To be recognized, a sufficient amount of consensus and clinical history needs to be present, and as a newly proposed condition, PDA had not met the standard of evidence required at the time of recent revisions. However, DSM-5 also moved from sub-type classification to the use of ‘Autistic Spectrum Disorder’, which allows for the behavioural traits of different profiles to be described. In 2011, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence commented on the fact that PDA has been proposed as part of the autism spectrum but did not include further discussion within the guideline. NICE guidance also expects an ‘ASD’ diagnosis be accompanied by a diagnostic assessment, providing a profile of key strengths and difficulties. Demand Avoidance is listed as a ‘sign or symptom of ASD’ (Appendix 3).Christopher Gillberg wrote a commentary article in 2014 that reviewed recent research and stated, “Experienced clinicians throughout child psychiatry, child neurology and paediatrics testify to its existence and the very major problems encountered when it comes to intervention and treatment.”

Proposed diagnostic criteria
As of 2014 there are no recognized diagnostic criteria.
When Newson was made professor of developmental psychology at the University of Nottingham in 1994, she dedicated her inaugural lecture to talking about pathological demand avoidance syndrome.In 1997, the PDA Society was established in the UK by parents of children with a PDA profile of autism. It became a registered charity in January 2016.In July 2003, Newson published in Archives of Disease in Childhood for PDA to be recognized as a separate syndrome within the pervasive developmental disorders.In 2020, an Incorporated Association was established in Australia. Pathological Demand Avoidance Australia Inc. became a registered charity early 2021. Bibliography
Fidler, Ruth; Christie, Phil (2019). Collaborative Approaches to Learning for Pupils with PDA: Strategies for Education Professionals. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ISBN 9781784502614. == References ==