In this week’s episode of The Autism Mums Podcast, we talk openly about what happens when eating stops feeling simple and starts feeling scary. We unpack ARFID (Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder) and explore how it differs from 'picky eating, sharing our real-life experiences.

• Identical packaging and familiar brands can build trust.
• Safe foods can be very limited, for some children under 10 items
• When anxiety spikes with transitions like back-to-school often shrink food choices.
• “They’ll eat if they’re hungry” advice can escalate fear and refusal.
• Texture, temperature, smell, colour and broken food can be deal-breakers.
• We've found reintroducing once-safe foods during calm periods and follow the child’s curiosity can sometimes be successful

BEAT Eating Disorders

ARFID Awareness UK

National Autistic Society

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Victoria Bennion:

Hello and welcome back to the Autism Moms podcast. Today we're talking about

something that many families quietly battle with every day. When eating stops

feeling simple and starts feeling scary. You'll hear us mention ARFID quite a

lot.

Natalie Tealdi: ARFID

is avoidant restrictive food intake disorder, which is more commonly known as

ARFID. It's a condition characterized by , the person avoiding certain foods or

types of foods having restricted intake in terms of overall amount eaten or

both?

Any anyone of any age can have a i. It occurs in children,

teenagers, and adults. Although people with ARFID may lose weight or have low

weight, this is not a criteria for ARFID. It can occur at any weight and varies

in different people.

Victoria Bennion: If

you are wondering, is this just picky eating? We'll talk about a few signposts

that could indicate it may be more. We'll share our family's [00:01:00] experiences and the ways we found to

support our children. As always, we are here to share our own experiences in

the hope that they may be useful.

Not to diagnose. If anything you hear raises concerns, do speak

with your GP or a qualified clinician.

Natalie Tealdi: So

Victoria, I think you have the best knowledge out of both of us on this one. Do

you wanna talk a bit about your

experiences?

Victoria Bennion:

Yeah. I can talk about our experiences. So my son doesn't have a diagnosis of a

ARFID, but in his autism diagnosis, he's noted as having ARFID behaviors. This

was explained to me as the reason was there very strict criteria that a child

had to meet to