49. "He's a Completely Different Kid": Henry's ARFID & Nutrition Journey with Sarah Phillips
In this deeply personal and inspiring episode, Brittyn revisits her journey with Sarah, a devoted mother, and her son Henry, who is on the autism spectrum. Sarah shares their story beginning in 2020 when Henry was facing significant dietary and behavioral challenges, leading to the diagnosis of ARFID (Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder) and the placement of a feeding tube. Through collaborative efforts, including food sensitivity testing and nutritional adjustments, they observed remarkable improvements in Henry's health and behavior.
Encouraged by her son's progress, Sarah founded 'Ready, Set, Grow' and a 'We Rock the Spectrum' inclusive play gym in Bristol, Tennessee, creating spaces for child-led therapy and inclusive play. Sarah's journey highlights the profound connection between nutrition, gut health, and behavioral outcomes in children with autism, showcasing the power of parental advocacy, professional guidance, and community support in navigating the challenges of autism and related conditions.
You can support Sarah by following her on:
Instagram: www.instagram.com/wrtsbristol
Facebook: www.facebook.com/wrtsbristol
& check out her Ready, Set, Grow center website HERE!
Join the Nourishing Autism Collective to start getting nutrition support today!
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TRANSCRIPT
Hi, I'm Brittyn, a Registered Dietitian and autism sibling. I have a passion for helping parents of neurodivergent kids navigate nutrition and wellness for their child, one small step at a time. Here we'll explore practical nutrition tips, learn from top autism experts, break down the newest research, and share inspirational stories that will empower you to utilize nutrition to help your child feel their best and thrive.
Listen in while picking kids up from school, sitting in a therapy waiting room, taking a quick walk or wherever you find yourself, looking for some inspiration and a friend to guide you along this journey. This is Nourishing Autism.
Sarah: [00:00:00] A lot of times we don't want to ask the questions because we would rather not know.
It is so much easier to stick your head in the sand and go on unknowing and just assume that this is who they are. And this is the new normal. But I think if you will allow yourself to ask the hard questions, You will have the power to do the hard things. And the hard things are seeking advice from people like you getting your child the resources they need, and if they aren't available, doing something about it.
I think when you are educated, you have hope. And when you've got hope, you can do anything.
Brittyn: Today's episode might be one of the most special and emotional podcasts I've ever recorded. I recorded it with a past client of mine. Her name is Sarah and her son, Henry is on the autism spectrum. I started working with Sarah and Henry in 2020 at a time when [00:01:00] Henry was eating very few foods by mouth, had just gotten a feeding tube placed and was having some really big symptoms and behaviors that Sarah was just feeling in her gut that wasn't the Henry that she knew.
She knew that he had to just not be feeling his best. So we did a lot of work together. A lot of investigative work to do labs and figure out what was going on inside that was just making Henry not feel well. After this work together, Sarah said, the light came back in his eyes.
And it's just a really incredible story to walk you through how we supported Henry and where he is today. And since working together, Sarah started her own child led play based therapy center called Ready, Set, Grow, and a We Rock the Spectrum inclusive play gym in her town of Bristol, Tennessee. Sarah is just one of the coolest people ever, and I just love her
so much, and I just loved being able to get back on a call with her . This is a really [00:02:00] special episode to me and I can't wait for you to listen in.
Hey everyone, thanks again for joining me on another episode of Nourishing Autism. I am so excited today because I feel like I'm catching up with an old friend, but also I'm talking to a past client that I got to know really well over the time that we worked together, and that's Sarah.
Sarah, thank you so much for being here.
Sarah: Thank you so much for having me.
Brittyn: Of course. We talked a lot before this episode and I was like, I can't talk to you anymore because we are going to go over everything that we're going to talk about in the podcast, but I'm excited to get an update on Henry.
But I first want to know, I want you to tell us all about you, what you do and about Henry.
