I'm Not Upside Down, I'm Downside Up: Not a Boring Book About PDA

by Danielle Jata-Hall, Harry Thompson, Mollie Sherwin (Illustrator)

Welcome to my downside up life! My name is Ariana and I have something called Pathological Demand Avoidance which is a form of autism. Most people just think I'm naughty and misbehaved, but I want to show you why that's not true by telling you about what my life is like from inside my head. Come join me in understanding why I feel like I have to be in control all the time and why it's just not as simple as doing as I am told.

Genres: Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Nonfiction

64 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 21, 2022

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

My son really feels empowered when learning more about himself and the Autistic community. I was hoping this book would be a good fit to better understand his PDA traits and experience of life. At times it did just that - but I felt the repeated violence/anger and throwing things at the parent did not get enough explanation.. or resolution in the story. I wasn’t exactly sure this was the right fit for our 9yr old to learn more about himself. I do appreciate the story very much but kind of wish it slowed down at times to further break down the way situations were feeling to the child in the story .. and what might help them in those moments, or to help them prevent getting to that level of disregulation - before hurting the parents and people they care about. I’m glad this book exists and helps people, but it just wasn’t the right fit for our young son to have an entry point to pda.

[Nick Barker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book as a parent of an autistic child, always intrigued to come across a book that had the possibility of further insight.
I’d read a couple of reviews, and what struck me from that was ‘what was the age range this is aimed at?’ Was it 7–12yrs, and some people questioning this. So I actually went into this book with this in mind. My findings are that this does not matter. I’m 49 - it was aimed at me; it will be the same for you, whoever you are.
It’s a quick read (this’ll keep the 7-77yr old happy 😉). It’s witty and extremely relatable.
My wife said upon finishing ‘I think this will make me a better parent’ - ooh, praise indeed.
The scenarios in this book are well thought out. It provides humour, and most importantly are deeper understanding of how a PDA’er tackles life.
Being a parent is tough, frustrating (I don’t need to tell you); but books like this can give me a moment of hope. Gives me a moment to know that I’m doing ok, but I can always learn more and do better.
It’s brilliant. I want everyone to have the chance to read a book like this and gain greater understanding. I plan on passing it to teachers at my son school - spreading the word.
“You can have my tongue”

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this to my 13 year old daughter. She is autistic and PDA. She enjoyed hearing about Ariana who is like her in many ways. This book was written to a level somewhere between 8-14 years. It's an easy read and the story is funny and interesting. It allowed my daughter to feel like she wasn't alone in how she feels. It's also a good book for parents to read, to see how their child may see the world and why they may act as they do. A good thing, if possible, is to read it together with your child. That way you can open up conversations, allow meaningful communication. So if you suspect your child may be PDA, please, please read this book.

And a final word from my daughter, 😛.

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was very relatable but also made me somewhat despairing because it wasn’t clear what Ariana’s parents could do to help her or create a family context that worked for the whole family.

[Dee G · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where to begin?

This book is both heartwarming and heartbreaking, in equal measure.

It shares vignettes into the life of a youngish female child with Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA), a profile of autism.

As an autistic parent of at least one autistic child (with PDA), I bought this book to help give my child an insight into how the feel. And there’s been lots of “that’s how I feel sometimes, mama!” moments as we read this book. For me, the book has solidified what I’ve already learnt about this autistic profile, and helps give me another way to connect to my child. It also gives me a fabulous resource to direct people who struggle to understand my child’s struggles towards.

This book should be compulsory reading for any person working with a child or adult PDA-er.

[Shelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fascination book written from the persceptive of an adolescent with this disorder. We've been dealing this for a while now. Here in the US, the professionals are more cluesless that us. Thank you for sharing this book. The mindset helps when you're losing your mind because your child seems so damn difficult on the outside but there is really so much more going on on the inside. As the child states: "why can't we accept them for them?" "why do force them to change?" I feel like I fot a little bit of fresh air after reading this book. I was telling our OT about it and I'll be buying her a copy to share because she wanted to know more. Maybe as parents we can get the information out there. Our kids are not troublemakers.

[Emma Fay · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short, punchy insight into PDA

A really useful book for anyone working in education. It's short - which is handy, as we all know time is precious working in schools! But it still manages to provide an accurate, clear insight into the mind of a PDA child. Great for understanding life from the child's point of view, how challenging and conflicting 'normal' everyday things can be, and what we as adults can do to make their lives a tiny bit easier, and offer support. Helpful book, thank you!

[J S · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rare first-person voice around life as a PDAer. Spot on examples, although I would have liked at least one of the adults to have learned something about appropriate interactions which would have helped - perhaps something more for a longer version of this book in time. How we respond to our PDA children is an important learning we all go through.

[Jackson Linko · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book does a great job of showing what life is like for someone with autism, but in a really positive way. The story is easy to understand, and the illustrations make it relatable. It’s a good book for kids and families to read if they want to learn about neurodiversity. Some parts might need explaining, but it’s a really nice story overall.

[Cath · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taken as it is meant to be this book is an insight of a child with a PDA profile and what the world looks like to them. It touches on the struggles of the parent to understand their child, the strains in the parent child relationship and the heartbreaking struggle to just understand.

[Cit Lennox · Rating 3 out of 5]

Devoured this in one sitting but will definitely go back and read it again, some really interesting insights into PDA and resulting actions and a reminder to always have the curious and imaginative sides of our brain open and not shut them off to behaviours we might seem "bad" or "difficult"

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth a read.

[MaryAnne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay story about a girl with autism and PDA (pathological demand avoidance) sometimes seen in children with autism.

[Karl Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Im not sure what to make of this book. A bit of “shock and awe”, without much solution suggesting. It almost needs a sequel book on how to deal with these situations

[Carissa Crow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book so much. It both broke my heart and gave me hope for our future generations, that there is possibilities of understanding, knowledge and compassion for them.