“Pathological Demand-Avoidance” as a “Profile of ASD” & “Profound Autism”.

Since the broadening of autism into a spectrum in the late 1980s, there have been constant attempts to create subtypes of autistic persons. By the early 2010s, the use of autism subtypes had largely fallen out of widespread practice. However, recently there is growing attention around two new proposed subtypes of “Pathological Demand-Avoidance” (PDA), as a “Profile of ASD”, and “Profound Autism”. This talk compares the rationale for these two proposed autism subtypes, along with their respective definitions, and how the critique of one category is often applicable to the other. Additionally, how the two categories represent autistic self-advocacy, and predict what will happen when “PDA Profile of ASD” is appropriated by “Profound Autism” advocates. Finally, we critically evaluate PDA strategies. There is a need to prioritise the integrity of the autism category over utilising “PDA Profile of ASD” and/ or “Profound Autism”.