Understand, support, and empower individuals with PDA—especially children and young people on the autism spectrum.
Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) is a complex, often misunderstood profile of autism. It is characterised by an extreme avoidance of everyday demands and expectations, often driven by anxiety. While PDA can present significant challenges in communication, emotional regulation, and daily life, the right support and understanding can make all the difference.
The PDA Diploma Course provides you with in-depth knowledge of the condition, how it differs from similar disorders, and proven strategies to support children, adolescents, and their families.
Certified
Accredited
9 Modules
Study Group Access
Earn reward points
✅ Parents, guardians, and family members of children with PDA
✅ Teachers, SENCOs, and classroom assistants seeking PDA-specific strategies
✅ Therapists, social workers, and healthcare professionals working with children and adolescents
✅ Anyone supporting individuals on the autism spectrum with high anxiety and demand avoidance behaviours
✅ Individuals looking to deepen their understanding of neurodiversity and child development
The Pathological Demand Avoidance Diploma will take you up to 150 hours to complete, working from home. There is no time limit for completing this course, it can be studied in your own time at your own pace. This is a Level 3 course and will give you 150 CPD (Continued Professional Development) points.
Upon completion of your course assessments, you receive 2 certificates. A certificate from the Centre of Excellence and a CPD certificate displaying the number of CPD points earned from the course.
Many Centre of Excellence courses are Fully Accredited by the world’s leading professional membership association for natural medicine – The Complementary Medical Association (The CMA).
You can apply to join The CMA as a Student Member while you are still studying, and if you do so, you will be eligible to use the post-nominal letters CMA after your name.
Upon graduation from a qualifying course, you will be eligible to apply for CMA Membership, and this will give you numerous professional benefits, including being able to use the letters MCMA after your name – Member of The Complementary Medical Association. This will demonstrate your commitment to excellence and professionalism in the natural healthcare field.
Register with The CMA as a Student or fully qualified Practitioner via the CMA website. You will be asked to submit your certificate of graduation and proof of insurance.
The CMA’s recommended insurers are Westminster global.
This course is endorsed by the Quality Licence Scheme. Therefore, upon successful completion of this course, learners can also receive a certificate of achievement from Quality Licence Scheme and a Learner Unit Summary, which lists the details of all the units the learner has completed as part of the course. (This certificate is optional and costs an additional £25).
The Quality Licence Scheme is part of the Skills and Education Group, a charitable organisation that unites education and skills-orientated organisations that share similar values and objectives. With more than 100 years of collective experience, the Skills and Education Group’s strategic partnerships create opportunities to inform, influence and represent the wider education and skills sector.
The Skills and Education Group also includes two nationally recognised awarding organisations; Skills and Education Group Awards and Skills and Education Group Access. Through their awarding organisations they have developed a reputation for providing high-quality qualifications and assessments for the education and skills sector. They are committed to helping employers, organisations and learners cultivate the relevant skills for learning, skills for employment, and skills for life.
Their knowledge and experience of working within the awarding sector enables them to work with training providers, through the Quality Licence Scheme, to help them develop high-quality courses and/or training programmes for the non-regulated market.
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The best quality online courses at the very best price. Really well done, the courses are easy to understand and you make the subjects really interesting. Staff are helpful and supportive. You are truly the centre of excellence!
What's not to love about learning with the CoE
The course modules are in-depth & easy to read/understand. Prior to carrying out the assessment you are able to consolidate your learning by completing the test your knowledge & bullet pointing the learning objectives. Further to this, once you have completed each assessment you receive feedback, and you receive feedback once you complete the course.
Any issues you may encounter, the team at COE are on hand and respond quickly & efficiently - double bonus, you have lifetime access to all the courses you complete, great to revisit & brush up on your knowledge & they have online support through their Facebook group.
I really enjoyed this course. It was a lot more in depth and informative than I thought it would be.
I will definitely use the new knowledge and skills within my work.
Desc: I have done over 15 courses with CoE already and I can only recommend them. Friendly customer support, great topics, very alternative and unique courses you'll hardly find anywhere else. Also a huge selection of different interests, there is something for everyone. Great discount codes running at all times! What started as a way to cope with COVID has become a true passion for me. Thank you CoE!
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