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Original poster

Sudden ARFID in 8yo - stopped eating solids

31 replies

BillieOxford79 · 29/01/2026 00:20

Hello, my son (8) who has largely always been a brilliant eater, suddenly slowed down eating and used his hands one day 3 weeks ago, and the next day said he couldn’t swallow- only have liquids. Overnight he stopped eating and has been living off soup and smoothies for 3 weeks. He was crying at first and starving but now seems to have accepted this and also lost his appetite. The GP suspects this is ARFID - it is such a shock and we have no idea why it’s occurred- has this happened to anyone else’s child in the same way, and are there any treatment success stories out there? I am aware there are children & families dealing with far worse, so I’m sorry if this is insensitive - I am just struggling with this as he has lost weight and it’s heartbreaking to see (being monitored by the GP and being referred to a clinic), so please be sensitive and I would appreciate only messages of support, thank you. Obviously I am being supportive for him and non-judgemental/ removing any pressure- and keep my stress for the evenings, just trying to make as much safe food available throughout the day as possible. It’s such a shock and hard to adjust when he’s the same in all other ways x

OP posts:
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Original poster
BillieOxford79 · 03/06/2026 11:18

Hello, just wanted to come back with an update for anyone who may be coming to this thread looking for support... my son is now back to eating regularly/ solid foods - close to his previous behaviour.
Once we found support in a specialised ARFID therapist team (4 weekly dietician visit, and a weekly therapist check-in), things settled into a routine of very small amounts of soups, smoothies, ice cream, meltable vitamins and pediasure, and the pressure seemed to be off him a little with a plateau in weightloss. He did get fedup at missing out on things with friends and decided to try some solid food one night but ended up spitting it out and getting very upset he couldn't do it, which really didn't help and left a sense of pressure on himself. We left soft meltable snacks around at all times inbetween liquids (nothing with any nutritional value but vague calories and all encouraged by the dietician - wotsits, chocolate buttons, finely grated cheese if I recall). I continued to leave out small solid food meals with each liquid meal as I was serving the same for my other child, with no pressure on him to have any. After a particularly positive and happy day at school he just randomly said he would try a piece of the solid food beside him and was delighted to show me how he ate (albeit a miniscule crumb). The following week he had to take a course of antiobiotic tablets (he opted for them over the liquid without thinking). We split them and after a few goes at chewing, he attempted to swallow it at school. He came home and annouced his fear was gone and he very gradually started trying more and more of his old foods in small quatities. Over the past 2 months he has improved greatly and his weight is coming back/ stablising. He does still chew food at the front/ side of his mouth, and is slower than before, but the dietician has signed him off health wise and we believe things will continue to improve.
The judgement from other people who just don't have the experience to understand and restrictions/ impact the situation has on a child and their family is immense, so I am still very grateful for the support here.
Should anyone find themselves in a very similar position, we did find that allowing him chewing gum during the liqiud phase was very useful to keep his jaw moving and maintain the feeling of chewing something. I appreciate this is not ideal or possible for many younger children, and not helpful for a variety of other reasons but it served a purpose in an extreme situation! For reference we also tried Felix Economikas - the session was fine, and I would lean towards recommend trying him if budget allows, it just didn't do much for my child in particular. He wanted things to change but just couldn't, and he didn't happen to connect with Felix well enough I think. I would say that if a child is interested in expanding their choices of food it might be of benefit but for a genuine fear of swallowing in the worst of times, it might be more challenging to alieviate the anxiety.

OP posts:
k1233 · 08/02/2026 02:51

Can you try to introduce soft solids eg

Scrambled eggs
Savoury mince
Mashed potato, pumpkin, sweet potato (maybe cottage pie?)
Grated cheese
Rice
Pasta pieces - might be a little large to start with but could be a progresssion food
Stewed / pureed apples and other fruit

Anything tiny and soft that you don't need to chew to swallow. He could use a teaspoon to eat small amounts eg 1/4 teaspoon at a time. Slowly add in firmer textures.

fyllnadspenna · 08/02/2026 02:30

Something like this happened with me when I was around that age or maybe a bit older. I think I'd just heard something about choking somewhere—not even certain where—and developed a deep fear of it. I'd take forever to eat anything solid. The fear eventually went away, and I never had trouble eating solids again, though it did take me longer than usual to learn to swallow pills. I just couldn't make myself do it for years. Purely psychological.

