whether a PDA profile of autism could be an underlying factor may hold the answer and signpost a way forward.

How PDA may look in school

This information has been adapted from the Autism Education Trust’s guidelines: The Distinctive Clinical and Educational Needs of Children with Pathological Demand Avoidance Syndrome: Guidelines for Good Practice. Some key characteristics of a PDA child at school, diagnosed or otherwise, may be: A desire to be on a equal or superior to others – a PDA child may see themselves as equal to adults and not confer ‘automatic respect’ due to someone’s job title A poor sense of self-esteem – this may not always be immediately apparent as sometimes surface behaviours may seem to be robust

Very poor emotional regulation; extreme/sudden ‘mood swings’

An ambivalence about success, typified by a child who destroys his/her work on completion especially if praised A lack of permanence and transfer of learning and experience; sudden/dramatic setbacks after periods of settled behaviour and progress

​A desire for friendships, often inadvertently sabotaged through a need for control

​Extensive involvement in fantasy/role play

Meltdowns/shutdowns/behaviour that challenges – or equally a child may mask and internalise whilst at school (please see below) It is not uncommon for children with PDA to experience multiple exclusions from an early age.

Masking

Some autistic people are very adept at masking, and this is very common with PDA. Masking means that people may be able to hide or ‘hold in’ some of their differences/difficulties in certain environments or with certain people. Significantly, this means that challenges reported in one setting (often home) may not always be seen in others (such as school or other settings). This can and does lead to misunderstandings.

For further information about masking, please see:

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Some children can continue to mask throughout school; some children find it harder to continue to mask especially as their peers become more socially sophisticated and school life becomes more demanding.

Attendance difficulties

As mentioned above, our Being Misunderstood report highlights that 70% of children with a PDA profile of autism are not in school or regularly struggle to attend. School avoidance (also known as school refusal) – when a child is unable to attend school due to anxiety, phobia or trauma – should be treated as a health and/or SEN need. If a child isn’t attending school because his/her special educational needs can’t currently be met, the school and/or LA should be looking to provide suitable provision as soon as possible. Neither situation should be viewed as truancy. The National Autistic Society provides useful information to help everyone understand difficulties with school and ‘school refusal’ – though please note that the strategies suggested would require considerable adaptation for a PDA child. Fran Morgan from Square Peg talks about the barriers to school attendance in this Educational Psychology Reach-Out presentation. In this podcast, 15 year old James shares his thoughts on why school is difficult for young people with a PDA profile. He openly talks about his experience of school and the daily challenges around demands, masking, sensory difficulties, school avoidance, friendships and transitions. He also offers some possible solutions and advice for teachers, and shares some coping strategies that have helped him along the way.

Working with families

Believing, supporting and working closely with families is key to successful inclusion of pupils with a PDA profile of autism.

Good practice & helpful approaches

Working with PDA as a teaching professional is both challenging and rewarding. Browsing the available resources may give valuable insights – some have been tagged as being especially helpful for teaching professionals including: In this video, education professionals including teachers, headteachers, trainers, advocates and an educational psychologist, share information about PDA and their tips for best practice.

pdasociety.org.uk - Working with PDA – information for education professionals
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