Is your PDAer very bright, talented, gifted, or twice-exceptional? In this talk, Dr. Danika Maddocks will discuss some of the unique challenges that arise when adults want to better understand and support PDAers who also gifted/twice-exceptional. She’ll also discuss several guiding principles to help parents meet the needs of their gifted/twice-exceptional PDAers at home and/or school.

Dr. Danika Maddocks has supported gifted and twice-exceptional families for over 15 years as a teacher, researcher, therapist, and parent coach. Through The Gifted Learning Lab she provides free resources and coaching for parents with emotionally intense gifted/2e kids, including many families with PDAers. As a twice-exceptional PDAer raising a similarly wired kid, Danika is on a mission to make parents’ lives easier so gifted and twice-exceptional families can thrive.

PDA North America Training Program – Level 2

Join us for the Level 2 PDA North America Training Program created by team of autistic experts. This course was created for professionals only. Led by Diane Gould, Founder of PDANA and LCSW, Zach Morris, Education Consultant & Homeschool Advisor, and Sandra McConnell, Certified PDA Trainer and Parent Consultant.

In this training we will discuss anecdotal cases and/or students and give you an activity to complete during your training.

The training will take place via Zoom and will NOT be recorded. All ticket purchasers must attend this live in order to receive the certificate of completion.

Our PDA Lives: From Birth Until Now with the Trauma Faucet on Full 

with Sally Cat & Brook from No Pressure PDA

We’re going to be talking about how we, as PDA people, have constantly wrestled with trauma responses, from the moment we were born. We’ll be sharing our lived experiences to help parents understand their own PDA kids’ seemingly contradictory behaviors. We’ll explain how we are naturally anxiety prone, have heightened social sensitivity and an instinct to mask the panic that’s guaranteed to stem from this so that, as a result, we are easily misunderstood as lazy, defiant, over-confident, or even completely uncaring.

We know that many parents, when they first come across PDA, are flustered and struggling not to blame, or to be angry with their children. Our hope is that, by communicating our own lived experiences as PDA adults, who are also the parents of PDA kids, fellow parents will gain helpful insights into what makes their own children tick.

Our aim is also to provide parents with tried and tested ways of bringing about peaceful and harmonious family relationships.

Our firm belief is that increasing understanding of what PDA is like from the inside enables parents to understand the underlying roots of their own PDA kids’ seemingly contradictory behaviors, so that positive family relationships flourish.

PDA101 is a presentation led by PDA North America founder and licensed therapist, Diane Gould, every month. This webinar is for families, individuals and professionals who have recently heard of PDA (pathological demand avoidance) or a refresher course for those that want to dig a little deeper into their basic understanding of PDA. Diane will do a presentation and answer questions at the end.

Held the first Thursday each month at 7:00 CST. Registration is required. To protect the privacy of those attending, these webinars will not be recorded. There will be no July event due to it falling on a holiday.

By Zach Morris

In this 2-hour training with Zach Morris we will explore: the hierarchy of the human central nervous system and how states of being impact learning and interacting; neuroception and its relationship to experience and perception; the human needs for choice, context, and connection, and their impact on a sense of safety; strategies that help build momentum for personal growth. The concepts we will examine together are applicable for any age and stage within the learning process. Does your child or student have difficulty accepting support offerings? Do they have a low tolerance for challenge? Is their resistance towards exerting energy on non-preferred tasks leading to conflict? If your child or student is experiencing internal and/or external conflicts around learning and participating, this talk will help give you direction for how you can support their needs.

PDA North America Training Program Level 1 was created for professionals and/or mentors of PDAers (parents included).

Led by our amazing team of neurodivergent experts, Diane Gould, Founder of PDANA and LCSW, Zach Morris (autsitc), Education Consultant & Homeschool Advisor, and Sandra McConnell (PDA/autistic), Certified PDA Trainer and Parent Consultant.

This five-hour training will cover topics from an in-depth look at the PDA (pathological demand avoidant) profile of autism by Diane Gould, Executive Director of PDA North America, along with two of the biggest struggles that every PDA parent faces – the parenting paradigm shift, and education/learning and PDA.

The training will take place via Zoom and will be recorded. All ticket purchasers will have access to the recording within 48hrs of the event..

PDA North America Training Program – Level 2

Join us on Oct 18th for the Level 2 PDA North America Training Program created by team of autistic experts. This course was created for professionals only. Led by Diane Gould, Founder of PDANA and LCSW, Zach Morris, Education Consultant & Homeschool Advisor, and Sandra McConnell, Certified PDA Trainer and Parent Consultant.

In this training we will discuss anecdotal cases and/or students and give you an activity to complete during your training.

The training will take place via Zoom and will NOT be recorded. All ticket purchasers must attend this live in order to receive the certificate of completion.