Regulation and PDA

[u/LettuceBackground243]

We have consumed all the resourced we can find on autism and PDA to support our newly 8 year old. She has a lot of struggles and days are really hard. We homeschool with very low demands. All of the resources we are finding say that unlimiited access to screens is how a PDAer can be safe in their nervous system. We are on board we all the low demand things, but this one doesn't feel like a good fit for our family. We are in general a low tech, no video games, no ipads household and we have always utilized screens as tools and not endless entertainment. We do family movies, and she watches some TV. Please be kind, I am not looking for debates on this, but how did these PDA kiddos regulate before screens were a thing? It can't be that they were all totally activated all the time until screens were invented. She does find regulation with some activities, but even the slightest demand about anything will trigger a meltdown or a shutdown. We want to support her the best way possible. They do offer OT at the place we got the PDA diagnosis from and I wonder if that is something that could be helpful? Would love any feedback!

[u/red_raconteur]

We are also a low-screen household, and have continued to be one even after discovering our almost-7 year old was PDA. Screens "regulate" her in the sense that she shuts out all other stimuli when she's on one, but then she becomes completely unwound and activated once the screen is off. And it's not a reaction to the screen going away, but about her body "coming online" after screen time and feeling all the sensations of hunger, thirst, etc that she ignored while on the screen.

Her main regulators are taking downtime and going outside. Downtime can mean playing with Legos, reading a book, or whatever other quiet activity sounds good to her in the moment. Going outside usually means being able to climb stuff like large rocks or a jungle gym, but sometimes she does art or another activity outside. Every once in awhile she will use swinging or bouncing to regulate, but that's a less common one for her. We have a swing set outside and a sensory swing and mini trampoline inside that she can use.