Strewing and PDA Guide

A Neuroaffirmative Approach to Supporting Demand Avoidance

For PDAers with demand avoidant profile, everyday life can be experienced through a lens of heightened threat perception. Demands are not limited to instructions or expectations. They can be direct, subtle, relational, environmental, or even internally generated. This means that engagement, participation, and daily functioning are deeply influenced by how safe and autonomous the nervous system feels in any given moment.

PDA and Strewing

Within this context, strewing offers a practical, neuroaffirmative way of supporting engagement without increasing pressure.

Originally described by Sandra Dodd within unschooling, strewing has been meaningfully reconceptualised within PDA-informed practice as a way of reducing demand perception while still offering opportunities for connection, learning, and participation.

What Is Strewing in a PDA Context?

Within a demand avoidance framework, strewing can be defined as:

The intentional offering of sensory, environmental, or relational cues that a PDA individual can engage with or not, without expectation, instruction, or pressure.

The critical distinction is this:

The adult is not trying to get the child to do something.

The adult is creating conditions where engagement can happen safely.

Strewing as a Neuroaffirmative PDA Approach

For individuals with a PDA profile, the nervous system may interpret many everyday interactions as threats to autonomy.

This includes:

• Direct instructions

• Questions

• Praise

• Suggestions

• Planned activities

• Transitions

• Even perceived expectations

When this happens, the brain shifts into a protective state. Engagement is not accessible in the same way, regardless of interest or ability.

Strewing works because it:

• Removes direct demand

• Preserves autonomy

• Reduces relational pressure

• Allows the individual to remain in a regulated, thinking state

• Creates space for curiosity to emerge

It aligns with the understanding that:

Engagement is not a skill deficit. It is a state-dependent capacity.

The Nervous System Perspective

Strewing is effective because it supports a shift away from survival responses and towards regulation.

When pressure is reduced:

• The nervous system experiences greater safety

• The thinking brain becomes more accessible

• Flexibility increases

• Curiosity can re-emerge

• Engagement becomes possible

This reflects key principles from:

• Polyvagal-informed understanding of safety and connection

• Autonomy-based models of human motivation

• Trauma-informed approaches to learning and support

Core Principles of PDA Strewing

The core principles of strewing for PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance), offers a clear, neuroaffirmative framework for supporting Autistic individuals with demand avoidant profiles. Designed for parents, educators, and professionals, the core principles identify how strategies such as true autonomy, reducing demand perception, adult regulation, removing expectations of outcome, and consistency over time work together to create safe conditions for engagement. By shifting away from pressure-based approaches, strewing helps reduce nervous system activation and supports engagement, learning, and connection to emerge naturally.

1. True Autonomy

The individual must be free to:

• Engage

• Ignore

• Reject

• Return later

There can be no hidden expectation.

2. Non-Attachment to Outcome

The adult does not measure success by:

• Whether the activity is completed

• How long engagement lasts

• Whether learning is visible

The focus is on safety and trust over time.

3. Reduction of Demand Perception

The strategy is only effective if the offering is not experienced as a demand.

Even subtle cues such as:

• Tone

• Body language

• Watching closely

• Excitement about engagement

can shift the experience from invitation to pressure.

4. Consistency Over Time

Strewing is not a one-off strategy. It is a relational pattern.

Repeated low-pressure experiences communicate:

• You are not being controlled

• You are safe here

• Your autonomy is respected

5. Adult Regulation

The adult’s nervous system plays a central role.

A calm, regulated presence:

• Reduces perceived threat

• Increases felt safety

• Supports co-regulation

Types of Strewing in PDA Practice

Visual Strewing

Objects or activities are placed in the environment.

Examples:

• Art materials left on a table

• A favourite book open on the sofa

• Baking ingredients visible in the kitchen

• A puzzle set up but incomplete

The individual can approach or not.

Auditory Strewing

Ideas are introduced indirectly, without requiring response.

Examples:

• “I noticed the swimming pool is open today.”

• “It looks like the park has a new playground.”

• Conversations within earshot

This avoids triggering automatic refusal linked to direct questioning.

“You” Strewing

The adult engages in an activity themselves, without inviting participation.

Examples:

• Painting

• Baking

• Building something

• Reading nearby

This can feel safer because the individual is not being asked to perform or respond.

Declarative Language

Statements are used instead of questions or instructions.

Examples:

• “That was a loud noise.”

• “This task has lots of steps.”

• “My body feels calmer when it’s quiet.”

This introduces information without creating demand.

Sensory Strewing

Regulation supports are made available.

