NEURO-AFFIRMING DIETITIAN BALLARAT & ONLINE

I can support you with the nutrition impacts of:

  • Autism
  • ADHD
  • Other neurodivergences*

Neurodivergence can impact your relationship with food, and everyone is different in terms of how this may present. 
Perhaps you are noticing your eating is being impacted by:
  • Being unsure about how to eat enough due to sensory food needs narrowing the number of foods that feel safe enough to eat
  • Experiencing a lack of interest or motivation to eat
  • Executive functioning for all the admin associated with eating proving challenging e.g. food shopping, meal preparation, finding time to eat or remembering to eat
  • ‘All or nothing’ thinking affecting your relationship with food and your body. 

​You might be noticing one of the above, a few, or perhaps your experience is different. 
Perhaps your neurodivergence isn’t having that much of an impact on your nutrition, and you are simply looking for neuro-affirming care while you seek nutrition support for a health condition.
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No matter how your neurodivergence is impacting your nutrition, you deserve support which is guided by your preferences and honours your lived experience.

How I can help

What we focus on or explore together will be specific to you, however a few options of what I could support you with include:
  • Meeting your nutrition needs whilst honouring and working with your sensory food preferences (taste, texture, colour, smell, appearance)
  • Nutrition advice that works with your goals, capacity and energy levels
  • Support to experiment with new foods if you would like to, without pressure and always on your terms
  • Ideas to support unmasking around meal times
  • Working with your executive functioning for food shopping, meal preparation and eating
  • Meeting your nutrition needs if impacted by not feeling hungry or not having much interest in food
  • Support with ‘all or nothing’ thinking if you are finding that it impacts your relationship with food or how you feel about your body
  • Support to lean in to the ebbs and flows of your capacity, motivation and interest level around food, eating and cooking, and meet your nutrition needs just as you are at the time  
  • Support for commonly associated nutrition concerns such as eating disorders (including ARFID and Binge Eating Disorder) chronic illness, gut symptoms and POTS 
  • All nutrition care provided is gender affirming, weight inclusive and trauma informed

Hi, I'm Melissa

In my work as a dietitian, I love supporting people to reconnect to themselves and honour their needs. 

I’d love to support you with your relationship with food, not by pushing against your sensory food needs, capacity and lived experience, but by being guided by them.  

​Book now for support with your relationship with food, your body and yourself.
*I recognise that neurodivergence encompasses much more than Autism and ADHD, and many people with mental health or functioning experiences outside of what is presented as the ‘norm’ by society may also identify as neurodivergent.  Given many people use and understand ‘mental health conditions’ and see this as separate from neurodivergence, I have also included a separate page for ‘nutrition and mental health’