Sudden ARFID in 8yo - stopped eating solids

[BillieOxford79]

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

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

I was going to mention PANS/PANDAS.

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

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!!

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.

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.

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.