Are you looking for a supportive community that truly understands neurodivergent experiences? 

Would it help you to learn more about Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) or Persistent Drive for Autonomy?

We are absolutely thrilled to be speaking at Autistic Minds this year so if the answer to these questions is yes, we’d love you to come and meet the team from The PDA Space at an event designed JUST for you! 

Where: Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff

When: 10 am - 4 pm, Friday 20th September 2024,

Price: Free Entrance to access over 70 exhibitors

Each year, The Autistic Minds Charity hosts multiple in-person events designed to foster a sense of community and offer a safe space for individuals to connect, share experiences, and access resources that might otherwise be difficult to find. 

And we’ll be there with them, as Nicola Reekie - founder of 

The PDA Space - will be speaking at Autistic Minds Live in Cardiff 

again this year on PDA and her book ‘What I Wish I Had Heard’.

PDA can add so many challenges to day-to-day living because the need to resist everyday demands is so persistent - it can be incredibly overwhelming and isolating for PDAers. 

If your young person is a PDAer or wondering if they are, 

you might be seeing heightened emotions that using traditional parenting methods such as sticker charts and time out just cause more conflict and power struggles

In my talk, I’ll be sharing how life became much calmer when I started to change my parenting style, and I was only able to do this because I’d learnt more about neurodivergence, and PDA in particular…

• Understanding the impact of transitions and how huge they can feel
• Learning the additional processing differences, such as sensory differences
• Identifying, and then creating different types of demands

Once I could see past the behaviour because I understood what my child was experiencing, it helped me learn to respond to (rather than react or add to) their explosive behaviour.

PDAers respond well in relationships when seen as equals. 

They love to be included in any decisions involving them

They have fantastic negotiating skills

Most importantly - they need to maintain their own sense of safety.

Being able to change how I parented, from a place of really understanding my child’s needs changed our world. Instead of feeling out of my depth all of the time, I felt far more equipped to support the needs of our family’s dynamic.

This is what I will be sharing with you in my talk, and you can meet us to say hello afterwards too, where you can ask any questions about your own experience with PDA.

If finding a supportive community where you feel heard, validated and given ways to build collaboration within your family would help, come along and meet us.

The PDA Space will be in the Support Zone on Table 16

(This is next to the main speaker room)

Date: September 20th

Time:10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Plus - drum roll please - we have a competition!

Come and say hello to us at the event and you will be entered into the prize draw where you could win:

• A free place on The PDA Space & Nanny Aut’s Course -  Panic Monkey and Me teaching you all about The Limbic System and its impact on ND individuals
• A fab merch bundle including a Travel Cup, Notebook & a copy of the book ‘What I Wish I Had Heard’
• A Backpocket Pass to all the webinars from this year’s The PDA Space Summit packed with 40 webinars from leading experts in PDA and Neurodivergence

The PDA Space offers support to families with neurodivergent young people, including those with a PDA profile. We provide:

- A deeper understanding of the challenges you're facing

- Support even if you don't yet have a formal diagnosis

- Insights into behaviours and challenges you're observing

- The PDA Space Portal with supportive courses and resources

- An annual summit with many expert speakers and valuable information

By attending in-person events, The PDA Space aims to create a welcoming atmosphere where everyone feels seen, heard, and supported, enhancing the impact of our work in the neurodivergent community, a mission shared by Autistic Minds! 

You can book your free place below. Come and say hello - we’d love to meet you and you will be entered into our prize draw!  It is usually quiet after 1pm and I’ll be speaking in SEMINAR ROOM 3 (Fred Keenor Suite) 12.45 - 1.30pm 

https://autisticminds.org.uk/how-we-can-help/autistic-minds-live/autistic-minds-live-cardiff-2024/