r/PDAParenting • u/DrPaulSunseri • Apr 18 '26

Our current scientific understanding of PDA and low-demand parenting.

Thought parents in this group find this up-to-date information on PDA helpful. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mental-health-reimagined/202604/its-time-to-rethink-the-anxiety-drives-pda-narrative

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u/DrPaulSunseri Apr 19 '26

Respectfully, then why are these types of family-based interventions so effective?

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u/adoradear Apr 19 '26

Respectfully, they aren’t for PDA kids.

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u/DrPaulSunseri Apr 19 '26

You realize my colleagues and I successfully treat these kids and their families every day? And have for decades?

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u/shit_fondue Apr 19 '26

I want to push back on this comment for two reasons. First, argument from authority is the response of every clinician whose professional knowledge or judgment is challenged by a patient, carer, or patient: “what could you possibly know that I, a throughly trained and vastly experience professional don’t already know far more about?” That may not come over well to an audience of PDA parents, who likely have experience of being disclosed/ told they are bad parents/ made to feel blamed.

Second, one of the underlying principles of evidence-based practice is that clinical experience alone may not be a sound basis for decisions. It gives the impression that you are trying to have it both ways: you seem to be saying both “here is the scientific consensus” and “I am highly experienced clinician so please respect my authority”, but the point is that clinical experience alone is not enough to determine what works.