The 6th Annual
PDA North America Conference

March 5, 6, & 7th, 2025

EARLY BIRD TICKETS AVAILABLE UNTIL DEC. 31st at 2024 PRICES!

Buy In-Person Tickets
Buy Virtual Tickets

Join us virtually or in-person for our 6th annual PDA North America Conference with hundreds of others looking to deepen their understanding and support of PDA people. 

This conference is created for parents/caregivers & family members of PDA autistic individuals, professionals working with PDA people, and PDAers themselves. 

The PDA North America Conference is a hybrid conference offering virtual and in-person options. All virtual presentations will be live and recorded and made available for 30 days post-event. There will be Q&A sessions available each day. Due to the conversational/discussion group nature of the in-person events on Friday, these will not be recorded.

If you are interested in learning about how you can sponsor the conference, please download our Sponsorship packet here.

This year’s conference format has exciting changes based on your feedback! Here’s how it works:

  • Three Days for In-Person Attendees: This year, in-person attendees can enjoy a 3-day experience, with the first day held online and the following two days in person.

    • Day 1 (March 5th): Virtual Only
      The first day is fully online, with all speakers presenting remotely. There’s no in-person option for Day 1. If you purchase tickets for both in-person days (March 6th and 7th), you’ll get free access to the Day 1 recordings. If you’re only attending one in-person day, we encourage adding a Day 1 virtual ticket to access these valuable sessions.

    • Day 2 (March 6th): In-Person and Virtual
      Day 2 will feature a full schedule of live presentations at our Chicago-area venue, with virtual streaming for the online attendees. Recordings will be accessible to all ticket holders for two weeks after the event.

    • Day 3 (March 7th): In-Person Discussion-Based Day
      In-person attendees will dive into engaging, topic-based discussion groups led by experienced moderators.

  • For Online Attendees: Both days (March 5th and 6th) will feature topic-based virtual discussion groups over lunch, creating opportunities for online attendees to connect and share insights. These groups will not be moderated. 

  • New Perks for In-Person Guests: This year a buffet lunch is included in the ticket price.

DAY 1 (March 5th) DETAILS:

Live Presentations (all virtual)

Day 1 will be a fully virtual event. All speakers will be tuning in virtually as will attendees. There is no in-person option. This will be recorded and made available for 30 days after recordings are sent to ticket purchasers. (All times listed in CST.)

  • 9:00am – 9:15am 
    Welcome & Intro to PDA North America
    Diane Gould, Founder & Executive Director of PDA North America

  • 9:15am – 10:15am
    Understanding Autism to Better Understand PDA
    Jamell White, PhD, LCSW-C 

  • 10min Break

  • 10:25am-11:25am
    Mental Health for PDAers and How to Support It
    Dr Judy Eaton, Consultant Clinical Psychologist

  • Lunch Break 

  • 12:25pm – 1:25pm
    PDA Research 
    SallyCat & Libby Hill

  • 10min Break

  • 1:35pm – 2:35pm
    Autism Plus: Exploring the Complexities of AuDHDers, OCD, and PDA
    Dr. Megan Anna Neff, Neurodivergent Psychologist

  • 10min Break

  • 2:45pm – 3:45pm
    The PDA Experience
    Kristy Forbes, Adult PDAer & Founder of InTune Pathways

  • 3:45-4:00pm
    Closing Remarks

Buy Virtual Tickets

DAY 2 (March 6th) DETAILS:

Live Presentations (virtual & in-person)

Presentations will be live from our venue outside Chicago. It will be recorded and made available for 30 days after recordings are sent to ticket purchasers.

All times listed in CST:

  • 8:30am-9:00am
    Registration & Light Breakfast

  • 9:00am – 9:15am
    Welcome & Introduction
    Diane Gould, Founder & Executive Director

  • 9:15am-11:15am
    Low Demand Lifestyle
    Amanda Diekman, Author of Low Demand Parenting

  • 10min Break

  • 11:25am -12:25pm
    Supporting PDA Burnout Recovery
    Brook Madera, Adult PDAer & No Pressure PDA

  • Lunch Break (included for in-person tickets) 

  • 1:25pm-3:15pm
    Supporting Safety in the Nervous System of PDAers
    Zach Morris, M.Ed.

