PDA in the Family (Book)

PDA in the Family: Life After the Lightbulb Moment is our family's story of living with the type of autism known as Pathological Demand Avoidance.

PDA IN THE FAMILY is out now and can be ordered from Amazon by tapping on the book cover image above or by using this link*: PDA in the Family book. There is an audiobook version and other options are available at the foot of this post.

Our younger daughter, Sasha, was diagnosed with autism nearly 14 years ago, at the age of two. I started this blog on that day, trying to make some sense of my thoughts. Over the years that followed I have shared many of our family's experiences via this blog - but as I have come to understand over the past couple of years, blogging is very different to writing for a book!

Our book is an honest account of how family life has been for us since that day of diagnosis and the subsequent lightbulb moment when we heard about PDA. I am not one of those people who always had a desire to write a book. I felt that I needed to write this, to increase the amount of PDA literature available. There are so many people who would benefit from understanding more about this particular type of autism, and how PDAers can present differently to other autistic people. I hope our book will help PDA children and adults who are being misunderstood and parents who are being unfairly judged.

Thoughts and comments from both of our girls are included in the book and as an extra bonus, Mr C has written a whole chapter! We thought that hearing a dad's honest perspective of life with PDA could help many others too.

"In this honest and open account of life with her PDA daughter, Sasha, Steph Curtis reveals the everyday struggles and explores the milestones of raising a child diagnosed with Pathological Demand Avoidance. This book guides you through the Curtis family's 'lightbulb moment' of recognising Sasha's PDA profile following her autism diagnosis at the age of two, their experiences of various education settings and attempts to access support, everyday life at home and relationships with family and friends.

With unique insights from Sasha's father, sister, and Sasha herself, this book offers insider knowledge, understanding and advice from one family to another. It would also be helpful for those in education, healthcare or other settings to gain a better understanding of Pathological Demand Avoidance."

Also available to order direct from Jessica Kingsley Publishers:


Or via Waterstones:

Alternatively, ask your local independent book store if they will order it in for you!

*This is an affiliate link and I may receive a small commission if you click/tap and go on to buy anything via Amazon. It won't cost you any extra.