Original poster
BillieOxford79 · 08/02/2026 01:57

Wow- I can’t thank you all enough for your time replying here, kind words and all the advice. I really appreciate it. As the various replies indicate it’s been a bit of a tricky time working out what to push for follow-up on. The GP sent us to Paeds. We did get a second opinion on checking him physically- he has also been assessed by a psychiatrist and dietician and they have decided it is indeed ARFID. Apparently it can come on that suddenly as some posters have mentioned.
We are working on a diet of paedisure, home made smoothies & soup, very minimal intake but just enough - and copious amounts of soft chocolate buttons and ice cream to bump up calories missed from carbs. He does seem to have a fear of choking but it’s not clear where it’s come from just yet- apparently it can be indirectly related, triggered by another anxiety, and as @liveforsummer mentioned I’m also curious as to whether there’s any connection with SM. Certainly seems an anxiety carried in the same physical region. If anyone has any insights I’d be grateful to hear.

My son had been concerned about death a few days before this set-in, so I am wondering if some anxiety took grip at the wrong moment for him and has manifested this way.
if we get to the bottom of it I will post again for anyone else that may have something similar occur resulting from an anxiety.

We are also trying dr felix economikas in a few weeks @LincolnshireYellowBelly - in addition to the long and slow route of food chaining from the clinic. Thank you for the information and review. I hope things continue to improve for your son. Whatever we are dealing with at any given time parents is a challenge!!

OP posts:
HumphreyCobblers · 29/01/2026 08:13

TheNinny · 29/01/2026 06:38

Had he been sick recently with sore throat? The child I know did have restrictive eating before diagnosis but was thought to be quite fussy/pariticular with food. They then had a mild strep infection which overnight changed them to being terrified of choking, food sticking , throat closing up and panic attacks about food and had basically a liquid diet for a long time. They were diagnosed with ARFID and PANS. They are doing much better now but still do have food issues 3 years later. They are based abroad though and did get therapy/help better suited than what’s available here.

I was going to mention PANS/PANDAS.

Sudden onset of such acute focused anxiety around food doesn't look at all like typical ARFID.

BleeBlahBlue · 29/01/2026 07:32

My 10 year old has ARFID, since they were 1.5. They are tiny for their age due to restricted growth and eat less than 8 foods.

This isnt ARFID, its sounds like anxiety to swallow due to likely chocking or a previous sore throat. Try difflam spray to numb the throat first

butidid · 29/01/2026 07:13

Please make sure you see a paediatrician and physical causes are fully excluded before you go down the arfid/psychological route

EleanorReally · 29/01/2026 07:09

does sound like anxiety - what with that the mutism has he had a paediatric assessment
what does the GP offer? oh i see he has been referred. that is good
a dietitian?

Boriswentcamping · 29/01/2026 07:04

Yes as other posters have said gradually working to increase textures slowly can be helpful. Things like wafer biscuits that dissolve in the mouth - kinder bueno etc are a good thing to start with… home made cheese sauce is calorie dense. Try those tiny pasta shapes when he is ready, with lots of sauce

liveforsummer · 29/01/2026 07:03

Can’t help thinking this and the selective mutism are linked. How did you overcome that?

Boriswentcamping · 29/01/2026 06:58

We had a very similar thing happen, it was so stressful and very difficult to find the right pathway. We saw a speach and language therapist for a swallow assessment and ENT to rule out sinus issues and then a paediatrition to look for physical causes. Apparently there is a condition called EOE Eosinophilic esophagitis which can cause issues with swallowing and it can’t be seen by simply looking - I think it is diagnosed with an endoscopy.
(Although we didn’t need one in the end) Eventually we saw a psychotherapist and we did have a diagnosis of ARFID but only when physical causes had been ruled out. ARFID is a psychological disorder and my understanding is a diagnosis needs to be made by a psychiatrist not a gp.

i would push for a referal to paediatrics. There are community level speach and language therapists who may be able to see you quickly so this would be worth looking at. The whole process was painfully slow and we had to make a few trips to the children’s a&e for assessment in the meantime.

what clinic has he been referred to? it is a postcode lottery and our local area doesn’t have support for ARFID although some do. In the end we went privately for therapy which helped. Have a look at the dsm ( the official criteria for diagnosis of ARFID and also have a look at EoE to see how the symptoms fit both. Can he articulate what he feels is the issue? Mine couldn’t.

If he is losing weight then I would keep going back to rule out medical causes. The less they eat the smaller their appetite also the stress of the situation will affect this too. Try keep a record of the weight loss and rough calorie intake if you can..

I am typing this quickly and am half asleep but will come back if I think of anything else helpful.

just to add we are in a much better place now and eating has improved, but it was the most difficult challenge I have had to face as a parent so sending my support your way

SuperSugarHigh · 29/01/2026 06:49

Also happened to my child after a choking incident. She was scared to swallow, felt like her teeth couldn’t chew things up small enough to prevent her choking on them. It took her days to tell us the real reason she didn’t want to/couldn’t eat. We stuck to yogurt and soup, and talked through her anxiety as well as looking at the specifics of how eating/swallowing/breathing works. This latter conversation seemed to help most - she was reassured that eating wasn’t as scary as it felt and she slowly got her confidence back. She still eats slowly though.

