By Professor Tony Attwood and Dr. Michelle GarnettThe term PDA (pathological demand avoidance) was first used by Professor Elizabeth Newson in the 1980s. It is a behavioural profile associated with…

By Dr. Michelle Garnett and Professor Tony AttwoodWe write this article to assist parents and teachers to encourage friendship skills because we seek to give them skills for navigating a…

By Professor Tony Attwood and Dr Michelle GarnettAutistic adolescents can make excellent friends due to the exceptional personality qualities associated with being autistic, such as loyalty, honesty, dependability, compassion, integrity,…

By Dr Michelle S Garnett & Prof Tony AttwoodPDA officially stands for Pathological Demand Avoidance, a term coined by Professor Elizabeth Newson in Nottingham, UK, in the 1980s to describe…

Dr. Michelle Garnett and Prof Tony AttwoodIn a previous blog, we discussed how to recognise an autistic girl in the classroom because she is often not discovered until after mental…

By Dr. Michelle Garnett and Prof Tony AttwoodMost children referred for a diagnostic assessment for autism are males, and autistic males with fluent speech will likely be diagnosed, on average,…

By Dr. Michelle Garnett and Prof Tony AttwoodAutistic children tend to need explicit assistance to help develop their understanding of friendship and even how to cope with being with other…

By Dr Michelle Garnett and Prof Tony AttwoodAutistic individuals generally experience more health issues than non-autistic individuals (Weir, Allison & Baron-Cohen, 2022). Autistic women face a range of health concerns that…

By Dr Michelle Garnett and Prof Tony AttwoodResearchers and clinicians in the autism area have known about the association between hypermobility and autism for a long time (Tantam, Evered & Hersov,…