Supporting awareness and understanding of autistic children and young people with a Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) profile across the UK.
England, United Kingdom
Joined February 2026
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The Govt says it will act.
Now let’s make sure it does.
A Parliamentary debate means scrutiny, accountability and action.
Help support this petition. Because too many children are being failed in the worst way.
@andyburnham @LucyMPowell #LabourUK
petition.parliament.uk/petit…
I wonder how many adults diagnosed ADHD went through the process to better understand themselves, their strengths and lifelong challenges?
Not every diagnosis is about accessing services, benefits or support. Sometimes understanding yourself is reason enough.
I can’t tell you how many people in my social circle have recently been diagnosed with ADHD.
And I can’t stress enough how they are *completely normal, functional people*.
The rich tapestry of life doesn’t mean that people who are mildly different from whatever normal is supposed to be must suddenly now be treated as if they have mental retardation.
When you view children through a behavioural lens, you risk missing the distress beneath the behaviour.
Increasingly seeing Pathological Demand Avoidance being used in school discourse. This article by the excellent @Docstockk nails my issues with it.
1. It has no diagnostic basis. It’s colloquial, not clinical, but it *sounds* clinical.
2. Its unfalsifiable. How do you know if someone doesn’t have it?
3. It can easily lead into endlessly negotiating with children when we should be directing and insisting- and inevitably it leads to a weakening of consequences and responsibility.
If a child says, ‘I won’t’, don’t reach for a label
thetimes.com/article/a13b514…
Rather fitting that @tombennett71 himself stated in a September Tes interview: “I think we should always be careful of looking at raw data and try to be much more mindful to understand what’s going on underneath it and what the data actually represents.”
PDA-Advocacy retweeted
@educationgovuk can you please rein in Bennett’s SEND-behaviour misconceptions on X now as it’s getting kinda embarrassing? 🙈
This shines a light on Bennett’s need to step up his game on behaviour. Alleged national expert? 🤔
See @SENDDadDiaries excellent thread below 👇
Yet again Bennett is wrong legally. Thus is precisely why I've forced rescission of unlawful exclusions, why families win disability discrimination cases against schos in the First Tier Tribunal & is clearly detailed in s15. Don't listen to this charlatan: nitter.gq/tombennett71/status/21…
PDA-Advocacy retweeted
A legal analysis of the Government’s response to the petition to save disabled children’s legal rights says, “There are a number of misleading, or outright untrue, statements within the response.”
Here’s a link to the petition:
petition.parliament.uk/petit…
linkedin.com/pulse/gas-light…
I’d be interested to see this broken down by SEND. Falling overall exclusions don’t necessarily show that a behaviour model works for every child. If autistic PDA distress or overwhelm is interpreted as defiance, some pupils may be excluded because the model itself is a poor fit.
Another academy chain known for its high standards and robust behaviour model is Ark Academies. So I checked to see how their exclusions compared against national averages. Lo and behold, they too started higher, then dropped below the average.
This builds on my earlier hypothesis that chains with clear behaviour models, using consequences and structured expectations, often start with higher rates, that then decline.
If exclusions should “reflect the need to use them”, how should we interpret the disproportionate exclusion of SEND pupils? For a PDA child, defiance may actually be overwhelm, distress or a threat response. Are we excluding children for distress mistaken as behaviour?
We cannot improve attendance without first improving LA decision making and accountability. When children’s needs are minimised, provision delayed and unsuitable placements pursued, absence can be the consequence of system failure. That deserves the same scrutiny as attendance.
Across the country, young people tell me they want to work. But to solve the NEETs crisis we need to tackle attendance.
Thanks Alan Milburn + team for the chance to share what I’m hearing in my Big Future survey and tour incl a special visit to Anfield.
open.substack.com/pub/onemil…
If we are serious about tackling attendance, LA decision making must be part of that conversation. When unsuitable provision, delayed support or failure to meet SEND needs contributes to a child being unable to access education, accountability has to sit with the LA.
The Govt says it will act.
Now let’s make sure it does.
A Parliamentary debate means scrutiny, accountability and action.
Help support this petition. Because too many children are being failed in the worst way.
@andyburnham @LucyMPowell #LabourUK
petition.parliament.uk/petit…
The Govt has responded to this petition to include autistic children with a PDA profile in National Inclusion Standards.
We now need confidence those commitments will be delivered.
We cannot accept more harm to
Children.
petition.parliament.uk/petit…
#petitions #send #education
National standards without accountability are just words.
Families need confidence that decisions will improve, not simply promises that they might.
Support the petition.
#SEND #petitions
@LucyMPowell @andyburnham @educationgovuk
petition.parliament.uk/petit…
Congratulations @LucyMPowell
The Govt has already committed to including autistic children with a PDA profile in National Inclusion Standards.
We now need confidence those commitments will be delivered.
We cannot accept more children being harmed.
petition.parliament.uk/petit…
Would you trust a Govt that removes parents legal right to challenge unlawful SEND decisions? Around 95% of SEND tribunal rulings go against LA’s If councils are losing at that rate, why remove parents right to hold them to account instead of fixing the decisions? @andyburnham
For children with a PDA profile, this creates an important conversation. The challenge isn’t whether adaptations should happen it I s whether schools understand what the barrier actually is.
#Inclusionmatters #educationforall #Pathologicaldemandavoidance
@educationgovuk
The EEF has produced a toolkit to help schools with inclusive teaching, which warns against 'ineffective' adaptations
tes.com/magazine/news/genera…
Children don’t experience policy. They experience the consequences when systems fail to identify their needs. This couldn’t be more true for children with a PDA profile. Excluded because PDA is “not recognised”.
#PDA #inclusionmatters
Does our education system deliver equal educational opportunity?
Help this UK Parliament petition reach 100,000 signatures so it can be considered for a parliamentary debate.
🔗 petition.parliament.uk/petit…
@ChildrensComm @CommonsEd @educationgovuk
#SEND #Education #PDA
@PaulaMc007 your campaign has shown how understanding changes lives. The Government has confirmed PDA will be included within the National Inclusion Standards. Would you consider supporting this petition to help make that commitment meaningful?