PEACE brings together knowledge about eating disorders and neurodivergence to help clinical teams adapt care. It considers how communication, sensory experiences, thinking styles and other differences can shape someone's experience of treatment.
What is PEACE?
PEACE stands for Pathway for Eating disorders and Autism developed from Clinical Experience. From an initial focus on eating disorders co-occurring with autism, PEACE guidance now also covers ADHD. PEACE aims to recognise different ways of thinking, sensing and communicating and work with neurodivergent people and services to make eating disorder care more inclusive.
Neurodivergent describes people whose brains process information differently. This includes autistic people and people with ADHD. These differences can affect how someone communicates, experiences their surroundings and responds to change. They can also shape how someone experiences assessment and treatment in eating disorder care.
How neuro-affirming principles can help everyone
PEACE is guided by neuro-affirming principles. Neuro-affirming care respects different ways of thinking, communicating and experiencing the world. This approach works with differences rather than trying to change them.
Some changes and adaptations that can help neurodivergent people can also improve eating disorder care for everyone. For example:
- Using clear and direct language
- Explaining what to expect before an appointment
- Giving important information in more than one format
- Reducing unnecessary sensory demands
- Giving people time to process information
- Making information available to read again later
These changes will not meet everyone's needs, and some people will still need individual adjustments. The PEACE approach strives to combine care that is accessible to everyone with support that fits each person. Not every neurodivergent person needs the same support. Needs and preferences differ, and they can change over time.
Building knowledge into practice
A 2025 study of how PEACE was put into practice in three UK eating disorder services found that knowledge, training and awareness building helped staff understand the PEACE principles, why they matter and what resources are available.
The PEACE website brings those resources together in one place, for clinicians, carers and people with eating disorders.
Examples of what using the PEACE approach can look like in clinical practice
At assessment: the Communication Passport lets a person record their preferences for how they communicate and what helps them.
At the start of treatment: the Sensory Measure Scale is a short screening tool that identifies whether and how someone'ssensory differences need to be considered in treatment.
When planning therapy: the Collaborative Formulation Worksheet helps people to think about how difficulties may have developed and be maintained.
When planning meals: Creating That Ideal Eating Environment Worksheet considers what might helps someone eat, and how to create those conditions.
Ways to build knowledge in clinicnal teams
- Learning about autism, ADHD, other forms of neurodivergence and eating disorders
- Understanding how sensory, communication and information-processing differences can affect someone's experience of care
- Knowing where to find relevant PEACE resources
- Include relevant learning in new staff inductions and ongoing development
- Provide opportunities to discuss how PEACE learning applies to everyday practice
- Include the perspectives of people with lived experience in designing service adaptations
PEACE resources to explore
- Read our book, Supporting Autistic People with Eating Disorders] [link]
- Read about what PEACE is and how it developed [link]
- Read about how autism and eating disorders can co-occurr [link]
- Read guidance for clinical teams on autism and ADHD in eating disorders [link]
- Watch conference talks on bringing PEACE to a whole service [link]
- Use the PEACE Service Self-Assessment tool to see how neurodivergent-informed your service is and identify what could be improved [link]