Sarah: Oh, gosh. First and foremost, I'm the mom of a very vibrant seven year old little boy, Henry, wife to an amazing, incredible, husband and father and all the things. And then I'm also a business owner. So, we have some commercial real estate that [00:03:00] we own.
And then I opened a We Rock the Spectrum in Bristol, which is an inclusive, play space for children of all abilities. And that was in 2022. 2023, I upped the ante by opening a pediatric therapy center that is child led and play based. We're currently offering occupational and speech therapies. So
Brittyn: amazing, well, first of all, I cannot believe that Henry is seven, because that sounds outrageous.
You and I connected when he was four, maybe?
Sarah: Three, I think he was three, because we had just gotten on the cusp of the waiting list for preschool, so almost four, but yes. He was little.
Brittyn: I cannot believe that and I remember at the time you were talking about all of these things. You're like, I really want to open this, We rock the spectrum. I really want to do X, Y, and Z. And so it's really cool to be able to see like, you did it. You're doing it.
Sarah: You're kind. I think, a mom on a mission is pretty powerful. And I recognized, very quickly after Henry's diagnosis that our [00:04:00] resources here, while the ones we do have are great, there aren't enough.
And so I'm just, you know, really a firm believer that you can complain about something or you can do something about it. I'm not a clinician. I just happened to you know, meet the right people at the right time. And they also said yes to the mission. So it's exciting to see it coming to fruition and to see these kids making so much progress and then having a space for them to play, where everybody gets to be, together is it's really, It's quite rewarding.
Brittyn: That's so amazing. And I will say too, We Rock the Spectrum is across the U S and you own the one in Bristol, Tennessee.
Sarah: That's correct. It is. Dina Kimmel, the founder started in California and she has 153 locations in eight countries now, and it's growing leaps and bounds.
I think we were the third in the state of Tennessee and now, gosh, I mean, they're just popping up everywhere, which is wonderful. So, yeah, it's exciting, and Bristol's [00:05:00] the easternmost tip of the state, and we border Virginia, so our friends on the Virginia side also get to enjoy our facility as well, which is a lot of fun.
Brittyn: So cool. Well, let's dig into Henry, because I, first of all, can't wait to get an update on him, but I also want you to walk us through Henry's nutritional journey, because I think it's a very interesting side of nutrition. And I think that a lot of parents who have children with ARFID and maybe have Nutrition support as well would really benefit from hearing his journey.
Sarah: Well, I feel like our journey is still evolving. So to start all the way back at the very beginning Henry was typically developing in all the ways. I mean, my pregnancy was magical. His birth was, I mean, truly magical nursed for 22 months. That was a, I know, you know, a feat…
Brittyn: I'm like, Oh, [00:06:00] that's amazing.
Sarah: Well, I mean, let's be honest, it's convenient too, but you know, he, he was great until he developed colic and he got colic a little later than I think most babies do. So that really, in looking back, had I known what I know now, I might have clued into maybe there being some digestive or gut issues, but I didn't know.
I was a first time mom. And so we kind of transitioned through that. And then he would eat all the things. I mean, anything we put in front of the child, he ate especially fruit. I mean, he loved fruit. And so slowly, but surely I started seeing these foods kind of die off for a lack of better words.
He would love something one week and then my husband would go to the grocery store and buy out the whole aisle. And then he would decide that he didn't want to eat that anymore. And we went through that for a while and then we got his autism diagnosis. And so then things started to make sense. That was 2019 summer of 2019, he, he was three.
So, [00:07:00] or almost three, I take that back. He was almost three cause he would have been three in November. And so we started just kind of noticing things and I'll circle back to say As I said before, Henry was very typically developing, and then we had 105 degree fevers for five days. He ended up with something called roseola and my child's never been the same since.
And so that was early spring, March time frame, and then by July, I was asking to see a specialist because I knew something wasn't right. I just didn't know what it was. We're older parents, he was an only child. So all of the excuses. that could be made, were being made, as to why he was not talking and dropping foods, and all the things that go along with what you assume, I assumed to be some sort of neurodiversity.
