This paper is about the development and validation of the ‘Extreme Demand Avoidance Questionnaire’ (EDA-Q), to aid in diagnosis of PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance) traits.
PDA (or EDA) is a newly recognized diagnosis in which some children (or adults – the members of the group of people studied ranged in age up to 53) “melt down” in the face of any type of demand. Use of this questionnaire may help doctors properly diagnose the child and will also be useful for future research on this disorder.
QUOTE: “… children identified as having PDA look somewhat different from most children with conduct disorder/oppositional defiant disorder … in showing little sense of embarrassment, reputation management, or conformity to peer norms. Many resort to behaviour peers view as babyish or personally humiliating … and friendships fail due to controlling behaviour and their extreme response when things don’t go their way.”
QUOTE: “These indicators included physical aggression, laughing at others’ distress, lack of awareness of psychological barriers, difficult or objectionable personal habits, needing constant supervision and demanding attention from caregivers.”
QUOTE: “Educational and management approaches effective for PDA reportedly differ from those for ‘typical’ autism spectrum disorders (ASD), and include novelty, humour and flexibility.”
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