Eating and food
If your child eats five foods and panics at a sixth, you are not doing this wrong and they are not being stubborn. Safe foods are safe for a reason. There is a real difference between picky eating and ARFID, and knowing which one you are dealing with changes everything about how you handle dinner.
Nothing here will tell you to just keep offering it and they will eat when they are hungry. That advice hurts kids like ours.
Books
1
Raising Body-Confident Kids
Whitney Casares, MD, MPH, FAAP
Body image, diet culture, and food pressure, handled without shame. Dr. Casares covered this on the show for autistic and ADHD kids specifically.
Podcasts
6Nourishing Autism
Brittyn Coleman, MS, RDN/LD
Brittyn's podcast on feeding, nutrition, and the food fights that wear families down.
A Parent's Guide to ARFID
The Autism Dad Podcast, S7E02
If your child eats five foods and panics at a sixth, this is the episode. Brittyn Coleman explains what ARFID actually is.
A Parent's Guide to Sensory Eating
The Autism Dad Podcast, S6E53
Why safe foods are safe, and how to widen the list without turning every meal into a fight.
Understanding ARFID: Insights from My ARFID Life
The Autism Dad Podcast, S7E25
Michelle shares what ARFID feels like from the inside, which changes how you respond to it at the table.
Picky Eating and the School Year
The Autism Dad Podcast, S7E29
Lunchboxes, cafeterias, and the sensory load of eating at school. Practical strategies for September.
Raising Body-Confident Kids With Autism and ADHD
The Autism Dad Podcast, S8E28
Body image, diet culture, and food pressure for our kids specifically. Dr. Casares wrote the book on it.
Blogs & Websites
1Autism Dietitian
Brittyn Coleman, MS, RDN/LD
Brittyn Coleman's work on feeding, nutrition, and ARFID. The place I send parents who are stuck at the table.
A registered dietitian who specializes in autistic kids, and an autism sibling herself.
Accounts to Follow
2@autismdietitian
Brittyn Coleman
Feeding and nutrition help for autistic kids, in short and usable pieces.
@myarfidlife
Michelle Dorit
ARFID from the inside, which is the part most parents never get to hear.
Organizations
1ARFID Awareness
Advocacy and family resources for avoidant restrictive food intake disorder.
Every step here comes from So Your Child Was Just Diagnosed with Autism
This page is the book's living companion, kept current so the help you need is never out of date.
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