Picky Eating Series 2026 – Navigating Feeding Challenges in Children with Autism

Beyond picky eating. Practical, sensory informed approaches that work for autistic children and their families.

Approved for 6 CPEUs by the Commission on Dietetic Registration.
Price: $249 USD
CPEUs: 6

If you work with children with autism, you already know that feeding challenges are rarely just about food.

Strong preferences for routine and sameness, sensory differences, regulation and communication challenges, nutrition risk, and family stress all show up at the table. Many of the traditional picky eating strategies we were taught simply do not work here, and in some cases can unintentionally increase stress or resistance. Dietitians need a broader, more flexible toolkit and multiple pathways forward rather than a single “right” approach.

Course Rating & Reviews

The reviews are in and the response is clear – people love Picky Eating 2026!

“I found Brittyn’s presentation extremely helpful. She gave concrete examples of how I can approach sensory challenges that don’t feel so overwhelming.”

“Leeza’s presentation made me want to have a redo with all the parents I talked to and do it all over again with much more compassion for PARENT and kiddo. Thank you.”

“As a Registered Dietitian working with children, this series provided practical, easy-to-implement tools that I can apply in my day-to-day work with children with autism and selective eating. It also offered valuable insights from other professionals and helped strengthen my confidence in supporting this population and guiding families effectively.”

Four Part Recorded Webinar Series

This four part recorded webinar series brings together three dietitians and a psychologist who work closely with autistic children and their families. Across the sessions, dietitians will deepen their understanding of pediatric feeding disorders, nutrition risk and assessment, sensory informed strategies for diet expansion, and collaborative, family centered care. The series moves beyond one size fits all approaches, helping dietitians integrate evidence, clinical reasoning, and family capacity into real world practice.

The focus is practical and grounded.

You will strengthen your clinical judgment, build empathy for the lived experience of families, evaluate and adapt your clinical environment, and expand your toolkit so you are prepared with meaningful alternatives when usual strategies fall short.

Picky Eating 2026 - a course for dietitians on navigating feeding challenges in children with autism

This series matters now because traditional picky eating frameworks fall short for autistic children, and dietitians need practical, evidence informed approaches that reflect sensory differences, family capacity, and real-world care.

Registration Details

All registrants receive access to recordings.

  • Recordings are available for at least 1 year
  • 1.5 hours each, includes Q&A
  • Price: $249 USD, $349 CDN
  • 3-month payment plans available: $85 USD, $119 CDN
  • Picky Eating Series 2026 – Navigating Feeding Challenges in Children with Autism awards 6 CPEUs for the live and/or recorded events in accordance with the Commission on Dietetic Registration’s CPEU Prior Approval Program until March 20, 2029.

Course Testimonial

“Thank you [Leeza] so much for sharing your lived experience and being so insightful and passionate with your delivery. Your presentation was so eloquent and real. I think this is the information that is essential for all practitioners. I personally, as a mom and professionally, connected with everything you shared.  Thank you so much, I feel so grateful to have been able to learn from you.”  -Jessica Ferris, RD

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picky eating - navigating feeding challenges in children with autism

By the end of this series, you will feel more confident and better equipped to support autistic children and their families by:

  • Gaining clarity on how to differentiate between picky eating, selective eating, pediatric feeding disorder, and related diagnoses, and understanding when and how to intervene
  • Recognizing nutrition risk in autistic children, including the medical, sensory, and psychosocial factors that often contribute to selective eating
  • Using sensory informed principles to guide nutrition assessment, counseling conversations, and food exposure in ways that feel safer and more achievable
  • Choosing and adapting nutrition interventions that support diet expansion while respecting regulation, safety foods, and family capacity
  • Working more effectively with caregivers and interdisciplinary team members to reduce mealtime stress and support meaningful, sustainable progress

This course is for you if...

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    You support autistic children with selective eating and want practical guidance that goes beyond standard picky eating advice

  • ionicons-v5-e

    You work in pediatrics, primary care, community health, or private practice and regularly navigate feeding concerns with limited time and complex family dynamics

  • ionicons-v5-e

    You want to feel more confident assessing nutrition risk, knowing when to intervene or refer, and collaborating effectively within interdisciplinary teams

Have you ever found yourself asking… when supporting an autistic child with feeding challenges?