TheNinny · 29/01/2026 06:38

Had he been sick recently with sore throat? The child I know did have restrictive eating before diagnosis but was thought to be quite fussy/pariticular with food. They then had a mild strep infection which overnight changed them to being terrified of choking, food sticking , throat closing up and panic attacks about food and had basically a liquid diet for a long time. They were diagnosed with ARFID and PANS. They are doing much better now but still do have food issues 3 years later. They are based abroad though and did get therapy/help better suited than what’s available here.

JumpLeadsForTwo · 29/01/2026 06:35

This happened to DN also when she was around 9. Denied any choking episode but it was so sudden and years later she admitted she had choked on a sausage. Took months of non pressurised transition back to solids. She is also highly sensory generally. Still can’t swallow tablets at 16. ARFID is usually not so sudden. The dietician can give advice, but things like adding peanut butter to smoothies, cream to the soups etc will increase his calories. I recall that drier foods were a problem for her, so foods like mash with gravy went down easier. Also make sure he isnt tipping his head back when swallowing- lots of people think that that position helps with swallowing but it actually closes the throat more. Neutral position opens up the throat,

LincolnshireYellowBelly · 29/01/2026 06:24

We tried an online therapy programme for my son by a man called Felix Economakis (https://www.theguardian.com/food/2022/nov/05/i-have-never-eaten-cucumber-onion-or-an-egg-can-i-cure-my-extreme-food-phobias). Felix describes how most cases of ARFID stem from some traumatic experience with food. My son felt this wasn’t the case for him, however I can definitely pinpoint several incidents that have impacted his eating.
The sessions were good and made an impact, however I do need to revisit as I’ve been a bit too relaxed…my son’s ARFID is massively inconvenient but not as serious as what you describe.

ARFID can absolutely be sudden. It does not need to develop over a long period of time.

candycanetime · 29/01/2026 05:53

Exact thing happened when my son was 7. He gagged on something and then panicked and refused to eat anything hard or crunchy for weeks. We just kind of ignored it and distracted him and eventually he started eating properly again.

yellowbelliedlilylivered · 29/01/2026 03:40

Same thing happened to my cousin a few years ago and it was anxiety-based and came out of nowhere. She gradually started eating thicker liquids over time and then resumed a normal diet, but it took a while. There was never really an explanation but she wasn't sure herself where it came from. I suspect the food was a manifestation of something else.

3flyingducksarrive · 29/01/2026 02:59

It's a very atypical onset for ARFID. I'd try and find a dietician who works in this field for a proper assessment. It's not really in the scope of diagnosis for a GP.

NewUserName2244 · 29/01/2026 02:45

I know a few children with arfid, and all of them have had very restrictive patterns of eating since toddler days - what you are describing is not at all typical.

I think that I would want more physical investigation before assuming this is psychological. Has he had a scan to make sure that he doesn’t have any sort of blockage anywhere?

BreakingBroken · 29/01/2026 02:14

ARFID is certainly not the first thing that would come to my mind.
I’d request a swallowing assessment.
I would also look to rule out MS.

Ohthatsabitshit · 29/01/2026 01:59

My son has a restricted diet. Can he hold food in his mouth? Could he sniff it, feel it or lick it?

Iwanttocomebackasmycat · 29/01/2026 01:50

sounds like anxiety

KitTea3 · 29/01/2026 01:46

Whilst it can often be linked to ND sensory issues I feel it's rare for ARFID.ro just suddenly develop...

..has he experienced any negative experiences with food? Like perhaps nearly choking on food? Or having a reaction to food?

Im told up age 5 I ate everything, but then I had a stomach bug and ended up being milk intolerant. Which had horrendous effects (especially as a kid) if I accidentally consumed any and I've struggled with food ever since x

latenightrobinsong · 29/01/2026 01:41

Did they check inside his mouth, teeth, gums, tongue, roof of mouth etc as well? There could be pain there which means he can’t eat as usual

mikado1 · 29/01/2026 01:35

This happened my niece years ago after a choking incident. She was anxious and terrified to ear solids. I think she was 10 at the time. Her parents went with it to minimise further anxiety and she moved onto then eating the same thi v for maybe 6months ie specific breakfast, lunch and dinner foods and the following year she went back to normal again. 20 now and it never came up again. You being calm and breezy while offering safe options is important. Try not to over quiz and just validate and stay curious regarding what's going on. I know it is very difficult.