
403: Claudia’s Parenting Journey with Pathological Demand Avoidance (Educational Therapy Series)
Learn Smarter PodcastShow Notes
Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET welcome Claudia, a former parent from My Ed Therapist, to the podcast. Claudia shares her journey with her daughter, Emma, who is autistic, has ADHD, and has Pathological Demand Avoidance (or “Persistent Demand for Autonomy”). Claudia shares about the impact of these diagnoses on her relationship with Emma and the family. She shares about how Stephanie’s rapport had a tremendous impact on Emma’s ability to be more flexible. She shares about the difficult decision to transition schools and the importance sports had for Emma. They chat about the role of perfectionism, how they approached the college decision, the importance of prioritizing the relationship with your child, and examining Claudia’s role as the parent.
Support us on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/learnsmarterpodcast
How to connect with us:
Join our e-mail list
Rachel’s Kapp Educational Therapy Group website
Steph’s My Ed Therapist website
@learnsmarterpodcast, @kappedtherapy, @myedtherapist
Other episodes mentioned:
Ep 309: Pathological Demand Avoidance with Diane Gould (Professionals Series)
More from Learn Smarter Podcast
Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET welcome registered dietician Jackie Silver, who specializes in nutrition for neurodivergent people. She talks about executive functioning systems for food, making the mealtime environment fun, and how to introduce new foods. Jackie also addresses how to find opportunities to explore foods outside mealtime and what she wants parents with neurodivergent kids to know about food and eating.
Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET welcome Dr. Oren Boxer, pediatric neuropsychologist, to discuss agency. They chat about how learners feel control and how agency is a bioeducational necessity. He shares prediction for movement IS executive functioning. They talk about the role of the parent in providing scaffolding and agency. Dr. Boxer shares that kids who have chores have less anxiety and depression (because it’s giving them agency). He shares the link between chores, contribution to the home, and agency that leads to predictable, productive and successful adult outcomes.
Last week, Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET, discussed what learners say versus what educational therapists hear. This week, they flip the conversation and talk about what parents say—and what educational therapists hear underneath those words.
Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET, discuss the things learners say all the time—and what educational therapists hear underneath those words. From “I don’t care” and “I forgot” to “I’ll do it later” and “I already studied,” Rachel and Stephanie explain why these statements often tell us much more about a learner’s executive functioning, anxiety, overwhelm, avoidance, or skill gaps than we might initially think.
Newsflash: there is no such thing as an academic emergency. In this re-air of episode 90, Rachel Kapp, M.Ed., BCET, and Stephanie Pitts, M.Ed., BCET share what an academic emergency is, how parents can respond to a perceived emergency, and what some strategies are for preventing them. They also dig into how to keep long term goals in mind when these situations arise.