❓ Whether the strategies you reach for are truly helping this family, or need to be adapted to better support a child’s regulation, sensory needs, and routine

❓ How do I support nutrition when a child is non-verbal or cannot communicate preferences, hunger, fullness, or discomfort?

❓ How do I assess and treat real nutrition risk when diets are extremely limited, including micronutrient deficiencies?

❓ How to reframe selective eating when it is being misinterpreted as manipulative or behavioural rather than a response to sensory, regulatory, or developmental factors?

❓ What is within my scope as a dietitian, and when should another discipline take the lead?

❓ How do I bring together my clinical expertise with what this family realistically has the capacity to do right now?

❓ Why does feeding change feel so slow, and how do I help myself, the team, and families stay engaged when progress happens in small meaningful steps?

This series was created for dietitians navigating exactly these realities. You’ll learn how to listen more closely to both children and caregivers, recognize when nutrition “band-aids” are not only appropriate but necessary, and support progress without increasing pressure or stress.

Throughout the series, the emphasis is on progress, not perfection.

 

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dietitian course for picky eating feeding challenges in children with autism

Speaker(s)

Pediatric Feeding Disorders in Children with Autism: A Multidisciplinary Conceptualization

Session 1

With Dr. Colleen T. Lukens, PhD, Psychologist

This opening session sets the foundation for the series by exploring how feeding difficulties develop in children with autism through interconnected medical, nutritional, skill-based, and psychosocial domains. Dr. Lukens will address why the term “picky eating” can be misleading, how feeding challenges evolve over time, and how dietitians can better identify when referral or multidisciplinary support is needed.

Participants will gain a clearer understanding of how to balance evidence-based recommendations with family capacity, manage expectations around the pace of change, and support dietitians working within or alongside multidisciplinary teams.

When Selectivity Becomes Risk: Nutrition Concerns in Picky Eating and Autism

Session 2

With Rashelle Berry, MPH, MS, RDN, LD

This session focuses on the role of the dietitian in identifying and addressing nutrition risk in autistic children with selective eating. Rashelle will review common diagnoses associated with picky eating, outline nutrition and medical concerns frequently seen in this population and discuss how to determine when selectivity becomes clinically significant.

Through case-based discussion, participants will explore assessment considerations, appropriate intervention points, and the concept of progress, not perfection, while maintaining a respectful and family-centered approach. Multidisciplinary care will be emphasized, with a clear focus on the unique contribution of dietitians.

Selective Eating in Autism: Practical, Sensory-Informed Strategies That Work

Session 3

With Brittyn Coleman, MS, RDN/LD

Selective eating is common among autistic children, yet many dietitians feel underprepared or overwhelmed when deciding where to start and how to support diet expansion in a way that is both effective and sensory informed. This session provides practical strategies that dietitians can apply immediately to assessment, counseling, and intervention.

Participants will learn how to prioritize regulation, adapt meals using sensory principles, maintain preferred foods, and introduce new foods without increasing pressure. The session will emphasize reducing mealtime stress for both children and caregivers while supporting meaningful, sustainable progress.

Partnering with Parents: Collaborative Nutrition Support for Autistic Children with Selective Eating

Session 4

With Leeza Woodbury, MDA, RDN

This concluding session brings a parent-informed perspective to supporting autistic children with selective eating. Drawing on lived experience as a parent to a child with autism, Leeza will explore how dietitians can build empathy, adapt communication, and create flexible, supportive environments for families.

Through real-world examples across inpatient, outpatient, and virtual settings, participants will gain insight into how families experience nutrition care and how small shifts in language, expectations, and collaboration can meaningfully improve outcomes. This session bridges ethics, sensitivity, and practical application.

Frequently Asked Questions

Testimonials

This series was well presented. The time for each presenter was long enough for the listener to be 100% engaged and to absorb all information, and the viewpoints from parent to medical to dietitian presented a holistic approach. Loved it. I’m still talking about it to my coworkers.

Picky Eating 2026

As a Registered Dietitian working with children, this series provided practical, easy-to-implement tools that I can apply in my day-to-day work with children with autism and selective eating. It also offered valuable insights from other professionals and helped strengthen my confidence in supporting this population and guiding families effectively.

Picky Eating – Children with Autism

Payment Options

Picky Eating 2026

Register for the full Picky Eating Series 2026 to strengthen your confidence, expand your clinical toolkit, and better support autistic children and their families.

$249

$349

3 payments of $85/month

3 payments of $119/month