Unpacking a potential classroom saboteur
Over the past few years I’ve read a lot neurodiversity, learning differences, etc., which introduced me to pathological demand avoidance (the less fun PDA).
Descriptions of associated traits rang a bell. I’ve certainly had students whose default response to any request or instruction is no or why?.
I was the student who interrogated every instruction, challenged every pronouncement and debated every requirement.
Pathological demand avoidance is a controversial term; it may not be the best way to characterize what is going on for students who exhibit certain traits. But these behaviors exist and affect learners and educators. Let’s take a closer look.
What is pathological demand avoidance?
According to UK child neurodevelopmental charity Cerebra: “People with PDA… seem to feel an enormous amount of pressure from ordinary expectations. It is often not the activity itself that is a pressure but the fact that another person is expecting them to do it.”
The British National Health Service distinguishes between normal demand avoidance (i.e., most people’s response to washing up/taxes/eating sprouts) and pathological demand avoidance, which is “all-encompassing… [includes] dramatic reaction[s] to a tiny request… [and] isn’t a choice.”
In addition avoidance of everyday demands, symptoms include:
Uses social strategies as part of avoidance
Sociable, yet lacking depth of understanding
Excessive mood swings
Comfortable in fantasy / imaginative play
Displays obsessive behaviour, often focused on other people
When was PDA identified?
The term was coined by English developmental psychologist Professor Elizabeth Newson in the early 1980s.
Who is most affected?
Demand-avoidant behavior is correlated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). According to the NHS:
“It is common for autistic people to display demand avoidant behaviours. The autistic person may avoid demands or situations that trigger anxiety or sensory overload, disrupt routines, involve transitioning from one activity to another, and activities/events that they don’t see the point of or have any interest in.”
Interestingly, research shows PDA prevalence is equal between the sexes (Newson, et al., 2003). In contrast, boys are three to four times more likely to be diagnosed with autism than girls (Loomes, et al., 2017).
How does it manifest?
A number of traits were found by O’Nions et al. (2016) to strongly correlate with PDA, including lack of cooperation, manipulative behavior, socially shocking behavior, lying, fantasizing, cheating and difficulties relating to people, especially age-group peers.
The NHS breaks avoidant behaviors into stages:
Stage 1: Light avoidance
Distraction • Procrastination • Negotiation • Excuses • Masking
Stage 2: Strong avoidance
Retreating into role play/fantasy • Outrageous social behaviour • Incapacitating themselves • Ridiculous excuses • Outright refusal
Stage 3: Melt/Shutdown
Physical/emotional harm of self or others • Destruction of property • Extreme exhaustion • Uncontrollable crying • Depression/anxiety
How does it affect learning?
Education settings place vast demands on kids: sit, listen, raise your hand, don’t interrupt, speak when spoken to, remember your materials, follow the reading, transition to your next class, respect your classmates.
It is remarkable that most students rise to these demands, not strange that some struggle.
For those who do, demand avoidance has the potential to sabotage their learning, grades, peer relationships and adult interactions.
I know from experience that demand-avoidant behaviors can create instant tension in a class and escalate into a situation that is damaging for the student, distracting for their peers and frustrating for the teacher.
How can teachers help?
As educators, we should start by cultivating awareness and empathy so we can respond calmly to demand avoidant behavior (believe me, I have failed).
The National Autistic Society suggests that educators working with PDA students
Promote wellbeing – demand avoidance is driven by raised anxiety so reducing anxiety, promoting positive self-esteem, self-awareness and good social relationships is key.
Use indirect approaches which are creative, individualised and flexible, and which can be adapted to synchronise anxiety and demand.
Allow additional processing time – as with other people with autism it is beneficial to allow extra time to process incoming instructions, social and sensory information. For people with a PDA profile it can also be beneficial to allow extra time to process their anxiety and sensitivity to demands.
Let go and learn
Flexibility is key. Rather than pushing a student to complete a task in a certain way, consider the learning objectives, and give them space to fulfil them independently.
Once, a student kicked up row about a literary comparison assignment. Eventually, they submitted an essay comparing the fonts of the respective texts. My first impulse was to be irritated but, on inspection, they had met the learning objectives; had, in fact, put substantial effort and creativity into subverting the assignment.
The best response was let go of my ego need to be in charge and applaud their work.
As teachers, it’s easy to prioritize what we know, what we think and our ideas of how things should be over learner autonomy and creativity. What demand avoidant children can teach us about flexibility, collaboration and negotiation can benefit all students – and our practice and mindset as educators.
Thanks for sharing. Rings many bells. I also believe that children aren’t built for school and that, if we expect them to succeed in this system that we have created, we need to start from the child when we are teaching. I hope I continue learning and continue to develop my flexibility as an educator as I believe you are right – we need to start from the child’s interest, encourage their creativity and applaud their efforts rather than having a rigid success for learning criteria.
“one size fits all” rarely does!