Restrictive Eating and ARFID: What Buckinghamshire Families Need to Know

Many families contact FACT Bucks looking for help when their child has significant difficulties with eating, particularly where food choices become extremely limited or mealtimes cause distress.
Recent information shared by Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (BHFT) helps clarify the current position across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire (July 2026).
At present, there is no dedicated pathway for children and young people with suspected or diagnosed Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID), and no single service holds responsibility for assessment and ongoing support. ARFID was not included within the original specification for eating disorder services, meaning that responsibility has not traditionally sat clearly within any one children’s service.
BHFT has identified this as a gap in provision and has been undertaking work to better understand local need. This has included multidisciplinary working, staff training, pilot treatment programmes and a larger audit of children and young people experiencing restricted eating.
Importantly, the findings suggest that the issue is broader than ARFID alone. During one pilot, only around a quarter of children referred met the formal diagnostic criteria for ARFID. However, all of the children experienced significant eating difficulties that required support.
BHFT also found a strong overlap with neurodivergence. Most children referred had autism, ADHD or both, and all children meeting the diagnostic criteria for ARFID were autistic, had ADHD, or had both conditions.
As a result, BHFT is considering not only how a future ARFID pathway might look, but also how to support the much wider group of children whose restricted food intake may be linked to sensory differences, anxiety, school-related difficulties, physical health needs or other factors.
The newly formed NHS Thames Valley Integrated Care Board (April 2026), which commissions services across Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire, has responsibility for planning healthcare services across the region. While no Thames Valley-wide ARFID pathway has yet been announced, the work undertaken by BHFT demonstrates that the need has been recognised and is being actively reviewed.
What does this mean for families?
  • Support may currently come from a range of services rather than a single ARFID team.
  • Children do not need a formal ARFID diagnosis to experience genuine difficulties that require support.
  • Restrictive eating appears particularly common in autistic and ADHD children.
  • Work is underway to explore future service options and identify how best to meet both ARFID-related and wider restrictive eating needs.
FACT Bucks will continue to engage with local health partners and share updates with families as further information becomes available. Have you experienced difficulties accessing support for your child’s restrictive eating or ARFID-related needs? FACT Bucks is keen to understand families’ experiences to help inform our discussions with local health and education services. Please contact us to share your experiences.
If you would like to learn more about Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID), including information for families, lived experiences, support resources and awareness campaigns, visit ARFID Awareness UK: ARFID Awareness UK
ARFID Awareness UK is a charity-led organisation that provides information and resources for individuals, families and professionals affected by ARFID.