You Don't Know How I Feel

The animation "You Don't See How I Feel" challenges misconceptions about a form of autism called PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance) and fosters a deeper understanding of the condition. Many PDA individuals struggle with a lack of recognition and support, and this animation aimed to bridge that gap by illustrating their internal experiences. The target audience was broad, including PDAers, parents, educators, healthcare professionals, and policymakers, all of whom play a crucial role in supporting PDA individuals. This meant we had to sympathetically reflect the PDA experience while also convincing viewers that change is needed. The animation was developed off the back of an extensive research phase, incorporating first-hand insights from PDA individuals and families. A focus group was conducted in a safe environment, where we gathered lived experiences that informed the script and visual narrative. One key challenge identified was the widespread misunderstanding of PDA, often perceived as defiant behaviour rather than an anxiety-driven response. This insight shaped the animation's approach, ensuring it focused on emotional authenticity and dismantling stereotypes. The animation was designed to be both evocative and informative, using a mix of metaphor and realism to communicate the internal struggles of PDA individuals. We wanted to tell a visual story, counterposing external demands against internal emotion. We did this by using bold distressed type to represent other people’s demands and visual metaphors provided by PDAers themselves, such as drowning, fire, and paralysis to convey the overwhelming nature of these experiences. A common stereotype associated with autism is that it only affects young, white males. We countered this by ensuring a broad, range of PDA voices across age, gender and cultural groups.
To preserve the anonymity of the contributors, we ran their direct quotes through AI software to disguise contributors for the
final film. The result was authentic and respectful. In the first week of the campaign, donations increased fourfold on the previous year and continued received positive praise from PDAers and their families on social and in letters and emails to the charity.