maybe lollypops will help. tell him he can hold it and stop eating it when scared. maybe gum will help, too?

basically, you have to prevent him from experiencing any negative events to begin to trust his body again. try not making it such a big issue (even though it is) because he must feel IN CONTROL over his own body. intimidation and coercion to eat will only scare him more. maybe educate him more on how animals eat and babies eat by taking him to the library and seeing how the uvula works and breathing vs swallowing and slava processes work. try cooking foods that smell really good which excite his senses but don't offer him any, wait until he requests for the food (or grabs for some).

has he seen a specialist about this issue? if not trauma related, maybe there is something physiologically different about the way his esophagus is functioning. i hear cancer of throat can cause swallowing difficulties. maybe a psychologist he trusts can help him discover and understand what is going on with his body more.

wish your family the best (((HUGS))))

<font color=purple> But a stranger in a strange land, he is no one:
men know him not and to know not is to care not for.
Bram Stoker, Dracula, 1897 </font color=purple>