Following the popularity of Dr. Panicha McGuire’s first course, PDA: Neurodiversity-Affirming, Trauma-Informed Practice & Supports, this applied part-two training helps therapists and educators move from understanding Persistent or Pervasive Drive for Autonomy, historically referred to as Pathological Demand Avoidance, to implementing practical, neurodiversity-affirming supports in school and clinical settings.

This two-hour professional development course focuses on the “what about…” questions that often arise when supporting PDA-ers:

What about IEPs and 504 plans? What about goal writing? What about visual schedules that increase distress? What about teams that want consequence plans? What about students who engage with one adult but not another?

Dr. McGuire will guide participants through PDA-informed approaches to school and clinic supports, with specific attention to demand sensitivity, autonomy, relational safety, accommodation planning, and goal writing. Participants will learn how to conceptualize PDA within compliance-driven systems while advocating for supports that reduce threat, preserve dignity, and improve access to learning and participation.

The course includes practical guidance on developing autonomy-supportive goals with clear baselines, conditions, criteria, timelines, and measurement methods. Participants will also examine accommodations across communication, transitions, sensory needs, environment, scheduling, de-escalation, and team collaboration.

Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of how to write PDA-informed goals, advocate within school and clinical systems, and collaborate with teams to create supports that are low-arousal, flexible, autonomy-supportive, and sustainable.

This course is appropriate for school counselors, speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, mental health professionals, educators, psychologists, social workers, and others supporting neurodivergent children, teens, and adults.

Participants will learn to:

• Apply a PDA focused, trauma-informed, neurodiversity-affirming framework to understand demand sensitivity in school and clinical systems.
• Identify when 504 plans, IEPs, accommodations, or additional supports may be appropriate.
• Develop PDA-informed accommodations and goals that prioritize autonomy, safety, relational engagement, and access to learning.
• Write measurable goals using baselines, conditions, observable actions, criteria, timelines, and appropriate data collection methods.
• Troubleshoot common PDA support challenges, including visual supports, escalation, stalled goals, transition demands, and team requests for consequence-based plans.