Do friends or family weigh in on you or your child’s eating habits? This can be really tough to navigate and can cause a lot of anxiety and shame around mealtimes. I've come up with a couple of scripts to help you navigate this time. I hope they are helpful.

Firstly ARFID is not just “picky eating”, it is a multifaceted eating disorder and neurodivergence characterised by severe food avoidance or restriction. ARFID can originate from anxiety, fear of food and/or eating, past trauma, sensory processing differences (involving texture, taste, and smell), or variations in executive functioning.

Executive function refers to a set of mental skills and processes that are responsible for guiding and regulating various cognitive, emotional, and behavioural functions. These functions help individuals plan, organise, initiate and complete tasks, make decisions, solve problems, control impulses, manage time, and switch between different activities.