Examples:

• A basket of fidgets or textures

• Soft lighting

• Movement tools

• Weighted items

This supports nervous system regulation without requiring the individual to ask.

Functional Strewing

The environment supports daily life tasks.

Examples:

• Shoes placed near the door

• A water bottle beside a preferred space

• A school bag left open

• Materials visible but not mentioned

This reduces executive functioning demands without verbal prompting.

Everyday Applications

Supporting Learning

Rather than structured teaching:

• Materials are made available

• Interests are followed

• Learning emerges through engagement

Supporting Transitions

Instead of direct instructions:

• Environmental cues signal upcoming changes

• Options are visible rather than imposed

Supporting Regulation

Sensory supports are accessible without negotiation or request.

Supporting Daily Living

Tasks become more approachable when:

• Pressure is reduced

• Autonomy is preserved

• The environment does some of the work

Common Misunderstandings

Strewing is often misinterpreted as a subtle way to encourage compliance.

It is not:

• A strategy to increase task completion

• A way to prompt indirectly

• A behavioural intervention

• A method to “reduce avoidance”

If used with the intention of achieving a specific outcome, it may still be experienced as pressure.

What to Avoid

• Presenting too many options at once

• Drawing attention to the activity

• Praising in a way that creates expectation

• Turning engagement into a task

• Following up with demands

• Using strewing only during moments of resistance

What Changes Over Time

When strewing is used consistently and authentically, families can often begin to notice:

• Increased spontaneous engagement

• Reduced intensity of demand-related distress

• More flexible participation

• Greater sense of autonomy

• Improved relational trust

• Moments of unexpected connection

These changes are gradual and cumulative.

References:

Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) and the Nervous System:

1. Foundational Understanding of PDA:

• Newson, E., Le Maréchal, K. and David, C. (2003) ‘Pathological demand avoidance syndrome: a necessary distinction within the pervasive developmental disorders’, Archives of Disease in Childhood, 88(7), pp. 595–600. Available at: https://adc.bmj.com/content/88/7/595 (Accessed: 1 February 2025).

• Johnson, M. and Saunderson, H. (2023) ‘Examining the relationship between anxiety and pathological demand avoidance in adults: A mixed methods approach’, Frontiers in Education, 8, Article 1179015. Available at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2023.1179015/full (Accessed: 2 February 2025).

• O’Nions, E., Happé, F., Viding, E. and Noens, I. (2021) ‘Extreme demand avoidance in children with autism spectrum disorder: Refinement of a caregiver-report measure’, Advances in Neurodevelopmental Disorders, 5(3), pp. 1–13. Available at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41252-021-00203-z (Accessed: 1 February 2025).

• O’Nions, E., Christie, P., Gould, J., Viding, E. and Happé, F. (2014) ‘Development of the “Extreme Demand Avoidance Questionnaire” (EDA-Q): Preliminary observations on a trait measure for pathological demand avoidance’, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 55(7), pp. 758–768. Available at: https://acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jcpp.12149 (Accessed: 2 February 2025).

2. Neurophysiological Perspectives:

• Porges, S.W. (2011) The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-Regulation. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.

• Porges, S.W. (2001) ‘The polyvagal theory: phylogenetic substrates of a social nervous system’, International Journal of Psychophysiology, 42(2), pp. 123–146.

3. Insights for PDA Practitioners:

• O’Nions, E., Happé, F., Viding, E. and Noens, I. (2021) ‘Extreme demand avoidance in children with autism spectrum disorder: Refinement of a caregiver-report measure’, Advances in Neurodevelopmental Disorders, 5(3), pp. 1–13. Available at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41252-021-00203-z (Accessed: 1 February 2025)

• Haire, L., Symonds, J., Senior, J. and D’Urso, G. (2024) ‘Methods of studying pathological demand avoidance in children and adolescents: A scoping review’, Frontiers in Education, 9, Article 1230011. Available at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2024.1230011/full (Accessed: 1 February 2025).

4. Neuroscience and Trauma-Informed Perspectives:

• Porges, S.W. (2009) ‘Reciprocal influences between body and brain in the perception and expression of affect: A polyvagal perspective’, The Healing Power of Emotion: Affective Neuroscience, Development & Clinical Practice, pp. 27–54.

5. Real-World Lived Experience and Clinical Application:

• Christie, P. (2018) ‘PDA… the story so far’, PDA Society Resources. Available at: https://www.pdasociety.org.uk/resources/phil-christie-pda-the-story-so-far/ (Accessed: 1 February 2025).