Hi, I'm Sandra McConnell, and I'm the PDA Mama Bear.  I'm an instructor, speaker, and blogger.  I have two graduate certificates in Learning Differences & Neurodiversity in Executive Functioning/Autism (Landmark, 2021); M.A. in Forensic Psychophysiology (Argosy, 2006); and B.A. in Psychology/Criminology (UNM, 2006).   I have experience in organizational leadership, corporate communications, mediation & conflict resolution, negotiation & elicitation, photography, and even crime scene investigation.  I live in Maryland, USA, with my husband who's ADHD, my 12-year-old son who's PDA, my 9-year-old son who's ADHD, and my 5-year-old daughter who's TBD. 

And - plot twist! - I'm a diagnosed "Secret" Schizoid. Don't worry, it's not schizophrenia, it's actually on the same spectrum as autism, PDA, and ADHD, so I still identify as "positively PDA."  However, the schizoid lens and literature has been a huge help, because it's about 100 years older than PDA, and dares to examine what behavioral approaches ignore: the development of the "self." All people develop a sense of self, but PDA and Schizoid are differently-social, and both perceive demands as an INTRUSION or LOSS of their self, not a motivation, so the more you try to "pin them down" the more they resist (sound familiar?).  While PDA and Schizoids have similar crises, they "solve" it in different ways: PDA avoids, controls, and explodes, whereas Schizoids detach, fantasize, and fake.  In either case, their tactics are servants, not masters, to their true need, SAFETY. If you seek me out for coaching, we'll focus on discovering threats and how to forge a supportive,  unobtrsuive relationship of respect, warmth, wisdom, safety, and trust.