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In this issue, we turn to two eating disorders still being defined as research continues: avoidant-restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) and Autism Spectrum Disorder, or ASD. As Janice Goldschmidt points out in our lead article, A Broad View: Disordered Eating on the Autism Spectrum, for too long attention has focused on children with autism, and the adult autism cohort has been neglected. This has prevented a complete understanding of the health-related patterns of ASD (including eating disorders) during the adult years. The article helps raise awareness of four distinct categories of disordered eating on the autism spectrum. And, in ARFID: ED or Feeding Disorder? Florida State University psychologists suggest viewing ARFID as both an ED and a feeding disorder, and suggest the distinction depends on the individual clinical presentation.
Finally, at the recent iaedp Symposium in Orlando, Dr. Anthony Orsini turned to an often-difficult area for those who treat eating disorders. When You Have to Break Bad News reports on an innovative program Dr. Orsini developed to train health care professionals to communicate more directly and humanely when treatment is not working and patient prognosis may be poor.
– MKS