Izzy Judd has opened up about the challenges her and McFly drummer husband Harry Judd face as parents after disclosing the condition
Katie Wilson Showbiz Reporter and Tasha Hall Showbiz and Trends Reporter
17:54, 09 Oct 2025
McFly star Harry Judd’s wife Izzy revealed that one of their children has been diagnosed(Image: PA)
McFly star Harry Judd’s wife Izzy has revealed one of their three children has been diagnosed with Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA), a condition that makes it difficult to follow instructions.
The 41-year-old mum to Lola Rose, nine, and sons Kit, eight, and Lockie, four, opened up about the challenges both and her husband face as parents of a neurodiverse child.
PDA is often found in some individuals on the autism spectrum and is described by the PDA Society as a situation “where a person finds it hard to manage everyday tasks or demands, even those they want or need to do.”
Izzy shared insights into their family life during an appearance on former Love Island star Dr Alex George’s Stompcast podcast, although she did not disclose which of her children has the condition, as reported in the Mirror.
She explained: “From the moment a child wakes up in the morning, they are being told to eat their breakfast, get dressed, brush your teeth. And all these anxieties are forming in them – that people are putting pressure and demands on them.”
Izzy and Harry Judd and their three children – Lola Rose, Lockie and Kit (Image: Instagram )
The former Britain’s Got Talent finalist, who met her husband when her string quartet performed on McFly’s tour, added: “They don’t respond to authority or hierarchy. They want autonomy, they want to be in control.”
Discussing her and Harry’s approach, she revealed: “If you flip it and go, ‘I’ve left your clothes out,’ – I actually just don’t even say it anymore. And I don’t ask many questions at all because that’s placing a demand, and a demand is too anxiety-provoking.”
Revealing the diagnosis has compelled her to “let go of comparisons” of other people’s views on their parenting style, Izzy stated: “‘There are quite rigid societal expectations of how children are supposed to behave.
“Initially, I felt the judgement really heavily. You have to go through a kind of grief process that things aren’t going to be as you thought they would be.
“For a neurodivergent child, they’re physically unable to sit. It’s not because they don’t want to – they can’t. But then, as a parent, you’re going: ‘I need to teach my child to sit at the table and say please and thank you.’ What if they can’t look at somebody? What if that makes them feel really uncomfortable?”.
She added: “To the outsider looking in, they might see that as a sort of lazy parenting or a lack of discipline, or whatever it is they want to say.
“I kind of let go of being late a long time ago. The more pressure you feel – ‘You’ve got to go!’ – the more it’s going to slow everything down. Now I just shove them in the car, and if they’re cold, they’ll put on their coat. Once they feel the autonomy that they’re in control, amazing things happen.”
The mum-of-three revealed the pressure had driven them to avoid children’s birthday celebrations due to the overwhelming behavioural demands placed on families.
She explained: “Birthday parties are hugely challenging. If your child isn’t behaving ‘normally’, you spend the entire time conflicted about how to handle it. So a long time ago, I thought: why am I going to these parties? No one’s enjoying it.
“So we don’t don’t do birthday parties. Also, if we wrap a birthday present, we will say what’s in it. Not knowing what’s inside a present is a big thing – a big demand to open it and then be grateful and then say thank you.”
Urging schools to improve support for neurodiverse pupils, Izzy continued: “Our classrooms aren’t really inclusive. For a lot of our neurodivergent kids, everything in school is a struggle. It can just take a couple of teachers to really understand your child – that could be the difference between them being able to remain at school.”
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