Avoid son, despite changes (8)
I believe the answer is:
sidestep
'avoid' is the definition.
(sidestepping is a kind of avoiding)
'son despite changes' is the wordplay.
'son' becomes 's'.
'changes' indicates anagramming the letters.
'despite' is an anagram of 'idestep'.
's'+'idestep'='SIDESTEP'
(Other definitions for sidestep that I've seen before include "Shift to right or left" , "To avoid" , "Find a way round" , "Dodge - circumvent" , "Dodge (an issue?)" .)