Introduce national support standards for autistic children with PDA
We urge the Government to recognise the growing cohort of autistic children with a Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) profile who are unable to attend school safely.
Signatures
14,443
signatures
Government response threshold (10,000) · 10,000/10,000 · reached
Debate threshold (100,000) · 14,443/100,000
- 20 APR 202610,000 signatures reachedEligible for a government response
- 20 FEB 2026Petition opened for signaturesCreated by Tatum Davis
Background
We believe that in demand-heavy, compliance-led settings, they may face escalating crisis, including increased risk of self-harm and suicidal ideation.
In our view PDA is inconsistently supported across education, health and local authorities, resulting in many children experiencing preventable crisis. For some children, proximity to mainstream environments triggers crisis; without timely access to low-arousal or alternative learning pathways, risk increases. We ask the Government to strengthen partnerships through improved awareness of PDA-related needs, supported by training and accountability, so children are not required to fail first.