Mealtimes with children can quickly turn into a battleground. Picky eaters are not uncommon, as they get older their palates expand and outgrow their pickiness. But for other kids, food aversion or avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), goes much deeper. To overcome their condition they typically need medical help.
Difference between a picky eater and food aversion or ARFID
“The biggest difference is that the average picky eater is still hungry and wants to eat,”says Danielle Mein, RD, a pediatric dietitian at UCLA Health. “Kids with ARFID would rather go all day without food — even though they are hungry — than deal with the discomfort they have around eating.”
They may feel anxiety or fear about what may happen if they eat a specific food or food group.
Children with ARFID tend to have restricted diets, making them at a high risk for:
Lack of essential nutrients causing malnutrition
Not eating ample amount of calories
Child not gaining weight and poor growth
Delayed puberty
Low iron – anemia
“If a kid hates green vegetables but still eats a variety of foods and is growing well, I tell parents to just relax,” says Mein. “With repeated exposures to new foods, most picky eaters will eventually come around.”
Is your child getting all the nutrients they need?
Are they meeting their growth milestones?
Is there overall growth patter on par?
Does your child experience anxiety at mealtime?
Do they avoid certain food or entire food groups?
“Food therapy might start with just getting the child to allow a food to sit on their plate,” says Mein. “Gradually, the therapist helps the child work up to touching it, picking it up and bringing it to their mouth. Small steps on the way to finally eating it.”
Feeding Therapy
Feeding therapy helps children by making eating fun for everyone. Helps kids expand the number and kinds of foot they eat. Explore different foods using the child’s senses. Reduce stress and anxiety during mealtimes.
A child’s feeding issue can be frustrating for everyone. It is important to seek out support
How Can Therapy Help?
Therapist work alongside of a child to identify the source of their challenges and current strengths to develop a targeted plan. Working on these areas to build to build age appropriate skill development.
First Words Speech Therapy provides individualized therapy for a variety of speech, language, and occupational needs. Therapy plans and schedules are determined after an initial evaluation takes place. Therapy visits include one-on-one treatment, followed by parent consultation for carryover of activities in the home
