Dietetics

An RDN can help with dietary choices for conditions like celiac disease, food allergies, or lactose intolerance. They can provide guidance on identifying foods to avoid and finding tasty alternatives to keep your diet balanced. Nutritionists can also help with meal plans and lifestyle changes while educating on healthier choices and providing customized solutions.

Autistic children are 8x more likely to have GI issues, including dysbiosis in their intestines, which may explain increased GI issues. Around 45-95% of autistic individuals have sensory processing difficulties. Children on the autism spectrum are five times more likely to have mealtime outbursts, be selective about their food, or have ritualistic eating behaviors.

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What Areas Does a Dietetian Address?

A pediatric dietitian specializes in nutrition for infants, children, and adolescents, addressing a wide range of dietary and health concerns to promote proper growth and development. Key areas they focus on include:

1. Growth & Development

  • Ensuring children meet appropriate height, weight, and developmental milestones

  • Assessing and managing failure to thrive (FTT) or rapid weight gain

2. Infant & Childhood Nutrition

  • Breastfeeding and formula guidance for infants

  • Introducing solids and transitioning to table foods

  • Ensuring balanced diets for toddlers, school-aged children, and teens

3. Food Allergies & Intolerances

  • Managing common food allergies (e.g., dairy, soy, peanuts, eggs, gluten)

  • Helping families with elimination diets and safe food substitutions

4. Picky Eating & Feeding Difficulties

  • Strategies to expand food variety for selective eaters

  • Working with children who have sensory-based food aversions

  • Collaborating with speech therapists and occupational therapists on feeding therapy

5. Gastrointestinal Disorders

  • Nutrition support for constipation, acid reflux, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)

  • Helping children with celiac disease or lactose intolerance

6. Special Medical & Genetic Conditions

  • Managing dietary needs for conditions such as:

    • Diabetes (Type 1 & Type 2)

    • Cystic fibrosis

    • Metabolic disorders (e.g., PKU, galactosemia)

7. Weight Management & Healthy Lifestyle

  • Supporting underweight or overweight children with tailored nutrition plans

  • Preventing and managing childhood obesity

  • Encouraging healthy eating habits and physical activity

8. Eating Disorders & Disordered Eating

  • Nutritional support for anorexia, bulimia, and binge-eating disorder

  • Helping children develop a healthy relationship with food

9. Sports Nutrition

  • Ensuring young athletes meet their energy and hydration needs

  • Supporting muscle growth, endurance, and recovery

10. Tube Feeding & Specialized Diets

  • Enteral nutrition (G-tube, NG tube feeding plans)

  • Creating specialized diets for neurological conditions, autism, or sensory processing challenges