What began out of necessity during the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth dietitian services have continued at Windermere, as evidence suggests there are many benefits for families and individuals.
You may wonder if consulting a dietitian is necessary and how it can support your health and wellbeing. A dietitian can help identify and address a range of underlying health and development issues in both children and adults. There’s no question that nutrition plays a vital role in physical and mental development as well as general wellbeing. A dietitian can address issues with eating habits and provide strategies and guidelines which can go a long way in addressing issues linked to chronic illnesses and growth and development delays to improve day-to-day life.
Telehealth allows you to access services from a dietitian in the comfort of your home. Typically, an initial Dietitian assessment is provided via telehealth to collect current dietary information.
Many parents struggle to find time to schedule in-person appointments leading to delays in commencing services.
Emma Jettner, Senior Lifespan Dietitian in Windermere’s NDIS Early Intervention and Therapy Service team emphasises the importance of telehealth through her experiences working with families.
“Telehealth is especially beneficial early on when I may not need to interact with the child and I can have a discussion with parents about strategies they can implement right away. It’s very easy for families, as it’s a matter of clicking on and having session at a mutually convenient time,” explains Emma.
Timely support is important as eating habits developed early in life have a far-reaching impact on health and wellbeing. Suboptimal dietary intake can affect a range of functions or outcomes such as concentration and cognition ability, developmental milestones and regulating emotions.
Meeting developmental goals are embedded in the NDIS and if your child is a fussy eater, a dietitian can provide tailored strategies to support their development. Occurrences like illness can interrupt services face to face and hinder the progress you may be making with your child. Telehealth provides a flexible workaround to overcome this challenge.
"On a challenging day, the option to continue support virtually works well,” says Emma adding that “parents are very appreciative of telehealth, as sessions can continue regardless of health issues. I can be there virtually and even observe meal preps and provide advice.” adds Emma.
Often dietetics are part of a range of supports provided your child. In such instances, it is important for your dietitian to understand all your child’s needs to tailor strategies that meet specific needs.
“At times, I attend doctor’s appointments virtually to communicate the nutritional aspects and help families secure a care plan,” says Emma.
“I can simply observe a consult or therapy session to gain a better understanding. I can join these sessions with the tap of a phone without distracting the child who is receiving therapy. Because of telehealth I can go anywhere the family wants me to go,” adds Emma.
Dietetics is vital to you or child’s development journey as it filters into all other aspects or allied health interventions. While you may not have a separate allocation for a support, it can be provided under the Improved Daily Living category.
If your child’s therapist or keyworker identifies a need for sessions with a dietitian, they can discuss how to best utilise the available funds within the current NDIS plan.
While telehealth offers flexibility and ease of access, face to face consultation is necessary in many cases.
“When it comes to telehealth, often those consultations are about parent education. Face to face is necessary when I need to directly engage with the child as they may not respond well to interactions through a screen,” says Emma.
Emma recently supported mum Sara* who was having difficulty persuading her toddler son Zain* to try eating any food. It was an instance where in person sessions were essential.
“I was pretty stressed by the time we came to see Emma, I was ready to give up,” says Sara.
At the time, Zain was on a very limited diet consisting mainly of milk as he resisted touching any other food.
“Emma was able to connect with Zain and help him regulate his sensory reactions to food. She showed me how to work with Zain and helped him become more comfortable with food. Sensory play really helped and the focus was not just on food either, it was also about developing fine motor skills and variety of things. Now Zain is a lot more open to trying new food. It was one of our most successful therapies,” explains Sara.
There are many other instances where Emma makes appointments in person with both children and adults. Based on individual needs, she makes visits to supermarkets or community gardens to educate those she supports about making better dietary choices. She also visits childcare centres or kinder to observe what impacts a child’s eating habits in those environments to better support parents.
“I have many adults who prefer to bring their support worker along with them to an office space as that works better for them, telehealth is a convenient and flexible choice that works as and when needed,” adds Emma.
*Names have been changed to protect identity.
For more information on our dietitian services please visit here or call 1300 946 337.
48 Webb Street
Boonwurrung Country
Narre Warren, VIC 3805
Phone: 1300 946 337
Fax: (03) 9796 7650
Email: info@windermere.org.au
Windermere is committed to equity, inclusion and belonging for consumers and employees, by building diverse and inclusive services and work environments, where all peoples from Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander, Culturally & Linguistically Diverse, LGBTIQ+ Communities and those living with disability will know and feel accepted, affirmed, safe and celebrated. Windermere is delivering this through the continued development and implementation of our Welcoming and Inclusion Strategy 2021-2024.
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