of their heads arguing with each other: one telling them that they can do it and the other telling them that they absolutely can’t. They explained that this voice telling them not to do something can become very loud and controlling and it is exhausting to try to ignore this voice. Some explain that this voice ordering them not to do something can at times paralyse them, stopping them from doing what they want to and can do.
It is indeed very tricky to put into words what goes on inside your head when confronted by demands. Feel free to do a drawing to explain this if you prefer to use images rather than words. If you want to do so now or later on, please do it here. It would be really useful for everyone to understand how hard some demands are for you.
Why can’t I just do it!?
You might have felt that although you have the skills to do something you are asked to do – for example putting your shoes on to get out of the house – at times, you just can’t get yourself to do it. This can be very frustrating.
• Which are the requests you struggle most with?
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• Who are the people who ask you to do more things that you find it tricky to cooperate with?
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What might be
making it difficult?
Some young people with
PDA have told us that when
they are having a bad day, a day
when they are feeling stressed out and
on edge, they can’t do small things that
on good days they can manage to do fine.
The young people we have worked with have told us that the following things make it more difficult to meet a demand.
When you’ve already been trying hard, things are
more difficult:
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Can you think of other circumstances that might
make you less able to meet a demand placed on
you? You might want to write them here:
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Trying hard to explain the
reasons for not being
able to do something
