Understanding and Teaching AuDHD, PDA, ODD and RSD – Insights from Expert Laura Kerbey (Episode 323)

In this episode, I’ve taken excerpts from my previous interviews with Laura Kerbey:

✅ Shift Your Mindset About “Difficult” Students – Recognize that PDA students aren’t oppositional – they’re anxious. As Laura confessed, “there was nothing wrong with these children. It was the environment and it was me.”

✅ Give Students Autonomy Over Tasks – Provide choices and control to students with PDA, as demonstrated with the student who needed autonomy and dramatically improved once staff understood this need.

✅ Recognize “Can’t” vs “Won’t” – Understand that PDA students often WANT to do tasks but CAN’T due to anxiety, unlike ODD students who WON’T do tasks due to authority issues.

✅ Read Specialist Books Before Students Arrive – Prepare for incoming students by studying resources over summer break, as recommended in the podcast for teachers getting PDA or ADHD students next year.

✅ Use the Spider Analogy to Train Staff – Help colleagues understand the difference: “Can’t hold the spider” (PDA/anxiety) vs “Won’t hold your own spider” (ODD/defiance).

✅ Collaborate with Parents on Resources – When parents recommend books or resources, take them seriously – as one teacher discovered when a parent recommended Laura’s book on Facebook.

✅ Avoid Authority-Based Language – Understand that PDA students don’t recognize hierarchy or authority the same way, so traditional command-based approaches backfire.

✅ Create Environments That Reduce Demands – Modify the classroom environment rather than trying to change the student, as Laura learned when she realized “everything that I was doing was wrong.”

✅ Invest in Professional Development on Neurodiversity – Complete courses during summer to be prepared, with six months to finish rather than rushing during the school year.

✅ Share Knowledge with Transitioning Teachers – Inform next year’s teachers about students’ profiles, or purchase professional development courses that can be transferred to incoming staff.

Great Resources to Understand and Support children with PDA