Shifting gears: Building safety and connection with PDA students

Live webinar: Tuesday, 11 August 2026
Time: 3:30pm – 4:30pm AEST (Sydney)
Duration: 1 hour
Presenter: Lydia Meem, Clinical Psychologist
CPE: 1 hour (certificate provided)
Access: Live attendance + recording and resources

Webinar Summary

Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) is often misunderstood in school settings, leading to escalating behaviour plans, increased consequences, and growing distress for both students and staff.

In this webinar neurodivergent clinical psychologist, Lydia Meem explores why traditional teaching and behaviour management strategies frequently fail for students with a PDA profile, and how a compliance-based approach can unintentionally increase anxiety, resistance, and relational breakdown.

Instead, this session focuses on building safety, trust, and connection as the foundation for engagement and learning. Grounded in psychological understanding and practical school-based experience, the webinar supports educators to rethink expectations, language, and responses in ways that reduce threat and support participation.

This Webinar Covers

• What PDA is and how it presents in school environments

• Why compliance-based strategies often escalate distress for students with PDA

• Understanding demand, threat perception, and anxiety-driven responses

• Common classroom practices that unintentionally increase pressure

• Shifting from:

  • control to collaboration

  • instruction to invitation

  • compliance to connection

• Practical strategies to:

  • reduce perceived demands

  • build emotional safety

  • support engagement without power struggles

• Supporting staff confidence when working with complex and misunderstood profiles

Learning Objectives

By the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:

• Understand why traditional behaviour and teaching strategies are ineffective for students with PDA

• Recognise signs of demand-related distress in the classroom

• Adjust language, expectations, and routines to reduce threat

• Apply relationship-based strategies that prioritise safety and trust

• Support engagement without relying on rewards, consequences, or coercion

• Feel more confident working with students who present with high avoidance and anxiety

About Lydia Meem

Lydia Meem is a neurodivergent clinical psychologist and founder of Autism Understanding, specialising in neurodiversity-affirming assessment, education, and professional training. A Fellow of the APS College of Clinical Psychologists, Lydia has worked with neurodivergent individuals since 1998 and is an internationally recognised speaker on autism and neurodiversity. She provides training and clinical supervision for psychologists and educators, including the Supporting Autistic Students online course and customised training for schools.

Access & Pricing

• Individual webinar access: $99 incl. GST

• Full 10-part series: $550 incl. GST
  (Includes this webinar plus nine additional sessions in the Engaging Neurodivergent Learners series)

All participants receive access to the webinar recording, downloadable resources, and a CPE certificate upon completion.

REGISTER NOW

Please note: This event is only accessible to people who have paid for registration. Inviting additional staff or persons to watch with you is strictly prohibited without additional registration. For large group registrations, please contact us for group pricing.