  • 10min Break

  • 3:25-4:25pm
    On Myth Busting & PDA
    Sandra McConnell, PDA Coach “PDA Mama Bear” & Adult PDAer

  • 4:25-4:30pm
    Closing

DAY 3 (March 7TH) DETAILS:

Discussion Day for In-Person Attendees

This is for in-person attendees only. The in-person discussion day will offer 5 groups throughout the day. Each group will be 60 minutes long. In-person attendees will get to pick four out of five 60-minute groups to attend throughout the day or stay in one discussion room for multiple sessions – it’s up to you. Ticket purchasers that purchase tickets for both in-person dates will get free access to the recordings from Day 1, March 5th. 

The discussion groups being offered are:

Day Structure: (All times listed in CST)

  • 9:00am-10:00am
    Discussion 1

  • 15min Break

  • 10:15am – 11:15pm
    Discussion 2

  • 15min Break

  • 11:30-12:30pm
    Discussion 3

  • Lunch 

  • 1:45pm – 2:45pm
    Discussion 4

  • 15min Break

  • 3:00- 3:30pm
    Conference Closing &  Q&A 

Buy In-Person Tickets

FAQs

If you're interested in sponsoring our Conference please download our Sponsorship Packet here & reach out to Sara O'Keefe if interested: Sara@pdanorthamerica.org 

If you're interested in sponsoring a person to attend, please download our Sponsorship Packet here & reach out to Sara O'Keefe if interested: Sara@pdanorthamerica.org 

Yes we offer scholarships for virtual attendees. We do not turn anyone away from attending the virtual event. If you are in financial need, please contact Sara O'Keefe for a sliding scale: Sara@pdanorthamerica.org 

We at PDA North America love children. We do however worry that the conference is not a comfortable place for most children. There is a lot of quiet listening, sitting in one location for long periods and discussion on topics that may be uncomfortable.

We do not provide any groups or events for children but the hotel is child friendly overall, and does have an indoor pool.  At the same time, we respect that you are the expert on your child and should make the decision if they should or should not be included. Children will be treated like any additional family member and will need a ticket to attend as seats are limited. Thanks in advance for understanding. Feel free to email if you have questions. info@pdanorthamerica.org

Not currently at this time. At this time we are currently not but we are exploring options to better serve our community. We can send you a certificate of attendance if that would help with your licensing board. 

Please email us after the event if you are in need of a certificate: Sara@pdanorthameric.org

A light breakfast (bagels, muffins, fruit, etc.) are provided each morning. Coffee, tea and water will be provided all day each day. 

A buffet lunch is included in your ticket price for each day. 

Yes! The Zoom chat will be open throughout all presentations on March 5th and 6th with moderators from PDA North America.

Additionally, during the lunch hour both days we will be hosting topic-based "breakout rooms" on Zoom that are based on the same topics we will be holding discussion groups for in-person attendees on March 7th.  Please note: Moderators will not be in those rooms. They will be community-led conversations.  

Ticket sales end March 3, 2025 at 7:00pm central for virtual & in-person. Or for in-person when capacity is met.

We will not be hosting any organized events after the Conference each day, however there is a great bar and restaurant and large seating area in the atrium at the hotel where many conference guests convene after the days presentations and get to know each other. 

You can email info@pdanorthamerica.org and we will do our best to accommodate you.

We have a lot of volunteers as of right now, but you can email info@pdanorthamerica.org in case something opens up! 

PDA North America does not provide a shuttle service, but we recommend joining the Conference Facebook page to see if anyone is arriving at the same time if you're looking to carpool. Many folks have done this in previous years!

The Conference is held at The Holiday Inn & Suites Chicago North Shore in Skokie, IL conveniently located for O'Hare Airport just north of Chicago.

We have a group rate with room block under PDA North America using block code: PNA. 

HOTEL LINK  - The Room block is for Wednesday night and Thursday night. Must book by 2/12/25 for the room block.

If traveling by plane, we recommend flying into O'Hare.