If mealtimes in your house are difficult, you have probably already been given a lot of advice. Try one bite. Hide the vegetables. Don’t make a fuss.

 

Most of it was designed for a child who experiences food the way the person giving the advice does.

 

For a neurodivergent child, food is rarely neutral. Taste, texture, temperature and smell can be overwhelming. Hunger and fullness cues can be hard to read. Stopping one activity to come to the table is its own challenge. And predictability matters — a biscuit is the same every time; a blueberry is not.

 

In this 40-minute recorded talk, Deirdre Reddan of CEDAR walks through why eating can be so much more complicated than it looks, and what tends to help. It covers the sensory, interoceptive and executive functioning pieces; the worry cycle that builds between a stressed parent and a resistant child; why safety works better than pressure; and a set of practical things you can try at home — deconstructed meals, food chaining, rotating safe foods, the cherry-on-top approach to building tolerance.

 

It also covers when to be concerned and where to go, including a short section on ARFID.

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This is not a talk about eating disorders. It is a talk about food, neurodivergence and your child.

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What’s included:
1. The 40-minute recorded talk, yours to watch as many times as you like
2. Supporting Your Neurodivergent Child Around Food — a one-page takeaway guide to keep
3. A full written transcript, for anyone who would rather read than watch, or wants to find a section again

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Deirdre Reddan is a parent, a coach trained in eating disorders, and a Youth Mental Health First Aid associate instructor with Mental Health First Aid Ireland. She co-founded CEDAR with clinical psychologist Zuzanna Gajowiec, and together they deliver a two-day training on neurodivergence and eating disorders for Maudsley Learning and the NHS. She is not a dietitian or a therapist, and says so in the talk.

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Everything CEDAR does is neurodivergent-affirming.

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Format: Online

Investment: €25