Pathological demand avoidance (PDA)
Also called Pathological demand avoidance. That is the name used in diagnostic manuals and on most official paperwork.
PDA describes a child who fights everyday requests very hard, even things they want to do. UK experts do not agree on it, and it is not a diagnosis on its own.
Applies across the UK
People use PDA to describe a pattern where ordinary, everyday demands feel impossible, including things the child would enjoy, and where the child needs a lot of control over what happens next. Some families prefer the newer phrase pervasive drive for autonomy, because it describes a need rather than a fault.
PDA is not in the international diagnostic manuals, so no UK service can give it as a standalone diagnosis. Some assessment teams will describe a child as autistic with a demand avoidant profile; many will not use the term at all. Professionals and autistic people disagree, in good faith, about whether the idea holds up.
What you can do either way is describe what you actually see at home, including a strong need for control, and ask for it to be written into any assessment, whatever words the service uses.
Other words for this
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You might hear autism
There is no agreed UK position on PDA. It is not in the diagnostic manuals, so nobody can be given it as a diagnosis on its own, though some clinics describe a child as autistic with a demand avoidant profile. Whatever words a service uses, you can ask for what you see at home, including a strong need for control, to be written into the assessment.
Related words
Where this comes from
- Demand avoidance , National Autistic Society. Checked 2026-08-15.
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