.png)
Attuned Spectrum: Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) Autism Parenting Support | Low Demand Parenting
Is every day a battle you didn’t sign up for? You’re not failing. Your child isn’t broken. The approach just needs to change.
The Attuned Spectrum Podcast is for parents navigating the complex, exhausting, and often isolating reality of raising a PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance) autistic child — whether they’re five, fifteen, or twenty-five.
Hosted by Chantal Hewitt — Family Autism Support Coach, experienced educator, late-diagnosed autistic, ADHD and PDA mum of three neurodivergent children including a PDA son — this is the podcast that meets you where you actually are. Not where you’re supposed to be.
Here we move beyond behaviour management and into nervous system safety, low-demand parenting, and connection-first approaches that actually work. We cover school refusal, autistic meltdowns, co-regulation, PDA burnout, and the transition to adulthood that nobody prepares you for.
If you’ve ever Googled “is it me?” at 11pm — this is your place.
New episodes fortnightly. Follow so you never miss one.
Attuned Spectrum: Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) Autism Parenting Support | Low Demand Parenting
Latest Episodes
The Burnout Nobody Talks About | What PDA Parenting Actually Costs You
You can get through the day, keep the wheels turning, and still feel completely empty the moment the house goes quiet. That specific kind of exhaustion is what we’re naming today, the nervous system toll of parenting a child with a PDA profile,...
.png)
Interoception Changes How We Teach Regulation for PDA Autistic and Neurodivergent Kids (Guest Kelly Mahler)
Meltdowns, shutdowns, and “out of nowhere” explosions often get labelled as behaviour problems, but what if they come from not supporting our children to really listen to their bodies, first? I sit down with award-winning occupation...
PDA Parenting: Your Child Does Not Need Fixing, but Your Home Might
PDA can make parenting feel like a full-time job in nervous system management, and it’s easy to believe the answer is learning more techniques for your autistic child. We’re taking a different angle: the family system. When one person is chroni...
PDA Parenting: What If Being Strong Makes It Worse?
“Staying strong” sounds like good parenting, until you realise it can be the very thing that keeps your home stuck in stress. When we push through, mask our distress, and put ourselves last, our kids often feel it anyway because their nervous s...
You Aren't Alone: A Mother's Story To Understanding Pathological Demand Avoidance
If you’ve ever looked at your child and thought, “I’ve tried everything, so why is this still getting worse?”, you’re not alone. I’m sharing our story from the inside, not as a polished expert, but as a mum who felt lost and deeply blamed, then...
Fan Mail
Yes we need help to brush teeth
Tucson, Arizona