Selective eating disorder clinics in London

ARE YOU PARENTING A CHILD WITH EXTREME PICKY EATING?

Do you worry your child isn’t getting the nutrition he or she needs? Are you tired of fighting over food, suspect that what you’ve tried may be making things worse, but don’t know how to help

DOES YOUR CHILD FEEL A SENSE OF ANXIETY OR DREAD WITH CERTAIN FOODS?

Whether it is the thought of the taste, texture, smell or fear of gagging or retching, regardless of how much they try and reassure themselves that they will be OK

DOES YOUR CHILD STRUGGLE TO TRY NEW FOODS?

No matter how much they want to, or even if they do they cannot sustain the momentum.

What can you do to expand your child’s food choices and prevent dinner table arguments and battles?

How I help with selective eating disorders

Having a child with Selective Eating Disorder (also known as Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder) is frustrating and sometimes scary. Children with feeding disorders, food aversions, or selective eating often experience anxiety around food, and the power struggles can negatively impact your relationship with your child. Children with extreme picky eating can also miss out on parties or camp because they can’t find “safe” foods. But you don’t have to choose between fighting over every bite and only serving a handful of safe foods for years on end.

I work with children and their family alongside treatment teams, to help improve acceptance and flexibility with food and bring back the enjoyment at meal times.

I can help you with

  • Age appropriate eating guidance
  • Advice on supplemental nutrition as the child continues to work through his or her underlying food anxieties.  This will allow normal growth to be maintained without the daily battles and fights.
  • Real strategies for enacting positive change in eating/food behaviours.
  • Education on what you or your child’s body needs and how food works in the body.
  • Learn what balanced eating really is.
  • Education on medical effects of disordered eating patterns and how to improve these.

I also understand the signs of underlying issues such as GI disorders, food allergies, sensory sensitivities, oral-motor delays and refer to specialists as needed in order to provide more comprehensive support. For example, the following signs may signal a need for me to work alongside an occupational therapist or speech-language pathologist who specialises in feeding 

  • Strong dislike of messy hands or face
  • Gagging on specific textures on a daily basis
  • Preference for “squish and swallow” foods
  • Unable to keep food or liquid in-mouth
  • Extreme fussiness at mealtimes
Meet Anna Oliver | Anna Oliver

Anna Oliver is a Qualified Dietitian passionately committed to helping people with eating disorders.

From the selective eating disorder blog

“You don’t need to see the whole staircase, just take the next step.”

– Martin Luther King Jr