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Nourishing Diversity: Tailored Food Exposure Strategies for Neurodivergent ARFID Clients

CE Hours 1.5

About this course

This session will provide an in-depth understanding of how to structure food exposures for ARFID clients with neurodivergence, specifically focusing on adolescent and adult age ranges. Through patient vignettes and applications-based learning, this training aims to empower eating disorder professionals to develop and implement tailored strategies that address the unique needs of neurodiverse individuals.

Learning Objectives

  • Describe the unique challenges faced by neurodivergent individuals with ARFID.
  • Explain how to adapt food exposure principles to accommodate neurodivergence.
  • Apply tailored food exposure strategies to real-life clinical scenarios with neurodivergent adolescents and adults.

Learning Levels

  • All Levels

Target Audience

This educational program is designed for mental health professionals, dietitians, social workers, and health care providers.

Course Instructor(s)

  • Kayla Warechowski, MPH, RDN, LDN

    Kayla Warechowski, MPH, RDN, LDN is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) and Licensed Dietitian/Nutritionist (LDN). She is a Registered Dietitian II at The Emily Program’s Adult Hospital in Durham, North Carolina. She attended the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health where she completed her Bachelors of Science in Public Health degree in Nutrition, with minors in chemistry and Spanish. Kayla then returned to the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health where she completed the combined Masters of Public Health and Registered Dietitian program. Throughout this program, Kayla trained at Wilson N. Jones Regional Medical Center in Texas, Steps to Health: NC State University’s SNAP-Ed program, and The Emily Program, where she has now been working for over three years. She has worked with adults across inpatient, residential, partial hospitalization, and intensive outpatient levels of care and is particularly interested in the treatment of ARFID.

  • Heather McAllister

    Heather brings over five years of specialized experience in eating disorder treatment across the continuum of care. She specializes in working with individuals who have co-occurring eating disorders and autism spectrum disorder. Currently a doctoral candidate in Education, Leadership, Human Development, and Policy at NC State University, Heather's dissertation research examines evidence-based interventions at the intersection of eating disorders and autism. As a LCMHC and disability advocate, she is committed to breaking down systemic barriers to mental health treatment access for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

References

  • Bradley S, Moore F, Duffy F, Clark L, Suratwala T, Knightsmith P, Gillespie-Smith K. Camouflaging, not sensory processing or autistic identity, predicts eating disorder symptoms in autistic adults. Autism. 2024 Nov;28(11):2858-2868. doi: 10.1177/13623613241245749. Epub 2024 Apr 18. PMID: 38634458; PMCID: PMC11497744.
  • Bryant-Waugh, R. (2020). Overview of treatment and management (pp. 137–148). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429274862-11
  • Gerwin, R., Namerow, L. B., & Latif, F. (2022). Continuing an exploration of avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (arfid): frameworks for assessment and treatment and ongoing challenges. 61(10), S347. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2022.07.802
  • Gerwin, R., Namerow, L. B., & Latif, F. (2023). Continuing an Exploration of Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID): Updates, Successes, and Ongoing Challenges. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2023.07.963
  • Kinnaird E, Norton C, Pimblett C, Stewart C, Tchanturia K. Eating as an autistic adult: An exploratory qualitative study. PLoS One. 2019 Aug 29;14(8):e0221937. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0221937. PMID: 31465510; PMCID: PMC6715205.
  • Lundin Remnélius K, Bölte S. Camouflaging in Autism: Age Effects and Cross-Cultural Validation of the Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire (CAT-Q). J Autism Dev Disord. 2024 May;54(5):1749-1764. doi: 10.1007/s10803-023-05909-8. Epub 2023 Feb 9. PMID: 36757540; PMCID: PMC11136743.
  • MacDonald DE, Liebman R, Trottier K. Clinical characteristics, treatment course and outcome of adults treated for avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) at a tertiary care eating disorders program. J Eat Disorders. 2024;12(1):15
  • Nyholmer, M., Wronski, M.-L., Hog, L., Kuja-Halkola, R., Lichtenstein, P., Lundström, S., Larsson, H., Bulik, C., & Dinkler, L. (2024). Neurodevelopmental and psychiatric conditions in 600 Swedish Children with the ARFID phenotype. medRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.05.16.24307471
  • Passarini S, Guerrera S, Picilli M, Fucà E, Casula L, Menghini D, Pirchio S, Zanna V, Valeri G and Vicari S (2025) The challenge of a late diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder: co-occurring trajectories and camouflage tendencies. a case report of a young Autistic female with Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder. Front. Psychiatry 15:1447562. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1447562
  • Turek, C. (2023). 54.3 Clinical and Diagnostic Challenges in the Acute Management of Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2023.07.395

CE Process Info

Content

  • Materials
    1 parts
    • Presentation PDF
  • Recordings
    1 parts
    • Video recording 1
  • American Psychological Association (APA)

    The Emily Program is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Emily Program maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

  • National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC)

    The Emily Program has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP no. 7166. Programs that do not qualify are clearly identified. The Emily Program is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.

Nourishing Diversity: Tailored Food Exposure Strategies for Neurodivergent ARFID Clients
You Have Completed This course
Free
You are enrolled
  • CE Hours
    1.5
  • Type
    Self-Paced
  • Publication Date
    Nov 21st, 2025

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