The new DSM-5, the latest diagnostic manual of psychological disorders, apparently lists a new one – Selective Eating Disorder. These are the super-fussy kids, who really struggle to put different foods in their mouths. This is much more than just being finicky and is classed as a phobic response to foods that look and feel different from the child’s usual repertoire of food, coupled with hyper-sensitivity to some of the physical characteristics of those foods. If your child sounds like this, then listen to this program from ABC Radio National’s Second Bite program.
If you have trouble with the above link, type this address into your web browser: http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/rn/podcast/2012/09/fbe_20120922_1306.mp3
The expert interviewed in the program, Dr Gillian Harris from the Children’s Hospital Birmingham in the UK, also has this helpful information about food refusal.