Who is this course for?

Unpacking ARFID & Neurodiversity Affirming Care

In Week 1, we lay the foundations by exploring what Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) really is, and just as importantly, what it is not. We’ll look at how ARFID is defined in the DSM-5, where those diagnostic criteria fall short, and why many people (especially neurodivergent individuals and those in larger bodies) are often misunderstood and dismissed.

We’ll unpack the three ARFID profiles (avoidant, restrictive, and aversive), explore the wide range of psychological, behavioural, and physical signs, and highlight why ARFID doesn’t have one “look.” You’ll learn how trauma, sensory processing differences, neurodivergence, medical and gastrointestinal conditions, and systemic pressures can all contribute to ARFID development.

This week also introduces the neurodiversity-affirming framework, reframing ARFID not as something to be “fixed,” but as a lived experience that deserves understanding, accommodation, and respect. We’ll discuss why multidisciplinary, trauma-informed support matters and discuss who can diagnose ARFID.

Supporting ARFID

In Week 2, we focus on what support really looks like for children and teens with ARFID and why there is no one-size-fits-all approach.

Across two videos, we explore when a tube or PEG feeding might be necessary. What the evidence does (and doesn’t) say about ARFID support, why many traditional feeding and eating disorder approaches can be unhelpful or even harmful for neurodivergent kids, and how a neurodiversity-affirming lens changes the way we think about “progress” and “recovery.”

You’ll learn how sensory differences, interoception, nervous system regulation, trauma, executive functioning, and autonomy all play a role in eating and why safety (emotional, sensory, and relational) must come before food changes.

This week is about reducing pressure, rebuilding trust with food and bodies, rejecting neuronormative feeding rules, and understanding how to support your child in ways that are compassionate, realistic, and sustainable.

Above all, this week aims to help you feel less alone, less confused, and more confident that supporting your child as they are is not only valid, it’s essential

ARFID and Its Intersections

In Week 3, we explore how ARFID intersects with neurodivergence, medical conditions, and trauma highlighting how these factors influence eating, feeding, hydration and mealtimes.

We’ll discuss:

• ARFID and Pervasive Drive for Autonomy (PDA): How internal and external demands, like hunger, sensory experiences, or social expectations, can feel threatening to a PDAer, activating fight/flight/freeze/fawn responses and making eating feel unsafe. We will discuss practical strategies to reduce pressure, honour autonomy, and create predictable, flexible, and sensory-safe environments that allow the nervous system to settle and support natural eating.

• ARFID and OCD: How obsessive fears about food, contamination, or “just right” experiences can impact eating, and how a neuro-affirming, safety-first approach supports regulation and trust rather than enforcing rigid rules.

• ARFID and PTSD/Trauma: Understanding how past negative experiences around food, medical interventions, and more can create fear-based avoidance, and why trauma-informed strategies are essential.

• ARFID and RSD: We will briefly explore what RSD is and how it can intersect with ARFID. Plus go through a couple of strategies that may help reduce feelings of rejection.

• ARFID and Medical/GI Conditions: How reflux, eosinophilic oesophagitis, gastroparesis, or connective tissue and autonomic conditions (like EDS, hypermobility, POTS) affect digestion, appetite, and blood sugar regulation.

• ARFID & Hypermobility/hEDS: Both HSD and hEDS can frequently co-occur with the Neurodivergent population. We will explore how this might show up for someone with ARFID.

• ARFID and Burnout: Recognising how sensory, cognitive, and social demands, along with nutritional deficits, can contribute to autistic burnout and prolonged feeding challenges, and how supporting safe food intake can help nervous system recovery.

By the end of this week, parents will gain a deeper understanding of the complex, overlapping factors that influence ARFID and practical, compassionate strategies to support eating without pressure, prioritising safety, autonomy, and regulation.

In week 4 we will share with you a client story about a child and parent navigating ARFID.

Bonus:

A pre-recorded panel interview with guest practitioners, all with their own lived and professional experience of ARFID.

We have these wonderful people joining us below:

• Cody Robinson (She/Her) from New Leaf social work

  Lumen Gorrie (They/Them) from Brains beyond Binaries

  Brianna Thomas (She/Her) from The Psych Hive

  Gabriel Lubieniecki-Maynard (She/Her) from Swan Centre

Week 5 is a 1.5 hour live group call. A space for parents to gather with community, reflect and ask any final questions.