What would PDA/Newson Syndrome look like in an adult?

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Just curious. Is Pathological Demand-Avoidance Autism generally higher or lower functioning than Asperger's over the long run? What would it look like in an adult? Could someone with it live independently -- better than Asperger's?

Last edited by Tyri0n on 11 Apr 2013, 8:06 am, edited 1 time in total.

Until a few months ago, my daughter appeared to meet all the criteria for PDA. It seemed like a much better fit than Aspergers. We were almost en route to having her privately assessed for PDA, but the NHS autism assessment came round sooner than expected and she received a diagnosis of Aspergers, even if she is anything but typical. Since then, she has changed an awful lot, partly due to us making adjustments to clothing selections and addressing other sensory issues. She still needs a lot of supervision, persuading and coaxing to get things done, but the conflict is much less than it was. Minus the conflict, it's clear that her Aspergers is actually very mild, but I'm pretty sure she has traits of inattentive ADHD too. She doesn't have PDA. Her concentration problem (or her inability to keep on track with things she doesn't really care for) is the main issue just now and this is what I worry about more than the Aspergers traits, for the future.

Bump, besides a possible misdiagnosis, has no one heard of PDA and what it looks like in an adult?

Mummy of Peanut, what convinced you that Asperger's and not PDA were correct?

She no longer meets the criteria for PDA. She's no longer as 'difficult' as she was and is much more agreeable these days. It's now more clear that her reluctance to get things done is down to inattentiveness and short term memory issues (or executive function) and not demand avoidance. If she hadn't changed, (this happened in October last year), I would still think it was PDA.

I'm wondering if I am an adult version of PDA. Diagnosed with Asperger's, but it never seemed to fit, and the therapy I enrolled in through a state-funded program for Asperger's ended up being useless, so I have been suspecting Narcissistic Personality Disorder and tried to get reevaluated for that (ongoing).

What sets me apart from Asperger's is superficially decent social skills masking a hollow interior, identity changes and disturbances, mood swings, impulsiveness, and other differences hard to quantify. Also, lots of NPD traits, including empathy deficiencies more like personality disorders than ASD, but also some autistic traits like prosody disturbances.

When someone described PDA as "the child version of Borderline Personality Disorder," it made me stand up and take notice. There were folks trying to claim I had DID in my other thread. I don't think so. But PDA lacks a sense of identity and a tendency to "play roles."

Now, I wonder if I should mentioned PDA to my therapist.

You may find this link useful:

http://www.norsaca.org.uk/docs/1.5.pdf

Oh, and also this one, which describes the condition in a lot more detail:

http://www.norsaca.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/1.1.pdf

It was the second paper that really convinced me and my parents that I have this.

Reading these, it seems like the adult outcomes are too low-functioning for me. Also, my current avoidance is more manipulation to avoid the consequences of impulsive behaviors, and I don't think my avoidance is extreme enough.

Seriously, it looked like most of them were living in a group home, and none of them even attempted higher ed. This is not me at all.

Aren't you bored to death yet of churning out one histrionic hypochondriac thread after another?

I wasted 3 months doing Asperger's treatments that didn't work through a state-funded program. This lead me to believe that Asperger's is incorrect.

Hypochondria would be adding things, not trying to replace a serious, incurable disease (Asperger's) with something milder and more treatable.

A hypochondriac would say "I don't have the flu; I have cancer." I am more like "I don't have the flu; I just have a bad cold."

Anyway, I do not have Newson Syndrome (I hate relying on others) or Asperger's, so I am likely quitting Wrong Planet or backing way off. I'm just a Narcissist, and I don't really want to treat all my traits, just maybe increase my manipulation and social skills. So it's pointless for me to spend much time here anymore. My problems are totally different than those of most, and I'm not convinced that all of them are problems. Most people would love to be as good at avoiding consequences as me.

Anyway, I am sick of society and its stupid rules. And I'm tired of being told that there's something wrong with me and that I'm a bad person, especially by peers working at Starbucks or living in their mothers' basements, when I have achieved more than 99% of the population, PDD or not.

Finally, I love Neal Caffrey.

"I wasted 3 months doing Asperger's treatments that didn't work through a state-funded program. This lead me to believe that Asperger's is incorrect. "

I've spent far longer than that in state funded programs and they didn't help, but I believe that the programs just wasn't right for me. I think I have Aspergers.


I have been diagnosed with some traits of PDA, but I'm still 15.

Would a person with PDA be lower or higher-functioning than a person with AS? It depends. They're both on a spectrum. One person with PDA could be more impaired than another person with Aspergers, and vise versa.

What would it look like in an adult? Well I assume you're talking about milder cases seeing as you'd be in full/part time care by now if you had sever PDA.
I can't really answer this. Not much is known about the condition. I'd think it'd be pretty much the same as in a child? I know that I'm a bit less aviodent now than when I was a younger child, but that could just be because I'm trying harder to follow instructions. I'm defiantly more exhausted now-a-days, and I think this has something to do with it.

You can live independently, better than at-least some cases of Aspergers.

Maybe you should go to the sociopaths forum or something.

Well, I could probably count a lot more sociopathic behaviors on this board, and I doubt I'd be one of the worst. just off the top of my head, some common themes seem to be :

1. Sexual harassment

2. living with parents ("parasitic lifestyle")

These are both far more sociopathic behaviors than not paying a stupid parking ticket, etc. I know at least one guy with a more traditional form of Asperger's who is a pedophile and a rapist. I know another AS guy who constantly fondles women and another one who got fired from his job for making homophobic comments about his lesbian boss.

I'd say I'm probably not a sociopath, except with a few mild traits here and there. Everyone makes mistakes, both on and off the spectrum.

Why are you being so mean? The guy is diagnosed. He's not a hypochondriac. He's just trying to figure out the finer aspects of things, and would certainly have a better handle on his own thinking and situation (and needs) than you would.

Actually I could care less about whether you follow "societies rules" by paying parking tickets. I just find going on and on about "naughty" things you've done as if they're badass and trying to subtly troll most of the board because of one person's comment annoying.

hmmmm, k. It sucks to be told you have Asperger's when you most probably don't. It sucks in so many ways, especially for one who is prone to identity issues as it is. That's what this is about.

Also some obsessions going on.

Okay, it would also suck to be a very mild aspie with self hate over being diagnosed with a condition that is often associated with lower social status. In any case it seems like other things are a bigger issue for you so I don't know what the big deal is. I'm also not just calling you a sociopath as a dig at you. From the things you say it seems like you might have a mild case of ASPD. The thing is you might catch a lot of hard feelings with that label on a site like this where a lot of people have been bullied or victimized ( even though you don't strike me a bully so much as a risk taker ) so maybe you could get better advice on a forum for so-called "high functioning" sociopaths. Even if you feel ambivalent at the idea that you need to be "fixed" or fear being told you are "evil", you might just consider getting help from a self-preservation perspective. The US has a pretty punative justice system and "not following rules" is bound to catch up with you sooner or later, particularly in the US where even a minor felony could really ruin your life and career.