ARFID

Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder

Addressing the impact of ARFID by overcoming barriers to change

Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) is categorized as an eating disorder. There are sensory based challenges that result in consuming a narrow range of foods, a lack of interest around mealtimes, or an intense fear of foods, leading to significant avoidance. Dietary restrictions pose obstacles in the nutritional, growth, and psychosocial aspects of health. ARFID contributes to difficulties in family dynamics, affecting intra- and interpersonal relationships.

“When we don’t examine the deeper assumptions behind why we gather…we forgo the possibility of creating something memorable, even transformative.”

Priya Parker

The art of gathering: How we meet and why it matters

Establishing a mealtime system that works for you

Therapy approaches eating and feeding as a system. Eating is a regard for oneself and the compassion we have toward our bodies. Feeding stems from acceptance, trust, and connection around food. When combined, eating and feeding are a reflection of our attitudes and relationships. Mealtimes are intention based, which means that we don’t focus on getting your child to try new foods. We create a specific purpose for your gathering so you, and your child, can acknowledge a challenge, accept a change, and appreciate the value of a meal.

Coupled with models that drive health behavior change, ARFID is viewed from a trauma-informed lens. We identify barriers and habits, letting go of ineffective methods to reach self-efficacy. As an internal motivational process, self-efficacy is influenced by how capable an individual thinks they are based on prior successes. By breaking out of perceived social norms, we instill a long-term belief that you have the power over your own health.

The "Not So Picky" Eater

Approaching Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder from a Health Behavior Perspective

What starts as “picky eating” is often more complex than it seems. In this pre-recorded training, Polina Shkadron explores how early food experiences, trauma, neurodivergence, and family dynamics shape a child’s relationship with eating—and how selective eating can evolve into persistent challenges like ARFID.

Using a trauma-informed, neurodiversity-affirming approach grounded in neuroscience and behavior change, this session offers practical tools to better understand anxious mealtimes, the impact of labeling, and the gut-brain connection—helping families build calmer, more sustainable feeding relationships.

"It was very helpful to gain a deeper understanding of the gut-brain connection and how that can affect attitudes and behaviors towards food. It was also very helpful to gain insight on how to use language focused on increasing curiosity with my patients to approach our feeding sessions in that way. Additionally, learning about the theories of health behavior change and how they may present in specific diagnoses was very helpful to connect that with my patients."

Lauren

Speech-language pathologist