As a teacher working in a setting where every student has an EHCP, I appreciate the breadth and depth of my teaching experiences. Always varied; always stimulating; my role keeps me on my toes and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
One way that I strive to meet the needs of every single student I work with is through ongoing development of my professional expertise. This might be through my own independent reading and research, or it may be via expert training, but however this continued professional development is achieved, it is one thing I really value about working at Breakthrough.
Most recently I undertook in-person training, along with my colleagues, on PDA, or Pathological Demand Avoidance. Delivered by Sam Harris from Neurodive, this training focused on strategies and insights to best support those students who avoid demands.
People with a PDA profile are driven to avoid everyday demands and expectations to an extreme event, but the behaviour of demand avoidance more generally can be a common experience for students with autism and ADHD. The Neurodive training focused on why students do it and how we can best understand and support them: I found it really useful to be reminded of some of these approaches.
When we focus on what someone does and the behaviour they show without exploring why they do it, we don’t gain the best insight and this makes it harder to find the most effective way to support.
As part of the training, Sam outlined some of the different reasons different students might avoid demands.
In autistic people a demand might be avoided because:
- it is new or unfamiliar
- there is too much uncertainty or unpredictability
- it involves a sensory overload
- the social experience or environment is overwhelming
- previous experiences of the demand have been distressing
- they are currently hyper-focused on another task
- we haven’t communicated the demand in a way that is accessible
In ADHD people a demand might be avoided for some of the same reasons, but also because:
- an impulse interrupts and takes over
- the demand might be too boring or challenging
- there may be a fear of correction or punishment
- xecutive functioning differences make the planning and organisation needed to start the demand difficult
In PDA people a demand might be avoided because:
- it is expected by others
- it is needed or planned
- it is a demand
- they feel the need to regain control
- there is a compulsive drive
Taking the time to identify the cause of the behaviour coupled with a range of low-demand strategies have enabled me to better understand and plan accordingly with each student, and I’m looking forward to expanding my insights further in the future!