So we get his diagnosis, the foods continue to wane off, and by February, we were in a failure to thrive state. [00:08:00] So they hospitalized us over Valentine's Day. And that's when his G tube was placed because at that point we were desperate for him to get nutrition. And that was the safest and fastest and best way at the time, instead of
you know, listening to people that want to tell you, well, when they're hungry, they'll eat a child with, right. I mean, it blows my mind the number of times I heard that. So we thought it was the right decision. We felt good about it. He still has this G tube, he's seven but at the time it was scary.
I mean, as you can imagine, my tiny little precious heart, and then they send you out of the hospital and they're like, here you go good luck. Hope the line doesn't kink or spill or beep in the middle of the night or all the things that go wrong with a G tube. So we navigated through that for a while.
And then, you know, they sent you home with Pediasure and I thought, gosh, there has got to be something better than this. Not that there's anything wrong with it, but I just thought, I mean. [00:09:00] We just tried to eat a little cleaner than that. So fast forward and we got on Kate Farms and we were on that for a while and he was responding really well.
Well then, I thought, well, wonder if instead of bolusing him, because that's what we did, we got away from the the kangaroo pump that just pumps, you know, continually through the night, or you'll see a lot of kids wearing backpacks with them. So they're being fed continually throughout the day because he was still eating a few things by mouth apple jacks being one, Cheerios, you know, very dry, very crunchy things.
And so we kind of got away from the pump. We started bolusing. And then I, you know, I'm clearly not a dietitian, but I thought, well, I wonder if I blend food for him, because I knew at that point, I'd read enough that the brain needed fat and we needed all of these different things. Well, surely this will be better for him.
It'll fill him. We'll have more proteins, all the things until [00:10:00] we realized that that was making him sick. And so that's really when your journey with my family started. I was so unaware at how food affects a child or a person in general, but most especially a child, and most especially a child on the spectrum.
And how these reactions present themselves in behaviors. We had sought out an allergist. My four year old had had a colonoscopy, upper endoscopy, an MRI, because we knew something wasn't right, but nobody could tell me what it was. You know, I just kept getting brushed aside and brushed aside, and almost to the point that I thought, well, I'm sure these people think I'm crazy.
Thank God John is a physician, or I know they would have thought I was crazy because I was asking for things and advocating for my child because I knew that something wasn't right. And it was about three o'clock in the morning. I had ordered everything possible from every website known to man to help a child on the [00:11:00] spectrum, any sensory, anything, we own it to this day.
And it was three o'clock in the morning. I will never forget it. And I was scrolling social media, desperate for answers of all things. And I stumbled upon your Instagram and then I went to your website. I read every single word, every click, everything I could get my hands on. I'll cry talking about it.
I read! And then reached out to you very blindly, and I thought, I don't care if she is a bazillion dollars, if she has one spot for us, I wanna have you help us! And, and you're really the one, and I've told you this before, in my opinion and in my husband's opinion, you saved Henry's life, so.
Brittyn: Thanks for saying that.
I mean, I have recommendations all day long, and it's really hard to implement. And stick to it, and that's what you did. So, I, it takes a team, and you're the most important piece of it, and you [00:12:00] put into motion all of those different pieces. So I'm grateful for you saying that, but it's really you who made such a difference for Henry.
Sarah: Well, under the guidance of somebody that has dedicated her whole life to this, I mean, I think our pediatrician is wonderful. She's a friend, her husband, also a physician and a partner of my husband. So we trust her so much, but she's not a dietitian and autism isn't her only scope of practice. And so for me, finding the right person with the right knowledge, About a very specific topic was almost like a needle in a haystack.
And so for me, in my opinion, and I'm not just saying this because we're having this podcast and this conversation, I think nutrition should be you know, everyone wants to say when a child is diagnosed, they go through, oh, they need this therapy and that therapy [00:13:00] and on and on and on, which they do, and that's wonderful, but they also need to make sure that their little bellies are in the right order, doing the right thing because that gut brain axis is so real.
