Pervasive refusal syndrome (PRS) is a severe, pervasive and potentially life-threatening disorder, which was first de­­scribed in 1991, as a syndrome of child psychiatric disorder. Little has been written about PRS. We report a case story of a 10-year-old boy developing all symptoms of PRS, including inability to eat, move or speak. Psychopharmacological treat­ment was not successful. Full rehabilitation was re­-por­ted after a period of inpatient treatment and outpatient fol­low-up. Different aetiological factors for PRS have been pro­posed. A number of these are presented in the case story.