A 75-year-old grandmother from Oxford is about to walk Hadrian’s Wall to raise money for a charity which she says has been a lifeline for her family after her grandson was diagnosed with a little-known form of autism.

Jenny Steele’s six-year-old grandson Toby is PDA autistic.

PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance) is a profile of autism which causes individuals to feel anxious when presented with everyday requests or demands, this can trigger fight, flight or freeze responses.

Desperate to understand how to help and support Toby, Ms Steele and her family said they found invaluable information and support from The PDA Society, the UK’s only specialist charity for this type of autism.

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The caring grandma said: “It’s been a hugely challenging time for my family, and we have all been absolutely desperate to help Toby and understand PDA more.

“Finding the PDA Society and the specialist information they provide has been so vital.

“They are such a small charity trying to help so many people that I wanted to do something to help them provide the same invaluable help we got to other families.”

Traditional Autism strategies are unhelpful for PDA people.

This can make managing demands even harder leading to PDA people - especially children - being punished for their inability to comply with demands, further increasing their anxiety.

The PDA Society supports PDA people and their families, offering advice and support to help find strategies to improve their day-to-day lives.

Ms Steele’s family called the PDA Society’s enquiry line, which is run exclusively by volunteers who all have personal experience with PDA and were provided with strategies and resources to help understand and meet Toby’s complex needs.

Ms Steele said: “PDA means that individuals like Toby can struggle to comply with everyday demands and unfortunately, this avoidance is often viewed as defiance or laziness.

“As a family, we have seen how employing simple strategies to reduce demands and reframe necessary demands with less confrontational language has helped him to become less anxious and better able to enjoy everyday life.

“I’m thrilled to be supporting the PDA Society in the work they do.”

Ms Steele is beginning her challenge on September 9 with her cockapoo Dippy by her side every step of the way.

She’ll be walking 60 miles of Hadrian’s Wall in total with the aim being to do around six miles a day but with health and wellbeing in mind she’s going to be taking it slow and do it at a pace which suits her.

Ms Steele has already raised £1,870, which will allow the PDA Society to provide in-depth support including multiple contacts to 19 families, but she is hoping to raise much more.

If you can support Jenny and donate, then please visit her fundraising page at https://gofund.me/55777f8a

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This story was written by Matthew Norman, he joined the team in 2022 as a Facebook community reporter.

Matthew covers Bicester and focuses on finding stories from diverse communities.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Matthew.norman@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @OxMailMattN1