PDA Research - unanswered questions
- sallycrussell
- May 15, 2022
- 1 min read
Updated: Oct 23
Isaac described his experience of PDA in a video a few years ago, and so many questions come to mind when watching it. What is going on in his brain to set off a flight response when someone says 'you have to put your shoes on'...and why does that challenge remain until actively resolved? (it took two weeks of negotiation before he was able to go outside again). Should we be looking at neuroscience and physiology as well as psychology to explore what is going on? And where, even, is the proof that using different phraseology can make such a substantial difference? ...and to what extent can our flexible brains develop further? What management strategies help?
There is no research on 'what helps', little on origins of difficulties and some on describing it, but from an 'outsider' perspective...
There are many who, like Isaac, find everyday life exceptionally challenging.
Prof Gillberg said in his 2014 paper:
“PDA is already a very real clinical problem…Intervention and treatment currently rest almost entirely on guesswork, clinical experience and trial and error. It is one of the most ‘difficult to treat’ constellations of problems in the whole of child and adolescent psychiatry."
It remains the case today.
The PDA Society is working hard to stimulate research in this area; conducting a research priorities-setting exercise, working with those with lived experience and academics to better understand research needs.
