Topics
Anxiety Autism Burnout Demand Avoidance EHCPs Low Demand Parenting Mental Health Neurodiversity SEN School Screens Trauma
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?
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.
For some children the demands of everyday life provoke high anxiety. They act to protect themselves with a firm ‘No! ’, and conventional parenting strategies can make things worse.
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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.
Dr Naomi Fisher takes a deep dive into the psychology of demand avoidance, adolescence and anxiety. She explains how demand avoidance can become a need to avoid feelings and thoughts, explores the developmental needs of adolescents, and offers practical ideas to help you and your teen move forward. It is suitable for teenagers with or 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.
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