ARFID - Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder - A Guide for Parents and Caregivers

by Fernanda do Valle, Dr. Bacy Fleitlich-Bilyk, Manoela Figueiredo (Contributor)

Unfortunately, there is little information and few specialized professionals who can deal with ARFID (Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder). I went through a long journey with my son until I found the right treatment and support. While searching for help, I was given a lot of bad advice.

I heard from some pediatricians that it was just a phase he would grow out of once he went to school; other doctors even suggested that it was my fault, that my son was spoiled and not well behaved. I heard from many people that he was ungrateful, and if we were poor, he wouldn’t be a picky eater.

We live in a society that, in its majority, still judges parents and caregivers without compassion or empathy, despite not understanding the realities of this condition. To break this taboo, we got together to write this a mother who knows what it is like to deal with her child’s eating difficulties, a doctor and two nutritionists, all three well-renowned professionals who offer their technical knowledge in an accessible language to all.

There are paths and treatments. There is hope. There is a cure!

150 pages, Paperback

Published July 26, 2022

Reviews

[Hezekiah · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are some editing and typography issues, and the book seems a bit disorganized, but it's a good primer on ARFID nonetheless. Fernanda do Valle describes the process by which she found a treatment protocol that worked for her son, and she emphasizes repeatedly that she takes issue with the idea that one must be underweight to qualify for a restrictive eating disorder diagnosis. This book helped me see deeper connections between ARFID and atypical sensory processing than I'd previously known, and the recommendation of a sensory processing evaluation is helpful.

One of the recommendations in the beginning of the book is to disallow snacks in bed and outside of designated meal and snack times, but do Valle repeatedly emphasizes that parents shouldn't feel like they have to go with a treatment protocol that goes against their values, so I don't feel like this is a problem in the text.

There is description of a consultation with a BCBA where the therapist's plan was to systematically desensitize the child to food with the goal of having him eat the food given to him regardless of whether he liked it, out of a sense of duty and with no emotional connection to the meal. Do Valle rejects this treatment first because rewards and punishments are ineffective for her son, and second because she views it as "mechanistic" and she wants her son to be able to enjoy food and experience it positively as a form of social connection. She is critical of American culture's valorization of thinness and of its demonization of food as a source of positive emotion.

Overall, this book was a good primer for me in understanding my own experiences with ARFID both in myself and in my kid.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wouldn't classify this as a parent and caregiver guide. It's more one lady's experience with some definitions mixed in. It is published in 2022 but seems more outdated than that.

[Erica · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is NOT a guide at all. It’s a mothers personal journey with her sons ARFID. Not much helpful information in here. And she really wants you to know that her son is NOT autistic 🙄