Demand avoidance refers to a persistent and marked resistance to demands, which may include essential demands such as eating and sleeping as well as expected demands such as going to school or work. Pathological demand avoidance (PDA) is a proposed disorder and sub-type of autism spectrum disorder, defined by characteristics such as a greater-than-typical refusal to comply with requests or expectations and extreme efforts to avoid social demand. Here are some key points about demand avoidance:

• Characteristics: People with demand avoidance may try to distract the authority figure who made the request, make excuses, withdraw, escape, or have a meltdown or panic attack. They may avoid many everyday demands simply because they are demands, and there can be an ‘irrational quality’ to the avoidance.

• Causes: Demand avoidance can be situational, relate to physical or mental health, or relate to a developmental or personality condition. It is sometimes difficult to distinguish underlying causes, but a PDA profile isn’t necessarily always the best explanation for extreme demand avoidance.

• Treatment: Helpful approaches include addressing sensory issues, helping individuals adjust to new situations, keeping to a predictable routine, giving plenty of notice about any changes, or accepting that avoiding some things is perfectly acceptable. Establishing clear consequences when kids don’t comply with demands is important.

It is important to note that demand avoidance is a characteristic experienced by and observed in some autistic people, but it is not exclusive to autism.