The Wild Child PDA Foundation is dedicated to supporting families of young people with Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA), and the organisations involved in their care and education.
We support people with a PDA nervous system pattern and their loved ones in thriving, regardless of diagnosis status. Our core offerings include tailored PDA Therapeutic NVR courses, family support services, collaborative research, and training programs.
Our Story
Raising a Wild Child & The Wildheart Foundation was created by Suzan Issa. In 2024 we came into the remarkable situation of being gifted a living legacy to support families of children with a PDA profile and so .... we began The Wild Child PDA Foundation.
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What is PDA?
Our PDAers have autonomic nervous systems that very easily go into survival mode (i.e. fight, flight, freeze or fawn). This happens when faced with a loss of autonomy, control, social equality, or co-regulation.
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When activated enough, a PDAer's nervous system triggers around autonomy and control will compromise or completely disable the ability to meet one or more needs of daily life. This is clinically called demand avoidance.
The desire for autonomy, control, a sense of social equality is intense in a person with PDA that it can hinder their ability to fulfill basic (survival) needs or engage in activities they genuinely want to do, such as leaving the house, brushing their teeth, taking a shower, trying new foods, attending social get-togethers, staying safe, or showing empathy and kindness to loved ones. This behaviour is not indicative of a flawed character, it simply reflects the distress experienced by the sensitive nervous system of someone with PDA.
An unregulated PDAer is characterised by certain noticeable behaviours, including a strong aversion to daily tasks, the use of social strategies to evade situations, emotional deregulation, extreme anxiety and obsessive behaviours typically focused around another person.
A regulated PDAer can be characterised by having tenacity, charming, extreme empathy, creative, animal lovers, active, caring, talkative, self led, self taught, hyper-focused and great company.
While everyone experiences triggers or 'activations' at times, people with PDA have nervous systems that detect danger when they encounter a lack of autonomy, control, social equality, or a loss of co-regulation in their daily lives. This response can debilitate our PDAers, as it restricts their ability to function and thrive unless accommodations are provided.
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A PDAer may show this threat response immediately, internalise it (mask) until they feel safe to express it, or may carry this sense of threat within them for years, often without understanding the cause of their struggles.
Responses to PDA threats can look like:
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Fight: Engaging in behaviours such as critiquing, correcting, objecting, yelling, hitting, breaking things, swearing, insulting, or throwing objects.
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Flight: Involves changing the subject, making excuses, exhibiting manic silliness, feeling an urge to run, climbing on furniture, hiding, or fainting.
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Freeze: Characterised by situational mutism, a racing heart accompanied by an immobile body, slapping arms, rocking, or an inability to move, with thoughts like "my legs don’t work."
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Flop: Includes situational mutism, feeling sleepy, falling asleep, yawning, staring blankly, slowing down thoughts, dissociating, or being unable to move.
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Fawn: Manifested through strict adherence to rules, smiling despite fear, pleasing others out of anxiety, or creating additional rules to follow.
Some individuals with PDA may unconsciously regulate their threat response by establishing strict rules around for filling basic needs. For instance, these rules might involve food choices unrelated to taste or texture, only using a specific bathtub or soap, wearing certain types of clothing, or permitting only specific people inside their home.
What sets PDA rigidity apart from the preferences of other sensitive individuals is that when their nervous system is activated, a PDAer cannot relent from these rules, even if they wish to, or if a loved one attempts to reason with them. This rigidity arises from a survival response to a perceived threat, which is often subconscious and resides within the nervous system.
Our Approach
Our approach is incredibly effective for recovering from burnout, but its true essence goes beyond just that. It's about understanding how everyones nervous system functions and that of our PDAers. This allows us to design lives that align with our unique needs. By doing so, we can create environments that support us all along the way, helping to prevent burnout from ever taking root.​
We believe that the distress experienced by our PDAers comes from a sensitive nervous system, pressured by the 'modern culture' created by the Western World, which is very different from the environment our nervous systems developed in.
Our understanding and approach comes from lived experience and
what it is like to be PDA and as parents to a PDAer. We understand the disabling threat response as well as the beautiful gifts that come with a wild PDAer.
Meet The Team
Our Partners
