Workshop descriptions

  • Workshop I: Understanding the PDA Neurotype

    This class is focused on understanding the PDA neurotype. We’ll talk about what PDA means, what demands are, and what PDA nervous systems need. Students will learn to see PDA as a natural variation in nervous system wiring and will understand how PDA traits make sense from the internal perspective of a person with the PDA neurotype.

  • Workshop II: Accommodating PDA as a Nervous System Disability

    This class is focused on exploring strategies for meeting the needs of PDA individuals. We’ll talk about demand avoidance, demand resistance, equalizing, low demand environments, and how to support the PDA nervous system with consent, choice, and autonomy. We will also discuss internalized PDA and strategies for helping people who tend to fawn to demands rather than avoid them.

Who is this for?

This set of two workshops is open to anyone who is interesting in learning about the PDA neurotype from a disability studies & neurodiversity paradigm lens. 

Most past students fall into one or both of these categories. 

- People who are neurodivergent (or exploring the possibility of being neurodivergent) who want to better understand their own life experience and the experiences of their neurodivergent friends and family members. 

- Professionals who help neurodivergent clients. This includes therapists, coaches, teachers, counselors, social workers, somatic practitioners, massage therapists, and other types of helping professionals like teachers and community organizers. 

The information in this set of workshops is useful for nervous system beginners as well as for people who have a lot of nervous system education already and are looking to expand and/or contextualize that information. 

This work is rooted in the Neurodiversity Paradigm and blends the lived experience of the neurodivergent community with many references to the currently existing research. A short optional reading list is included for further study. 

The Lived Experience of the PDA Neurotype

I started learning about my PDA neurotype soon after my Autism diagnosis at age 29 (2018). At the time I was in Autistic burnout and I was experiencing daily self-care tasks as demands that my body needed to resist in order to feel safe. 

Understanding PDA as a subconscious need for autonomy has allowed me to get very creative about finding ways to meet that need. While this workshop will touch on ways for parents and teachers to help PDA children, it will largely focus on how I have learned to accommodate myself as a PDA adult. 

I share information about PDA, not as an authoritative expert, but as a person who has first-hand experience and quite a lot of direct observation of PDA in other neurodivergent folks. 

This mini workshop series is designed to facilitate greater understanding of these appeasement responses and to inspire peer support and exchange of ideas around this common neurodivergent experience. 

Although this is an educational class, and not a trauma processing space, many students have reported transformational experiences from previous classes. 

This series is specifically focused on viewing the body as an ally. Our bodies don't hate us. They're on our side, especially when we are resisting demands. 

On Being "Canaries in the Coal Mine

This will be the 5th set of workshops I've shared this year. All of them fit the theme of diving into what it means to be metaphorically the "canaries in the coal mine." This concept was originally used in the 1990s to describe Autistic people, but it also fits the experience of many sensitive neurotypes. 

Previous & future workshops are sold separately. 
March - Systemic Trauma & the Stress Cycle
June - Sensory Trauma
August - Freeze, Fawn, Masking
Sept - The PDA Neurotype
Nov - The Neuroscience of Community & C-PTSD - updated for 2026



Pricing options

The cost for 3-4 hours of workshop time is $140. If that amount is financially dificult, you can choose the sliding scale rate, no questions asked. If the reduced cost is inaccessible, please scroll down to the end of the page to find the scholarship application. Each paid spot in the course makes one free scholarship spot available for someone else.

FAQ

  • How long do we have access to the videos?

    Recordings are lifetime access. If we ever move away from Thinkific (this course platform), we'll upload the videos to YouTube and send you a private link to access them. You can also download recordings to keep permanently.

  • Is there a way to ask Janae questions about this series?

    Yes! Each of the two sessions will have at least 30 minutes of Q & A time after the presentation of information.

  • Would this course work for a high school student?

    Yes, but it's especially important for teens and young adults to have someone they trust to talk with about this info beyond the class setting.

  • Are there CEUs?

    Check with your supervisor! My in-person groups count for CEUs but online groups have varying requirements. If you need documentation, you can create a certificate for Janae to sign off on.

  • Can I buy the course as a gift for someone else?

    Yes! Gifting educational opportunities is a great way to support someone in your life. When you go to the checkout page, you can click the box next to "This is a Gift" and then add the recipients email address.

Facilitator / Teacher

Janae Elisabeth

Trauma Geek

Janae (they/she/he) is an information synthesizer who has been studying polyvagal theory and related nervous system models for 9 years. Their specialty is tying together threads of information from many different fields to create a holistic understanding of the nervous system and neurodivergence. Janae has deeply studied these topics in an effort to understand herself better as an AuDHD PDAer with complex trauma. Since 2018, they have been teaching about trauma, the nervous system, and neurodiversity through local peer support circles and through the advocacy and education project, Trauma Geek. Past students in Janae's courses have reported transformational experiences including more self-love, more gentleness with themselves, more understanding of their own bodies, more acceptance of themselves, and more connection to community. For legal reasons, please note, Janae is not a counselor or therapist.