TPP 307a: Eliza Fricker Talks Parenting a Child with PDA

Full-Tilt Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children

Debbie Reber

Education, Kids & Family, Parenting

4.8 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 5 June 2026

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Eliza Fricker joins me to talk about PDA or pathological demand avoidance – and in fact I know many people interpret PDA as persistent desire for autonomy. I’ve done a few episodes on PDA before but never from a parent’s perspective so after reading Eliza’s book, The Family Experience of PDA, I knew I wanted to share her perspective with the Tilt community. During this episode, we talked about how demand avoidance is more extreme in a child with a PDA profile vs. the inflexibility and rigidity we might see in other neurodivergent kids, what Eliza has learned about herself parenting a child with PDA, and what her resistance was to the changes needed to her parenting style. Eliza also gave out some great tips for teachers who have a PDA student in their classroom and for parents who are struggling with family, friends, or people close to them who aren’t willing to understand what PDA is and what that means for their family. Things you'll learn from this episode * What makes demand avoidance more extreme in children with PDA * Eliza’s experience in changing her parenting ways to become more flexible * Tweaks teachers can use to work with children who have PDA in a classroom setting * How PDA may look different than “typical demand avoidance” that we might see in some neurodivergent children * What Eliza has learned about herself from parenting a child with PDA * Advice for parents who are raising a child with PDA Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Attention all passengers.
0:04.1	The Uber ride for Jeff's rugby team will depart in five minutes from Platform 15.
0:09.7	Your ride comes with six toilets and a refreshment's carriage that you'll empty within five minutes.
0:16.5	Thank you for booking your tickets on Uber.
0:20.3	Trains on Uber.
0:22.6	Hey, it's Debbie.
0:23.8	Playback Friday episodes during the month of June will be focused on PDA,
0:28.0	pathological demand avoidance, or as many in the community prefer persistent drive for autonomy.
0:33.8	Whether you're brand new to learning about PDA or you are deep in the journey already, I guarantee
0:38.5	you will find some good strategies here and also feel very seen in your experience.
0:46.1	Welcome to Tilt Parenting, a podcast featuring interviews and conversations aimed at inspiring,
0:51.6	informing, and supporting parents raising differently wired kids.
0:55.2	I'm your host, Debbie Reber. On today's episode, I'm talking with Eliza Fricker about
1:01.1	PDA, an acronym that technically stands for pathological demand avoidance, although I know many
1:07.8	people who interpret PDA as a persistent desire for autonomy.
1:13.0	I've done a few episodes on PDA before.
1:15.7	I'll have links to those in the show notes, but never from a parent's perspective.
1:19.6	So after reading Eliza's insightful book, the family experience of PDA,
1:24.8	I knew I wanted to share her perspective with this community. During the
1:28.5	episode, Eliza and I talk about how demand avoidance is more extreme in a child with a PDA profile
1:34.8	versus the inflexibility or rigidity we might see in other neurodivargin kids. We also get into what
1:41.7	Eliza has learned about herself parenting a child with PDA and what her
	...

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