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Today, I’m happy to sit down with Monica Corrado to explore Pathological Demand Avoidance, also referred to as Pervasive Drive for Autonomy (PDA), within the context of evaluation and clinical practice. We discuss how the intense need for autonomy manifests in testing environments, why traditional standardized measures such as Wechsler intelligence scales often induce distress for PDA kids, and how alternative tools like the Differential Ability Scales offer a more valid representation of cognitive potential. Monica shares practical clinical strategies for ceding control, maintaining rapport, and interpreting behavioral process over raw numerical scores. We also examine differential diagnosis, contrast PDA profiles with oppositional defiant disorder, review rating scale patterns across parent and teacher informants, and highlight actionable post-assessment support strategies for families and educators.
Main Topics Discussed- 02:40: Personal resonance with autonomy and the fundamental drive for independence
- 05:22: Identifying PDA in clinical practice and exploring historical background
- 08:09: Conceptualizing PDA, social attunement, and re-evaluating manipulative behavior
- 14:36: Distinct clinical features differentiating PDA from classic autistic profiles
- 20:27: Evaluating process over scores and using the Differential Ability Scales over Wechsler batteries
- 28:24: Managing power dynamics and non-standard administration strategies in testing
- 42:27: Differential diagnosis: PDA versus ODD/CD and interpreting parent and teacher rating scales
- 56:13: Actionable recommendations, school environment modifications, and community support networks
Cool Things Mentioned
- Craft: the premier membership community for testing psychologists
- Crafted Practice: the only in-person business retreat for testing psychologists
- Reverb: the premier AI-powered report-writing platform for testing psychologists
- Differential Ability Scales (DAS-II): www.pearsonassessments.com
- Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-V): www.pearsonassessments.com
- Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition (ADOS-2): www.wpspublish.com
- Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC-4): www.pearsonassessments.com
- Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF-2): www.parinc.com
- Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (Vineland-3): www.pearsonassessments.com
- Conners 4th Edition (Conners 4): www.mhs.com
- Thrive Autism Coaching: www.thriveautismcoaching.com
- Hive Parents: www.hiveparents.com
- Colorado Assessment Society: www.coloradoassessmentsociety.org
- Autism Society of Colorado: www.autismcolorado.org
- PDA Society: www.pdasociety.org.uk
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Monica is a clinical psychologist who specializes in assessment, particularly psychoeducational assessment. She has experience working with anxious test takers and PDA students who may be hesitant or resistant to testing. She makes it her utmost priority to give families testing results that accurately reflect their child, and not the test or testing environment. She feels strongly that the assessment process, report, and feedback session are just the start of the relationship rather than the end product, and she feels passionately about working with families to implement the best recommendations for them.
Get in touch:
I’m a licensed psychologist and Clinical Director at the Colorado Center for Assessment & Counseling, a private practice that I founded in 2009 and have grown to over 20 clinicians. I earned my undergraduate degree in Experimental Psychology from the University of South Carolina before getting my Master’s and PhD in Counseling Psychology from Colorado State University. These days, I specialize in psychological and neuropsychological evaluation with kids and adolescents.
As the host of the Testing Psychologist Podcast, I provide private practice consulting for psychologists and other mental health professionals who want to start or grow psychological testing services in their practices. I live in Fort Collins, Colorado with my wife (also a therapist) and two young kids.
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