ARFID in Schools: Supporting Students with Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder and Extreme Food Selectivity

What Will You Learn?

• Explain what ARFID is, how it differs from typical picky eating, and why standard encouragement strategies can cause real harm
• Recognise the signs of ARFID and extreme food selectivity as they appear in everyday school settings including the canteen, classroom, and lunch break
• Identify which common school responses to food refusal are harmful and replace them with low-pressure, evidence-informed alternatives
• Set up safe, low-pressure mealtime environments that reduce anxiety and allow students to participate in their own way
• Adapt food-related activities such as cooking classes, excursions, and celebration events to be genuinely inclusive for students with ARFID
• Communicate clearly and collaboratively with families and allied health professionals about a student's food needs and school experience
• Contribute to a school-wide approach to food that removes shame and reduces pressure for students with extreme food selectivity
• Co-create an individual food support plan that reflects a student's sensory profile, safe foods, and specific triggers