I mean, my son is living proof that when it's off, the whole day is derailed. So totally.
Brittyn: And, I think that's a really great point because I think, I mean, we have so much research to talk about how much the gut and the brain are connected and we can talk about it all day long, but actually seeing the drastic change.
Okay, so I'm digging back into what some of the work that we did together because I think people will be like, okay, well, what happened? Like, right. What progress did you see? And I remember, I mean, we worked on how to expand you know, Henry's diet and help him feel more comfortable around food. But if I remember correctly, one of the biggest things that we did together was the food sensitivity testing to figure out what he was sensitive to.
And it was a [00:14:00] long list.
Sarah: Yeah. Yes. A million. I cannot tell you how many times I tell people to get in touch with you, have their physician order it. I don't care. Go to Europe, whatever you got to do, because that to me was the key piece. We started with the stool sample and I will never forget you telling me that I needed to collect Henry's stool and mail it off or whatever.
And I thought, Right. My three, three, four year old autistic son, I'm going to collect his stool, okay. We sent that off, which told us, yeah, yeah, it was a, you know, see me taking that to the post office. That was fun. That was one piece of it. And that told us a lot about his gut bacteria in and of itself, but the food sensitivity test was the game changer.
Henry was eating Apple Jacks. I was bolusing my precious father in law was grilling salmon every single week and bringing it to us to blend for Henry, because it's such a great fish and we were putting cottage cheese and all these [00:15:00] fats and all, just all the things that we thought were great.
And then we get those results back. And it was like, Henry's number one allergy or sensitivity was apples and then salmon and then all these things were on the list. And so dairy being a big one, obviously here we are with the cottage cheese. And so this is where the tube, the feeding tube really was such a blessing because we were able to eradicate his diet and within 72 hours, my child was different.
The headbanging stopped, the incessant screaming stopped, you know, the inability to sleep for extended periods of time. Just all the things. And so for the first time, I got to know and see my little boy in a happy, healthy state. And it was. I mean, it was incredible, not to say that we don't have hard days and not to say that a lot of the behaviors [00:16:00] that the food sensitivities attributed to didn't have to be re managed or redirected or unlearned because they had been going on for so long but he was a different kid.
I mean, it was, the light just came back in his eyes.
Brittyn: And I mean, here's the thing too, is that all behavior is communication and sometimes, a lot of times that behavior is communicating, I'm uncomfortable, I hurt, and it's really hard to decipher that whenever a child can't say, hey, my stomach is really hurting, or hey, I have a migraine, and so I'm going to hit my head because it takes away the pain for a second.
And so I remember when we were sitting down, I was like, I hate that I have to tell Sarah that we have to stop this. Salmon and like all of these things that are so good, right? Have so much protein, so much fat, like all these great things. And [00:17:00] I remember us just like, I think it was silence. And we were just like, okay, next steps.
But what is really unique about what you're able to do with his G tube is you can change his diet overnight. That's really not the reality for a lot of families, especially for kids who do have really limited diets. We're not able to make those kind of changes. So it was really drastic and really interesting because I had never worked with a family who was able to make literally the overnight changes.
And so it was really amazing to be able to see that. And so thanks for sharing all of that. I think that's amazing. So after you took those foods out of his diet, I mean, we continued also talking about food. You also reached out to get support with feeding therapy and expanding his diet there.
Can you share some of what, that looked like and what the lasting changes were on his nutrition as you explored that.
Sarah: You know, really [00:18:00] for us, the feeding therapy locally came about when we saw a developmental pediatrician at UVA and she very pointedly said, Your son has ARFID. And I was like, he has what?
I'm sorry. You know, here I am thinking we have yet another diagnosis. What is this? And so at the time we just nodded politely like, I don't know what she's talking about, but okay. And she recommended feeding therapy. And I was like, well, of course we need feeding therapy. And so the more I dove into learning about ARFID and learning that and let me back up to say Henry is a GLP, which is like a Gestalt language processor.
