Kartini Clinic for Children and Families

Pediatric Eating Disorder Treatment Program

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971-319-6800
  • Eating Disorder Treatment
    • Anorexia Nervosa
      • Signs & Symptoms: Anorexia
      • Causes and Triggers: Anorexia
      • Treatment: Anorexia
    • Bulimia Nervosa
      • Signs & Symptoms: Bulimia
      • Causes and Triggers: Bulimia
      • Treatment: Bulimia
    • Food Phobia
      • Signs & Symptoms: Food Phobia
      • Causes and Triggers: Food Phobia
      • Treatment: Food Phobia
    • ARFID
    • Treatment Overview
      • Inpatient
      • Partial Hospitalization (PHP)
      • Intensive Outpatient (IOP)
      • Virtual Intensive Outpatient (VIOP)
      • Outpatient
      • Cost of Treatment
  • Eating Disorder Resources
    • For Referring Providers
      • Hospitalization Criteria
      • Direct Referrals
    • Kartini School
    • For Parents & Guardians
      • Top Tips for Parents
      • Understanding Your Insurance
      • Talking to Your Employer
      • Insurance FAQ
      • Mental Health Parity Law
      • Family Housing Information
      • School During Treatment
      • Give Food a Chance
    • Research & Resources
    • Eating Disorder Treatment Videos
    • Glossary of Eating Disorder Terms
  • About Kartini Clinic
    • Why Kartini is Different
    • Will Treatment Work?
    • Our Staff
      • Julie O’Toole MD MPH
      • Naghmeh Moshtael MD
      • Shanna Greene
      • Morgan O’Toole
      • Megan Maples
      • Sherrill Gandsey RN
      • Leslie Weisner LMFT
      • Steve Nemirow
      • Amy Stauffer
      • Alex Garcia MA
      • Lisa Peacock LMFT
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Signs & Symptoms: Anorexia

Anorexia Signs & Symptoms

There are two distinct sub-types of anorexia: restricting AN and purging AN. Both subtypes of anorexia often display similar medical and/or psychological symptoms:

  • Intense fear of becoming fat or gaining weight, even though underweight
  • Refusal to maintain body weight at or above a minimally normal weight for age and height (i.e. 85% of that expected).
  • Disturbed body image or denial of current low body weight.
  • Amenorrhea or absence of at least 3 consecutive menstrual cycles (those with periods only inducible after estrogen therapy are considered amenorrheic).
  • Fainting episodes.

However, there are certain distinct and very important differences between these two sub-types that can affect treatment outcome. For example, as the name implies purging anorexics engage in purging (vomiting). Often this will lead inexperienced providers to misdiagnosed the child as bulimic. This would be a serious mistake: purging anorexia is far less common and can be a more serious form of childhood eating disorder than bulimia. Treatment for bulimia is also quite different.

Restricting anorexics, on the other hand, engage purely in calorie restriction without a reported history of purging. Restricting anorexics often display different psychological symptoms that require a treatment program appropriate to their diagnosis. Your eating disorder treatment team should be aware of the distinctions between restricting and purging anorexia. If they are not, find a team that is! It’s also extremely important to remember that your child may not exhibit all symptoms of a given diagnosis. But do not wait until your child is very ill to seek eating disorder help. Eating disorder treatment is far more successful when undertaken early in the progression of the illness.

If you are unsure whether your child has been properly diagnosed or if are you are simply looking for eating disorder help, call us at 971-319-6800 and speak to our intake coordinators. For your convenience, you may also submit an online request below. We answer all requests promptly.

Recent Blog Posts

Are social media platforms making eating disorders in children worse?

January 10, 2023 By Morgan O'Toole-Smith

School During Eating Disorder Treatment? Not To Worry

October 13, 2022 By Morgan O'Toole-Smith

Online Reviews

September 23, 2021 By Morgan O'Toole-Smith

New to Treatment? Don’t Panic!

February 10, 2022 By Julie O'Toole

Kartini School: A Success Story

February 9, 2022 By Morgan O'Toole-Smith

Tips for Motivating Kids in School

January 19, 2021 By Morgan O'Toole-Smith

  • Eating Disorder Treatment
    • Anorexia Nervosa
      • Signs & Symptoms: Anorexia
      • Causes and Triggers: Anorexia
      • Treatment: Anorexia
    • Bulimia Nervosa
      • Signs & Symptoms: Bulimia
      • Causes and Triggers: Bulimia
      • Treatment: Bulimia
    • Food Phobia
      • Signs & Symptoms: Food Phobia
      • Causes and Triggers: Food Phobia
      • Treatment: Food Phobia
    • ARFID
    • Treatment Overview
      • Inpatient
      • Partial Hospitalization (PHP)
      • Virtual Intensive Outpatient (VIOP)
      • Intensive Outpatient (IOP)
      • Outpatient
      • Cost of Treatment
  • Eating Disorder Resources
    • For Referring Providers
      • Hospitalization Criteria
      • Direct Referrals
    • For Parents & Guardians
      • Top Tips for Parents
      • Understanding Your Insurance
      • Talking to Your Employer
      • Insurance FAQ
      • Mental Health Parity Law
      • Family Housing Information
      • School During Treatment
      • Give Food a Chance
    • Kartini School
    • Research & Resources
    • Treatment Videos
    • Glossary of Eating Disorder Terms
  • About Kartini Clinic
    • Why Kartini is Different
    • Will Treatment Work?
    • Our Staff
    • Contact Us
    • Careers at Kartini

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How to Recognize Eating Disorders in Boys

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVgVmDIXqHc

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From Our Blog

Are social media platforms making eating disorders in children worse?

January 10, 2023

At least one school district in Seattle thinks so. Seattle Public Schools (SPS) has filed a suit in US DIstrict Court alleging that “defendants [social media platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat] affirmatively recommend and promote harmful content to youth, such as … Read Post...

School During Eating Disorder Treatment? Not To Worry

October 13, 2022

During the school year, families are sometimes hesitant to have their child enter treatment in the Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) because they are worried about time away from school. The teachers at Kartini School understand your concern.  Often, our patients are super-conscientious … Read Post...

Online Reviews

September 23, 2021

This post is from Kartini Clinic CEO Morgan O'Toole.  Online reviews have become part of our everyday lives. Who hasn’t glanced at the star ratings when Googling a new hair salon or looking for a restaurant to try out? Most of the time, online reviews are just another useful data point when … Read Post...

New to Treatment? Don’t Panic!

February 10, 2022

Your child has been diagnosed with an eating disorder by one of the doctors at Kartini Clinic. Whether this is a restricting disorder with fear of fat, a bingeing and purging disorder or what we call ARFID (avoidant restrictive food intake disorder), it matters little.  What matters is that the … Read Post...

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The Kartini Clinic Difference

At Kartini Clinic we practice only evidence-based, family-centered eating disorder treatment. Our program is a multi-disciplinary medical and psychiatric treatment model rather than an exclusively psychiatric approach to eating disorder treatment.  read more »

Eating Disorder Quick Links

Anorexia Nervosa
Bulimia Nervosa
Eating Disorder Treatment

Resource Quick Links

Referring Providers
Parent Resources
Understanding Insurance

Contact Us

Tel: (971) 319-6800
Fax: (503) 282-3409

help@kartiniclinic.com

3530 N Vancouver, Suite 400
Portland, OR 97227

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Mon – Fri 9:00am – 5:00pm

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