About this course

Learning Objectives

• Identify and describe two common behaviors and traits shared by Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
• Demonstrate an understanding of how sensory processing differences impact eating behaviors.
• Apply three practical strategies to support neurodiverse individuals struggling with ARFID, including methods to enhance client comfort and engagement during treatment.

Learning Levels

• Intermediate

Course Instructor(s)

• 

  Rebecca F. Berman, LCSW-C, MLSP, CEDS

  Clinical Director, Anxiety Institute of McLean, VA

  Rebecca Berman is the Clinical Director of Anxiety Institute in McLean, VA, with over 20 years of experience treating adolescents and adults with eating disorders, anxiety, trauma, and neurodivergence. She holds dual master's degrees from Bryn Mawr College and is a Certified Eating Disorders Specialist, Approved Consultant, and Certified Therapist and Trainer with the Unified Protocol Institute. She co-authored The Renfrew Unified Treatment for Eating Disorders and Comorbidity>, published by Oxford University Press in 2021. Rebecca regularly presents at professional conferences and provides supervision and consultation to clinicians across disciplines. She is passionate about adapting treatment approaches to meet the needs of neurodiverse individuals.

• 

  Melanie T. Smith, LMHC

  Clinical Director, CBT of Central & South Florida

  Melanie Smith, PhD, LMHC, CEDS-C (she/her) is the Clinical Director of CBT of Central & South Florida and is the co-founder of CBT Training & Consultation. Additionally, she is a Certified Eating Disorders Specialist and Approved Consultant (CEDS-C) and became a Certified Therapist & Trainer of the Unified Protocol in 2014. She is the co-author of the Unified Treatment Model for Eating Disorders & Comorbidity: An Adaptation of the Unified Protocol, and was responsible for the training and ongoing supervision of hundreds of clinicians implementing this approach in community-based intensive treatment programs. Dr. Smith serves on the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals (iaedp) Curriculum Committee and is the Education Chair of iaedp's South Florida Chapter. Additionally, she is the Education and Professional Development Chair of the CBT Alliance of Florida. Dr. Smith has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals focused on the development, adaptation, and dissemination and implementation of evidence-based, transdiagnostic treatments and has presented and lectured at professional and academic conferences nationally and internationally.

References

• Esposito, M., Mirizzi, P., Fadda, R., Pirollo, C., Ricciardi, O., Mazza, M., & Valenti, M. (2023). Food selectivity in children with autism: Guidelines for assessment and clinical interventions. International journal of environmental research and public health, 20(6), 5092. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20065092
• Inoue, T., Otani, R., Iguchi, T., Ishii, R., Uchida, S., Okada, A., ... & Sakuta, R. (2021). Prevalence of autism spectrum disorder and autistic traits in children with anorexia nervosa and avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder. BioPsychoSocial medicine, 15(1), 9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13030-021-00212-3
• Keski-Rahkonen, A., & Ruusunen, A. (2023). Avoidant-restrictive food intake disorder and autism: epidemiology, etiology, complications, treatment, and outcome. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 36(6), 438-442. https://doi.org/10.1097/YCO.0000000000000896