So he speaks in scripts. When we first started working together, he was very much stage one, which is. You know, babble, heavy intonation melodic sounding phrases. The child has always loved music. And so, getting back to him not being able to tell me that his head hurt or his belly hurt, you're [00:19:00] absolutely correct because he did not have the script for that.
I wish in hindsight I'd known he was a GLP at the time because I think it would have changed everything, but you don't know what you don't know. So when a child can't communicate and the only way they know to get you to pay attention or whatever was to stop. To stop eating the foods, to start dropping the foods, which then becomes a psychological disorder because he is terrified that whatever he's going to put in his mouth is going to make him feel like it once made him feel when he couldn't tell me how it made him feel, if that makes sense.
And so teaching him, and I want to use the word unlearning because , he had this behavior that was so learned and so rigid, especially being a child with autism that undoing that is, I mean, you almost have to know Morse code. And so the feeding therapy was [00:20:00] slow going for us because she could not communicate with Henry in a way that he, I mean, she was trying to be analytical with her approach and it just didn't work.
And so for, not to say it didn't work, it just wasn't progressing as quickly as I would have liked to have progressed. And so what I found that really worked for him was introducing videos, that talked about food. He loves the super simple songs. Do you like spaghetti yogurt? Do you like asparagus cake? All of these fun things.
And so we were able to take the foods that were in the song, combine them, and that's how we slowly started getting him to try them. It was geared around his interest, which was music and then it gave him the scripts and you know, that's where we learned yucky and yummy came from those little songs. So meeting him where he was communicating in a way that he understood to me was really the breakthrough in getting him to try new things.
Brittyn: And you were the person who taught me about gestalt language [00:21:00] processing. I remember you talking about it and you're like, I have figured this out. This is Henry. And I was like, oh my gosh. And actually, so you told me about Katya from Boho Speechy and she's actually coming to the podcast in a few weeks.
Sarah: I love her. Love her stuff. I mean, she's so spot on that I even have my therapists follow her. Even my OTs, because we have some friends in our clinic that are also GLPs. And I'm like, listen, if you guys want to just blow this wide open, learn the scripts of these children, work them into your treatment plan. I mean, and these children are soaring.
It's amazing. Once you connect and you figure out. Whether or not they're a GLP, it's a game changer. And I learned about it from reading the book Uniquely Human by Dr. Barry Prezant. That book changed my life. It changed the way I viewed my son. I bought so many copies. I gave them to all of our family members.
I have it, you know, here in the clinic. My staff is passing it [00:22:00] around currently, because it was the first book I read that I felt like was written about my child.
Brittyn: Yeah, I'll have to link that book. I haven't gotten to read it yet, but I've heard it’s so good. Yeah, that's so amazing. I remember when you were kind of breaking down some of his scripts, I remember there was the one about the Canada geese.
For some reason, that always just sticks in my head for him. And I always think of him when I hear that. I'm like, oh, Henry. But I remember, I believe it was when your husband got home is when he would say that script. And it was, he was excited to see your husband and he also used to take him to feed the geese, right?
Sarah: Correct. They still do that. The child is still obsessed with geese. For whatever reason, I will have to send you a video of him chasing geese. I'm terrified of them. He Loves them. But you're right. He would say Canada geese mate for life. And that was from a little video that he had heard and watched or whatever.
But you're correct. My husband did take him to the park on [00:23:00] Saturday mornings. They did dadder day or they still do dadder day. And that was something that he associated with his daddy when he walked in the door.
Brittyn: That is so sweet. I'm not sure why that always just stuck in my head. I think because it was funny thing.
There are so many. I know he also talked about his Fwankie, his blankie. I still remember that. And sometimes sweet Sam because he sleeps with a little blankie. And I'm like, it's your Fwankie and I always just think of Henry.
