Introduction
Infantile Anorexia (IA) is a diagnosis not found in DSM-IV, but rather in the Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Development Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood (DC:03-R). DC:03-R is designed for diagnosing difficulties in very young children published by a non-profit Zero to Three.
Infantile Anorexia is characterized by the child’s refusal to eat adequate amounts of food for at least 1 month. The infant/toddler with IA rarely communicates hunger, lacks interest in food and eating, and shows growth deficiency. The child’s food refusal does not follow a traumatic event and is not due to an underlying medical illness. The onset of the food refusal often occurs during the transition to spoon- and self-feeding, typically between 6 months and 3 years of age.
{stub}