The PDA Parenting Podcast
Kids & Family
About
A podcast for parents raising PDA autistic kids and teens. Real talk, personal stories, and practical tools to move from chaos to connection - hosted by parent coach Amy Kotha.
Episodes
- When Boundaries Break Down: Parenting PDA Kids Through Unpredictability, Nervous System Safety & Letting Go of Control
This episode discusses parenting challenges related to unpredictability and nervous system regulation in PDA kids. It offers insights into reframing boundaries as internal anchors, managing control and codependency, and emphasizes capacity…
- PDA, Food Preoccupation, and Weight Gain: Nervous System Parenting for Neurodivergent Kids
This episode discusses food preoccupation, binge-like eating, and weight changes in PDA children as coping strategies related to stress and autonomy. It offers a nervous-system-informed, non-diet perspective for parents, emphasizing felt s…
- Why Traditional Parenting Programs Don’t Work for PDA Families - and What I Do Instead
This episode explains why conventional parenting programs are ineffective for PDA families due to their rigid structures. The host discusses transitioning to a more flexible, PDA-informed support model that accommodates parents' needs for…
- When Learning Shuts Down: PDA, School Trauma, and Why Traditional Education Stops Working (Part 2)
This episode, titled 'When Learning Shuts Down: PDA, School Trauma, and Why Traditional Education Stops Working (Part 2),' is the second part of a series exploring how Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA), school trauma, and traditional edu…
- When Learning Shuts Down: PDA, School Trauma, and Why Traditional Education Stops Working (Part 1)
This episode discusses why learning shuts down for PDA and neurodivergent children, focusing on how compliance-based education and school trauma create unsafe learning environments. It addresses the emotional burden on parents and reassure…
- The “Good Mom” Myth: How PDA Parents Can Break Free from Holiday Judgment and Comparison
This episode of The PDA Parenting Podcast addresses the "good mom" myth, explaining how holiday pressures intensify judgment and comparison for PDA parents. It explores the connection between parental and child nervous system overwhelm, id…
- Talking About Adoption, Autism & Identity: What to Do When You’re Afraid to Get It Wrong
This episode discusses why adopted or autistic children may avoid talking about their story, linking avoidance to safety and nervous system activation. It offers strategies for parents to share their child's story gently, build identity, a…
- You Don’t Have to Fix Your Child: The Shift That Changes Everything
Amy shares her journey of parenting a neurodivergent, PDA-profile child, discussing how understanding the nervous system and safety can transform family dynamics. The episode explores why the "fix-it" mindset is exhausting for parents and…
- From Fear to Hope: Parenting Through Crisis with Compassion
This episode features Amy discussing her experience with a family crisis, exploring concepts like co-regulation, community support, and psychological capital. She provides a 5-step plan for responding to crisis moments with compassion.
- Why Hygiene is Hard for PDA Autistic Kids (and How Parents Can Help)
This episode of the PDA Parenting Podcast discusses the difficulties PDA autistic children face with hygiene routines such as toothbrushing and showering. It explains how nervous system responses, sensory sensitivities, and demand avoidanc…
- Scaffolding Through Life Transitions: Supporting PDA Teens with Safety & Collaboration
This episode discusses how scaffolding, safety cues, and collaboration can help PDA teens and young adults navigate life transitions like college or jobs. It draws on neuroscience and polyvagal theory to explore supporting autonomy and low…
- Voice, Vision, and Validation: A Conversation With Diane Gould on Empowering Neurodivergent Lives
On The PDA Parenting Podcast, Diane Gould, LCSW, shares her personal journey with neurodivergence and her work with PDA North America. She discusses empowering neurodivergent individuals, particularly those with a PDA profile, through voic…
- Life with a PDA Sibling: A Raw Conversation with Devi
Devika, the sister of a child with Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) autism, shares her personal experiences navigating family dynamics, emotional ups and downs, and finding support systems outside the home.
- Supporting the Siblings of PDAers: Roles, Repair, & Real Talk
This episode of The PDA Parenting Podcast features Amy Kotha discussing the experiences of siblings in families with a child with Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA autism). It covers how PDA influences family dynamics and sibling roles, o…
- Inside the PDA Experience: Conversations With Maya on Feeling Trapped
Amy and her daughter Maya discuss the PDA autistic teen experience of feeling trapped, covering school, the medical system, and internal struggles. They explore nervous system overwhelm, autonomy, and the challenges PDAers face in expressi…
- When Their Struggles Become Ours: Parenting Through the Ups and Downs
In this solo episode, Amy Kotha shares a personal story about parenting a child with PDA autism during a major life transition, detailing how the child's struggles impacted her own plans and exploring themes of co-regulation, enmeshment, a…
- Feeling Trapped: What it's Like for PDA Kids - and Parents
This episode of The PDA Parenting Podcast features Amy Kotha discussing the feeling of being trapped experienced by PDA autistic children and their parents. Kotha explains how this feeling manifests at various ages and provides five strate…
- PDA & Social Masking: Understanding Hidden Struggles
This episode of The PDA Parenting Podcast, hosted by Amy Kotha, discusses Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) and its social aspects, including masking, fluctuating social skills, and demand avoidance in relationships. It aims to help pare…
- What Is Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA)? A Parent's Guide
This episode introduces Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA), explaining its characteristics, impact on behavior, and parenting strategies. Host Amy Kotha discusses the 'can't, not won't' phenomenon and fostering connection, drawing from pe…