Sarah: You're so sweet. Yeah, we've upgraded to 20 Fwankies now. So we have to have all the same brand, all the same textures. He doesn't, you know, need them outside of bedtime, but yeah, that's very sweet that you remember that. He's a lot of the same and then so different as well, you know, thinking about Canada geese and the things he would say when his daddy walks in the door. And now he talks so much that sometimes I am like, I remember praying for these days, but I also need you to be quiet for two minutes, please, I cannot hear myself think, you know,
Brittyn: So okay, tell us about that. So do you think that uncracking the code with GLP is what really helped expand his language or what do you attribute to the huge growth in language?
Sarah: Two things. I think getting him well, so that he is, he is healthy and he is well was the game changer.
And that's where you came in. I mean, and that's why anybody that knows me and I've said earlier, you saved his life because I just think about, and I really, I struggle Brittyn to watch videos of him during that time frame or to look at photos of him during that time frame, because it was so hard because everyone around me was telling me that his behaviors were defiant, you know, he's defiant. He's a brat. He's an only child. He's this. He's that, you know, he was in intensive therapy and that wasn't working. And, you know, I felt like a failure and parents often don't talk about the grief side of [00:25:00] autism and the heaviness that goes in with raising a neurodivergent or a child with a neurodivergent brain.
It's hard and no one wants to admit that it's hard. And so I think getting him well was the first step. The second step learning how he communicates, you know, instead of being analytical, everything is his little brain is, whole to part instead of part to whole and then implementing an occupational therapy treatment plan for him that is very sensory heavy. Henry needs a lot of input and so figuring out what works for his little body. So that he can get regulated has really been the game changer. And so he feels good. He knows he's heard and understood, and then his needs are being met. It has really, I mean, it's changed his life.
He's learning to read and we have chosen to [00:26:00] homeschool for various reasons and he is soaring, I mean, the child is a whiz in math that blows my mind. I just, it's so comforting as a parent to know that in the darkest days when you and I met, I can sit in front of you now and have our conversation and tell you he's going to be just fine.
He's going to be something someday that is going to make all of us just look back and go, that was really hard, but look at you now and look what you're doing and look at the ways you're changing the world. I mean, I feel it in my soul. He's going to be just fine.
Brittyn: And I think that's really, really encouraging to hear whoever's listening to this episode.
There are probably a lot of people who are where you were when you were getting started and just like, which way is up? What are we doing? What kind of therapies are we starting? How do we move forward? And also pushing back against people who said, well, he'll just eat when he's hungry, or you don't need [00:27:00] this, he's fine.
You know, I think that your story is really encouraging to those people who are there right now.
Sarah: Well, I think, I asked the question why a lot. When I first stumbled upon your page, this is the honest truth. I was beating my fist in the floor, crying out to God, begging for answers to save my son, to help my son, whatever.
I would have given any, anything I had any amount of money, cut my body in half. Let me go help him all the things. And when I walked in a We Rock the Spectrum for the first time in March of 2022, I was in Dallas, Texas, visiting my in laws and my sister in law said, we need to go in here. And it was as audible as you and I are talking.
I heard if I had not put you through what you'd been through, you wouldn't know how to help the people you're called to help. And so I think as hard as [00:28:00] those days were, as hard as having a child with autism and ARFID as GLP is, it has taught me so much about myself, my son. My strength, my weaknesses, and then how to help other people.
I have so many parents that either come in the kid's gym or even come in our therapy center. And you can just tell they're broken. They're tired. They're just lost and they're looking for hope. And so to be able to share with them personally, that I too have been exactly where they are. And I've got all the hope in the world that their child will also be just fine. That is incredibly rewarding.
Brittyn: Wow, I'm having a hard time sorting through my thoughts right now, Sarah. I think what you've shared is incredibly powerful and for parents who are just now getting started, what kind of advice would you give to [00:29:00] yourself four or five years ago when you were first getting started?
Sarah: Ask the hard questions. There are going to be things that you don't want to hear. No one wants to hear that they're child. has a disability, a sensitivity, a neurodiversity of any kind. I don't care who you are. And so a lot of times we don't want to ask the questions because we would rather not know.
