Demand Avoidance Support Group 2026
Price range: $242.85 through $1,457.10
Session Details:
Where possible, clients are encouraged to come to all six sessions.
- 6 x 1.5 Hours Sessions: Up to 2 family members can attend each session
- Dates: Every Tuesday night from June 23 to July 28, 2026
- Time: 7pm – 8:30pm
- Location: Carina Clinic | 876 Old Cleveland Road, Carina QLD 4152
- For: Parents/guardians and family members of children with PDA/demand avoidance (childcare NOT provided)
- Cost: $242.85 per session (x4 or x6 sessions)
- Run by Speech Pathologists: Daisy Finlay
- Limited Places
- Payment Options: Pay upfront or pay as you go (at reception on the night of the session)
Supporting a child who strongly resists everyday demands can be exhausting and confusing. This clinician-led group helps parents and carers better understand high drive for autonomy (Demand Avoidance) and learn practical, neurodiversity-affirming strategies to
- reduce stress
- strengthen connections and
- create calmer daily routines
Suitable for families of autistic and other neurodivergent children and young people. No formal diagnosis required.
Understanding Demand Avoidance: Parent Training & Support Group
Does your child frequently resist everyday requests, avoid tasks, negotiate endlessly, or become distressed when faced with expectations? While many children find demands difficult at times, for some neurodivergent children and young people this can be part of a broader pattern known as a High Drive for Autonomy (Demand Avoidance).
This supportive, clinician-led group is designed to help parents and carers better understand what's happening beneath the behaviour and develop practical ways to respond with confidence and connection. Rather than focusing on compliance, we'll explore how anxiety, overwhelm, and the need for autonomy can influence a child's responses to everyday demands.
Throughout the program, you'll learn practical strategies to:
- Better understand demand avoidance and the factors that may be driving it
- Reduce stress around everyday demands, routines, and transitions
- Use calm, low-arousal approaches that support regulation and connection
- Communicate collaboratively to reduce conflict and escalation
- Respond to challenging situations with greater confidence
- Connect with other parents and carers in a supportive, non-judgemental environment
Sessions include gentle teaching, practical examples, real-life problem-solving, group discussion, and guidance from an experienced clinician who understands neurodivergent profiles. Families are welcome whether or not their child has received a formal diagnosis.
Walk away with a deeper understanding of your child, practical tools you can use immediately, and the reassurance that you're not navigating this journey alone.
