Nana’s House

A PDA treat

by Neurospicy Poems

Characters from left to right: Second-born Son and Nana.

We were off to celebrate

a friend’s birthday.

But leaving the house

is war.

The clock ticks louder

than our patience.

Three whirlwind boys,

two frantic parents—

always late.

Restaurants are worse.

Running feet.

Chairs scraping.

Voices rising.

Strangers staring.

Chaos everywhere.

But my middle boy said—

“I don’t want to go.

I want Nana’s house.”

His PDA speaking

not defiance,

but survival.

Too many rules,

too many eyes,

too many demands.

So I called.

She said yes.

He packed a little bag,

clutched it like armour,

and off we went.

I braced myself—

waiting for the phone to ring:

“He won’t behave.

Come back.”

Instead,

a message lit up my screen:

“He’s colouring with my special pens.

Watching Sonic.

Eating his sandwich and Coke.

I can’t believe

how good he’s being.”

When I arrived,

he was sprawled on her bed,

remote in hand,

eyes glowing with contentment.

He didn’t want to leave.

“Me on this side,

Nana on the other.”

She said he’d been restless at first,

into everything—

so she let him lead.

And it worked.

Hours side by side,

drawing,

quiet.

He even asked for a hug.

He reached for connection

because he felt safe.

He was calm

because he was free.

He was gentle

because he was trusted.

My boy,

so often wild,

so often misunderstood—

at Nana’s house

he was simply himself.

—

Author’s Notes

This poem tells the story of my second-born son, who has a PDA profile. While we went out to a restaurant for a friend’s birthday, he chose to spend the evening at his Nana’s house instead.

It captures how hard it can be to get three lively, neurodivergent boys out of the house, the panic of being late, and the pressure of restaurant settings where social rules and judgment weigh heavily.

The voices speaking here:

 • Mother – narrating the chaos, the worry, and the relief.

 • PDA (in my son) – showing up as resistance to demands, not out of defiance but as a way of surviving environments that feel overwhelming.

 • Autism (in me) – present in the detail, the awareness of order and time, and the fear of public scrutiny.

 • Nana – the quiet enabler of safety, offering trust, freedom, and unconditional acceptance.

• True Self – in the gentle recognition that his behaviour makes sense when viewed through the right lens, ending with acceptance and pride.

This is not just a story about a boy “behaving” for his Nana. It’s a story about what happens when PDA is understood, when freedom is given, when trust is built. It’s about how connection blooms where safety is honoured.

—

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Part of the Neurodivergent Inner Voice Framework™ & taught via the Neurodivergent Voice Method™

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