About this episode

Justin shares his family's journey applying the PDA lens over the past year, discussing challenges and strategies for parenting his PDA son.

What does a year of applying the PDA lens actually look like in a real family? Justin joined the Paradigm Shift Program in the summer of 2025 and is back a year later to share what shifted, what is still hard, and what he has learned along the way. Justin is a father of two, works in cybersecurity, and lives in Ohio. His 13-year-old PDA son spent years in a specialized school before school refusal led the family to unschooling. In this episode Justin shares how he tracks his son's indicators using an app he built himself, how he navigated the screen time question through the 4S Framework, and the creative accommodation strategies - including fart pills! - that have made daily life genuinely more workable. Key Takeaways How Justin Found PDA and What the First Year of Applying It Looked Like | 00:01:35 Justin first encountered PDA through social media, and it was a video about equalizing after school that made things click. Before that, the best explanation he had for his son was that he was a very independent kid who could not take no for an answer. Years of consequences and putting a foot down made things worse, and his son eventually hit burnout. What changed for him after the…

People in this episode

Host: Casey

Guest: Justin

Topics covered

• PDA parenting
• family dynamics
• unschooling
• screen time management
• parenting strategies
• child development

Keywords

• PDA
• parenting
• cybersecurity
• screen time
• unschooling
• family
• indicators tracking
• 4S Framework
• accommodation strategies

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Paradigm Shift Program

Products: fart pills

Places: Ohio

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• Throwback: Is Pathological Demand Avoidance the Same as Autism, ADHD, or Anxiety? | Ep. 175 · August 11, 2026 · 23 min
• Why You're Walking On Eggshells: Cumulative Nervous System Activation And Your PDA Child Or Teen | Ep. 174 · August 4, 2026 · 18 min
• Finding Meaning as a Parent of a Pathological Demand Avoidance Child or Teen | Ep. 173 · July 28, 2026 · 18 min

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