Our mission...
...has always been to give every person the opportunity and the space to understand and share their experiences and knowledge of Pathological Demand Avoidance, an element of the Autism Spectrum Profile that is frequently misunderstood, overlooked and ignored.
We want our community to feel heard and held.
With so many speakers already confirmed for this year's summit, this is what you can expect...
Our goal is to inspire a deeper understanding of what drives PDA, and what the behaviours that come with it are trying to communicate to us. Therefore, we see it as an outstanding achievement to have so many highly regarded, global specialists, professionals and families of PDAers, as well as the personal stories of PDAers with different perspectives, coming together at the same time and in the same space. Throughout the three days of the summit, they will be discussing PDA in detail, sharing lived experiences, educational challenges, therapeutic support and parents’ experiences.
Our Speakers and their Message
All our speakers bring unique values to the summit and their own message. Some have a mix of personal lived experience and professional experience; others bring support techniques and practical guidance. You can find out more and how to contact them when you register.
Thank you to our speakers, and thank you too for joining us this year.
Friday 19th May 2023 | Creating Inclusion
Cathleen Long and Rachel Gavin: Fabricated or induced illness - Practice Guide
Julia Daunt: Making sense of Sensory Processing Difficulties (SPD)
Amanda Hind: Navigating life as a Black mixed-heritage, late-diagnosed autistic woman
Roanna Brewer: The PDAers guide to navigating education
Kay Aldred: Working with the nervous system to understand and support regulation
Tori Rist: How to create an inclusive school
Dr Theresa Kidd: PDAers reaching adulthood: Contributing Elements for a Successful Transition
Laura Hellfeld & Scott: When Demands Make Eating Hard
Tigger: True inclusion in education, peers and staff
Kristy Forbes: Tuning into neuroaffirming family culture for PDA
Kyra Chambers: Collaborative approaches in mental health care
Saturday 20th May 2023 | Supporting Inclusion
Helen Edgar & Viv Dawes: Autistic Burnout - Supporting children and young people
Hannah Harris: Why Collaboration = Yes
Tracey Chadwick: Doing EBSA differently
Catrina Lowry: The Other 29
Corrina Wood: PDA, intolerance of uncertainty and CUES©
Julia Caro: Puzzles and contradictions
Lindsay Guttridge: How can parents deal with feeling excluded?
Paula Rice: True inclusivity doesn't fit in a predefined box
Christina Keeble: No I don’t need to be more consistent!
Sally Cat & No Pressure PDA: PDA and trauma
Sunday 21st May 2023 | Learning From Inclusion
David Gray Hammond & Tanya Adkin: Autism, PDA and addiction
Dr Naomi Fisher & Heidi Steel: 4 things that your children need for their learning to SOAR
Debs Bamford: Safeguarding with a twist
Suzan Issa: PDA and the nervous system
Asher Jenner: PDA and inclusion …why has it been vital to me?
Kate Denny: The WARM model
Riko Ryuki: PDA vs ADA. The difference between PDA and autistic demand avoidance, and why it matters
Sally PDA talk: When I want to be included
Libby Hill: Using Poly-vagal theory to explain PDA and selective mutism
Nicola Reekie: Feeling Excluded As a Parent
Friday 19th May 2023
Creating Inclusion
Saturday 20th May 2023
Supporting Inclusion
Sunday 21st May 2023
Learning from Inclusion
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