It is so much easier to stick your head in the sand and go on unknowing and just assume that this is who they are. And this is the new normal. But I think if you will allow yourself to ask the hard questions, You will have the power to do the hard things. And the hard things are seeking advice from people like you getting your child the resources they need, and if they aren't available, doing something about it.
I think when you are educated, you have hope. And when you've got hope, you can do [00:30:00] anything. And so for me I would just say ask the hard questions. If you think the least little thing is off or different or you're just curious, ask. Because you're better for knowing than not.
Brittyn: True. And that's really brave, too.
I mean, you have to be really brave to ask those big questions. For sure. Or to push back against a practitioner that you just feel in your gut is telling you something that's not right for your child.
Sarah: Absolutely. You know your child better than anyone else and I think dads are amazing but a mom knows, a mom knows her kid, a dad knows his kids, but parents know when something isn't quite right.
I mean, again, I told you Henry was typically developing and then he wasn't, and I knew something was wrong, and so i, unfortunately, did the hard thing, not unfortunately, fortunately, did the hard thing and then fortunately heard something that I didn't want to hear, but [00:31:00] John and I, we allowed ourselves to grieve Henry's diagnosis for one week, and I think that would be the other thing I would tell parents is that it's okay to grieve some during the process, but you can't sit in your grief, you got to move on and do what's best for your kiddos, so we grieved for a week, and then we got to work and look at him now, I mean, he's incredible,
Brittyn: And I think that's really healthy advice.
You're allowed to grieve and love your child for who they are. You are allowed to do both, and it doesn't make you a bad parent to grieve. And I think that's a normal biological process to be able to grieve through the life that you expected for you and your child, too. And then you're able to say, let's move forward from here.
So I think that's really, really amazing insight. Thank you for sharing with us and this is all very vulnerable to share so I really appreciate you taking the time to go through this and I know that you're giving a lot of parents hope for being [00:32:00] able to hear the progress that you made with nutrition, the brave steps that you made.
I mean, it's very inspiring. So I am really grateful that you took the time today to share that with us.
Sarah: Well, I am forever grateful for you. You know how much our family just adores you and trusts you and this has been a real honor and I'm extremely grateful.
Brittyn: Thanks, Sarah. Well, hopefully we finally get to meet in person at the end of the year in Nashville.
I'm excited. Yes. I would love to and get to, oh my gosh, if I got to meet Henry, I think I would explode. I just think he's the cutest, coolest kid ever. Yes. I mean, enough today where I seriously think about him often, and the Fwankie. I always think of him.
Sarah: I love that. Well, we'll maybe have to send Sam a Fwankie that, you know, one of Henry's, not one of his because we know better than that, but one like his.
Brittyn: Yes. Oh, that's so sweet. [00:33:00] Well, Sarah, thank you so much. I'm going to share details on where people can also find your We Rock the Spectrum in Bristol and connect with you and your therapy center as well.
I'll put all of that in the show notes because for people who are in your area, these are incredible resources to be able to connect with. So thanks for providing that kind of space for parents as well. And yeah, thanks for being here. It was good to catch up. Thanks, Sarah. [00:34:00]
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About Brittyn Coleman, MS, RDN/LD
Brittyn Coleman, MS, RDN/LD, is a distinguished Registered Dietitian and Autism Nutrition Expert, known for her innovative, sensory-friendly feeding approach to nutrition for children on the autism spectrum. As the founder of the Nourishing Autism Collective, and as an autism sibling herself, Brittyn brings both professional expertise and personal understanding to her work. She empowers families with her expert guidance, helping children receive essential nutrients for optimal health and development. Her strategies are tailored to the unique dietary needs and sensory preferences of each child.
Brittyn's influence extends beyond her membership site through her active social media presence and her popular podcast, 'Nourishing Autism'. Her educational content on Instagram, YouTube, and other platforms has established her as a leading voice in autism nutrition, providing valuable resources, practical advice, and a supportive community for parents and professionals.
