6 Comments
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Juliette Vespa's avatar

It is NOT a choice - so key!

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Laura Hellfeld's avatar

Exactly!

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Kelli Femrite's avatar

I love this lime so much,

“In reality, PDAers don’t want to be having a hard time. Their resistance to demands is not a choice but a deeply ingrained response rooted in their neurology.”

Too often— in dealing with schools, I have felt like my child was labeled as defiant or not complying.

But in reality, she’s in a state of nervous system dysregulation. I wish more schools recognized this and took the time to create actual beneficial solutions for PDA kids instead of forcing them to fit into a mold they weren’t built for.

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Laura Hellfeld's avatar

It's so true, isn't it? It's not like the young person wants to be the centre of what ends up being negative attention from others. They're struggling. I'm sorry your kiddo has experienced this.

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Kelli Femrite's avatar

Exactly! We are still dealing with the after effects of this, unfortunately. I just hope by writing and sharing my experiences it will help other families to realize they are not alone, and that there is hope!

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Dr. Portia Preston, DrPH's avatar

Thank you so much, this is so healing to read.

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