At Beyond Speech, we are so proud to serve families throughout Chicago’s southwest and west suburbs with comprehensive pediatric therapy services, but most especially our specialized feeding and nutrition therapies. We know that good nutrition plays a huge role in your child’s overall health and development, and we also know the challenges many families face when dealing with picky eaters, food aversions, and mealtime stress.
While we love providing in-home nutrition services to families in our service areas throughout the Chicago suburbs, we also recognize that virtual nutrition visits can be so helpful and convenient for busy families!
Our virtual nutrition visits bring our expert dietitians right to you for support, direction and resources to address a number of nutrition and feeding issues.
Wondering what happens during a virtual nutrition session? Let’s talk about it!
Who Can Benefit from Our Nutrition Visits?
Our feeding & nutrition visits are designed to serve a wide range of families throughout the Chicagoland area and beyond (one of the best parts of going virtual!) No matter where you are, one of our fantastic dietitians can be there for you!
These sessions are particularly beneficial for:
- Kids of All Ages
Our registered dietitians work with children from infancy through adolescence, adapting their approach and activities to be age-appropriate and engaging through a virtual format.
- Families Facing Various Nutrition & Feeding Challenges
Whether you’re dealing with picky eating behaviors, food aversions, unhealthy weight patterns, difficulties transitioning between food textures, or simply want to improve your family’s overall nutrition habits, virtual visits can address these concerns effectively.
- Busy Families Seeking Support & Flexibility:
Virtual nutrition visits can be particularly helpful for families with demanding schedules, multiple children, or those who simply prefer the convenience of receiving expert guidance while remaining in their own familiar environment.
And the best part of virtual nutrition visits is that they provide the same personalized, family-centered approach that Beyond Speech is known for, while offering much needed convenience and accessibility.
What Happens During a Virtual Nutrition Visit
Session Setup and Goal Setting
Each session starts with our dietitian sitting down virtually with you, your child and the whole family if you wish to establish clear, achievable goals for your time together.
We might focus on a particular feeding challenge your child is experiencing, work on expanding food choices, or tackle more broad family nutrition goals.
Types of Nutrition Focused Activities We Can Do Virtually
- Virtual Pantry Tours & Kitchen Exploration:
Our dietitians can guide you through your own kitchen and pantry, helping you identify healthy options you already have and suggesting items for future shopping trips.
- Interactive Label Reading:
Together, you and your nutritionist can take a deeper look at food packages from your pantry, teaching both children and parents how to read nutrition labels and ingredient lists. This sort of thing is what we love to call playing with a purpose because a pantry scavenger hunt is an awesome way for kids to learn skills while having fun! - Live Meal Planning Sessions:
We can work together to plan meals and snacks using foods you have available and focus on what works best for you and your family.
- Real-Time Mealtime Coaching:
Perhaps one of the most powerful parts of a virtual nutrition visit is the ability to provide guidance during actual mealtimes. Our dietitian can observe family dynamics around food and offer immediate, gentle suggestions to make mealtimes a more positive and bonding family experience..
Our Registered Dietitians Can Help With…
- Family-Centered Food Planning:
Our dietitians can work with your family to create realistic, sustainable meal and snack plans that fit into any busy schedule. This might include plans for meal prep, healthy options for on-the-go eating, and ways to involve the whole family in nutrition planning.
- Kitchen and Pantry Optimization:
We also help families organize and overhaul their pantries. This may include suggesting better snack options, recommending whole grain alternatives, or helping families understand how to stock their pantries for success.
- Picky Eating Support:
We know that for so many of our families, the challenges of picky eaters can be so frustrating. Our dietitians can provide very personalized approaches to expand your child’s food choices through various techniques.
- Collaborative Care:
When appropriate, our registered dietitians can also work closely with our speech-language pathologists to address feeding issues that may have both nutritional and oral-motor components.
- Sibling Involvement:
We encourage all family members to participate in our feeding & nutrition session, whether virtual or in-home. This whole family involvement helps create consistent, positive messages about nutrition making it a family focus and not something that singles one child out.
Getting Started with Beyond Speech Therapy Services
Virtual nutrition visits offer unique advantages that make high-quality pediatric nutrition support more accessible than ever for families throughout Chicago’s southwest and west suburbs.
- Kids feel most comfortable in a familiar space so in-home and virtual sessions make the work easier and a lot less overwhelming.
- Virtual or in-home sessions can happen during mealtimes, when you’re preparing meals or whenever you need it most.
- A virtual visit is often the most convenient option for many of our busy families. We love the ability to meet our clients where they are and support them in meaningful ways.
Ready To Book Your Virtual Nutrition Visit?
We can’t wait to support you and your family on your feeding & nutrition journey!
Click here to get in contact with our team to discuss your family’s specific nutrition concerns and goals.
Our virtual sessions work through common video conferencing platforms that most families already have access to. You’ll need a computer, tablet, or smartphone with a camera and reliable internet connection.
Ready to transform your family’s relationship with food and nutrition? Contact Beyond Speech today to learn more about our virtual nutrition services and schedule your initial consultation.