Sometimes children’s behaviour just doesn’t seem to make sense. You know that they’d enjoy something; but they won’t give it a go. They seem bored and frustrated, but every suggestion you make is met with a resounding No. For some children this is a pattern from early childhood, for others it seems to arrive out of nowhere.
One way to think about this is as demand avoidance. Some children find the demands of everyday life anxiety-provoking. They can feel like a threat – and so they avoid them. They do this by saying No, by withdrawing, by distracting you; sometimes they put so much energy into avoidance that it would have been far easier to just do it. When this goes to an extreme, it is sometimes called PDA or pathological demand avoidance.
In my courses, I explain the psychology of demand avoidance. What is going on, and how can parents help?
Our courses take a child-centred perspective and are suitable for children with and without diagnoses.
All courses are available to watch for 12 months
Does your child's behaviour confuse you? Does most of the parenting advice you are given make things worse? Do you feel like you are walking on eggshells? In this course, Dr Naomi Fisher will explain the psychology of demand avoidance. What is it, how does it affect the nervous system - and importantly, what can parents do? You'll end with a clearer idea of what is going wrong and some ideas as to how to help.
Demand avoidant children have an anxiety-driven need to resist the demands of every day life. In practice this can mean that they say No a lot. They may refuse all suggestion, or refuse to go out. This can make life really challenging for families. Lots of families get stuck, unable to change things which really need to be done differently, becuase their child responds so intensely. Naomi explains why demand avoidant children find change so hard, and will give you the tools to help them manage necessary changes. You'll end the course with a better understanding of your child and what they find challenging, and some ideas to help them.
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What happens when demand avoidance meets adolescence? In this mini-course, Naomi will explain what’s going on in your adolescent’s brain, and how that interacts with demand avoidance. She’ll help you understand what is going on for your child, and give you some practical ideas as to how to help your young person (and yourself) get through these important years. This course is suitable for teenagers with and without a diagnosis.
This mini-course is for teenagers to watch themselves. It explains why sometimes, everything feels like pressure and the more others try to help you, the harder it is to do anything, even things you’d like to do. It helps teens think about how to build a life which works for them. It’s suitable for anyone who experiences demand avoidance, whether or not they have a diagnosis.
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This bundle gives you all 10 webinar recordings from Activate Your Parenting through to What About Me? They are updated when new low demand parenting webinars are hosted. Recordings are available to watch for 12 months after purchase.
The bundle contains the following 5 webinar recordings: 1. Activate Your Parenting 2. Communication 3. Behaviour 4. Emotions 5. The Real World They are updated when new low demand parenting webinars are hosted. Recordings are available to watch for 12 months after purchase.
This bundle gives you the second 5 webinar recordings in the Low Demand Parenting series. It contains: 6. Other People 7. Screens 8. School 9. The Future 10. What About Me? They are updated when new low demand parenting webinars are hosted. Recordings are available to watch for 12 months after purchase.
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