Webinar: Understanding and Bridging the Expectation Gap for PDAers in the Parent-Child Relationship

This presentation will explore the underlying challenges many PDAers experience, the capacity of the parent/caregiver, and the goal of finding the right balance for your family. We will discuss the concept of “hidden disabilities” and finding the “just-right challenge” when parenting PDAers and other neurodivergent children who have a critical need for control and a highly sensitive stress response system. Finally, we will investigate barriers to a low demand parenting approach and ways to promote more emotional regulation in the family.

About Dr. Klein:

Dr. Alex Klein, PsyD is a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in parenting as well as assessing neurodivergent adults and children. He currently runs a private practice in Oakland, California where he does counseling with individual adults, couples, and parents, as well as evaluating adults and children for autism, ADHD, and other forms of neurodivergence. His primary interests include neurodiversity-affirming care, parenting challenging children, pathological demand avoidance (PDA), social justice, trauma, education, and advocating for the rights of children. In addition to consulting with various companies to create a more neurodiversity-affirming and inclusive workplace, Dr. Klein also uses his experience as a former teacher and school-based therapist to advocate in school districts for more appropriate learning environments for challenging students. Dr. Klein’s greatest joys are spending time with his family and friends, music, and exploring the outdoors with his wife and twin daughters in the Bay Area.