Episode 234

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Published on:

14th Feb 2026

Episode 234: Beyond Picky Eating: How to Recognize and Treat ARFID [featuring Dr. Marianne Miller]

In this episode, Patrick Casale and Dr. Marianne Miller break down critical myths about Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) and offer practical, compassionate approaches for clinicians, parents, and anyone supporting neurodivergent folks with eating challenges.

Here are 3 key takeaways:

  1. ARFID is not “picky eating”: Labeling someone as a “picky eater” implies willfulness or stubbornness, when ARFID is in fact a complex, involuntary experience often tied to sensory processing and interoceptive cues.
  2. A collaborative, sensory-affirming approach matters: Treating ARFID requires asking nuanced questions about sensory preferences, hunger awareness, and family dynamics. Pressure, shame, and coercion do more harm than good—compassion and understanding are the foundation of effective support.
  3. Education is essential—for providers and families: Ongoing education and unlearning old beliefs is vital. There are fantastic resources and training for therapists, parents, and adults living with ARFID to build understanding and empathy.

More about Dr. Marianne:

Dr. Marianne is a licensed therapist with nearly 30 years in mental health and 13 years specializing in eating disorders. She spent 12 years as a full-time academic before moving into full-time private practice in 2018. She is the host of the Dr. Marianne-Land podcast and creates online education, including her ARFID and Selective Eating course. Her work centers a non-diet, liberation-focused, Health at Every Size (HAES®) approach and supports people of all genders and neurotypes. She is neurodivergent and LGBTQIA+ affirming.

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Mentioned in this episode:

NeuroPreneur Circle Community

NeuroPreneur Circle is an online community built by and for neurodivergent entrepreneurs who want a supportive space to build a business, a space where they can show up as themselves and in whatever way feels most comfortable. NeuroPreneur Circle exists because community built on masking isn't really community. And business advice built for neurotypical brains isn't actually useful to us, no matter how many times we try to make it fit. Whatever your neurotype, whatever you're building, there's a space here for you. You've been creating alone long enough. Visit: https://atppod.com/community

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About the Podcast

The Neurodivergent Entrepreneur
Honest conversations about building a business while Neurodivergent, the self-doubt, the chaos, and everything in between.
The Neurodivergent Entrepreneur is a podcast for ADHD, Autistic, and all other neurodivergent entrepreneurs who are building businesses, creative work, and lives that actually fit how their brains work. Hosted by Patrick Casale, LCMHC, this show is for people who
want to create meaningful work, create outside of the box, grow their impact, and build something sustainable without losing themselves in the process.

Being a neurodivergent entrepreneur can feel like holding a lot of contradictions at once. You may have big ideas, deep passion, creative energy, and a strong desire to do things differently. You may also be navigating burnout, masking, self-doubt, perfectionism, rejection sensitivity, executive dysfunction, inconsistent energy, and the pressure to keep showing up when your capacity is already stretched. This podcast speaks to that reality honestly, because building a business around your brain, your values, and your lived experience can be powerful, complicated, messy, and deeply personal.

Patrick Casale is a chronically ill, AuDHD, mental health therapist, entrepreneur, TEDx speaker, event host, group practice owner, and neurodivergent business owner who has built, grown, burned out, pivoted, and kept going. His work brings together clinical insight, lived experience, business perspective, and real conversation about what it actually takes to create something that feels values aligned. His conversations are direct, compassionate, unfiltered, and practical, with room for both the emotional reality of entrepreneurship and the concrete decisions that shape a sustainable business.

New episodes drop every Wednesday and feature honest conversations with neurodivergent entrepreneurs, creators, therapists, business owners, and leaders. Together, Patrick and his guests explore entrepreneurship, identity, mental health, chronic health,
creativity, leadership, systems, money mindset, visibility, community, sustainable growth, and the behind-the-scenes reality of creating work that matters.

Build your dream business. Protect your capacity. Work with your brain instead of against it.