You say all medical and behavioral issues have been ruled out.  I doubt it.
 There are a gazillion different chromosomal abnormalities, inborn errors
of metabolism, mild brain damage, and other issues that could be at work
here.  I would bet good money that a full medical workup has NOT been done.
 You say he is close to being hospitalized for FTT, but what, actually is
his weight and height for age, and how is his health.  I have dealt with
pediatricians who go ballistic if the child isn't eating and say the child
is at risk of FTT even though the child is growing normally, on track for
motor and speech and social development, happy, and healthy.  I think
someone who understands and values breastfeeding needs to step in and offer
some support for this mother and her child.  The solution of separating
mother and child for a week will be extremely traumatic to the child (to
any child) and may well precipitate death, if the child truly is
nutritionally marginal.  Children don't just "not eat" because they "can"
breastfeed.  There is usually something the matter with children who refuse
to eat -- ranging from an overactive gag reflex to severe food allergies,
to mental impairment.  There are no solid foods that are nutritionally
better for the child than breast milk.  If his mother isn't producing
enough breast milk to support adequate growth alone, then he needs to be
supplemented with donor breast milk, formula, or even an IV line if he
truly is nutritionally at risk.  Please let me know what happens with this.

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Katherine A. Dettwyler, Ph.D.                         email:
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Anthropology Department                               phone: (409) 845-5256
Texas A&M University                                    fax: (409) 845-4070
College Station, TX  77843-4352
http://www.prairienet.org/laleche/dettwyler.html