In this episode, Sarah Stewart from the PDA Society is joined by Laura Hellfeld, an independent nurse, sleep consultant and PDA adult, to explore why sleep difficulties are so common for PDA children and adults, and what can help.

Laura brings both professional and lived experience to the conversation. She works extensively with families around daily living skills, including sleep, eating, hygiene and transitions, and she is also a parent to PDA children herself. Together, Sarah and Laura discuss how sleep challenges are often one of the most persistent and exhausting difficulties faced by PDA families.

The conversation looks at why sleep can feel so hard, including the role of anxiety, nervous system regulation, demand sensitivity and sensory differences. Laura explains how traditional sleep advice often does not work for PDAers, and why approaches that rely on control, routine or external pressure can increase distress rather than improve rest.

Part 1 focuses on understanding the underlying reasons behind sleep difficulties in PDA, and reframing sleep not as a behaviour problem, but as a nervous system issue that requires safety, flexibility and compassion.

Key Themes

• Why sleep difficulties are so common for PDA children and adults
• The link between anxiety, nervous system regulation and sleep
• Why traditional sleep strategies often do not work for PDAers
• Reframing sleep challenges as a need for safety rather than compliance
• The impact of poor sleep on the whole family

Deep Diver Subscriber Episode

For those who would like to go further, Part 2, an exclusive “Deep Diver” subscriber episode, is available through our Training Hub.
You can access it here:
https://training.pdasociety.org.uk/pda-podcasts/

Disclaimer

The views and opinions expressed by guest speakers in this podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the PDA Society. While we aim to provide balanced and inclusive discussions, individual experiences and perspectives may vary. The PDA Society is committed to using language and terminology that reflects the preferences of PDA and autistic people, but sometimes our guests may use language and terminology which differs. Appearance on our podcast is not an endorsement of an individual, and not all of our guests will align with our position on the issues discussed.

Further sources of support and information

• PDA Society Training Hub: https://training.pdasociety.org.uk/pda-podcasts/
• PDA Society Website: https://www.pdasociety.org.uk/
• PDA Society Training: https://www.pdasociety.org.uk/support-and-training/training/
• PDA Society Support Service: https://www.pdasociety.org.uk/support-and-training/support/