Integrative Pediatric Care

At South Royalton Health Center, we believe the best pediatric care combines the strengths of modern medicine with evidence-based complementary approaches that support the whole child.

Our pediatricians consider nutrition, sleep, physical activity, stress, family relationships, and emotional well-being as important parts of every child's health. When appropriate, we may incorporate additional therapies into your child's care plan to address these, including:

• Nutrition counseling
• Movement
• Mind-body strategies for stress and anxiety
• Auricular acupuncture

These therapies are always used to complement — not replace — traditional medical care.

Lifestyle Medicine

Lifestyle Medicine is an evidence-based approach to preventing and treating disease by focusing on the daily habits that have the greatest impact on health. Dr. Ashley is a board-certified Lifestyle Medicine physician (DipABLM).

Our recommendations are personalized for each child and family and are guided by the six pillars of Lifestyle Medicine:

• Healthy nutrition
• Regular physical activity
• Restorative sleep
• Healthy stress management
• Avoiding tobacco, vaping, alcohol, and other harmful substances
• Strong family, community, and social connections

These principles are woven into everyday pediatric care — from well-child visits to chronic disease management — to help children build lifelong healthy habits.

Nutrition

Healthy nutrition and daily habits are the foundation of lifelong health. We partner with children, adolescents, and families to develop personalized, evidence-based nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine plans that support healthy growth, development, mental health, athletic performance, and overall well-being.

Services include:

• Growth and nutrition assessments
• Pediatric nutritional counseling
• Nutrition support for picky or selective eating
• Healthy weight management, including prescription medications when appropriate
• Sports nutrition and optimization for athletic performance
• Nutrition support for ADHD and other chronic health conditions
• Eating disorder care as part of a multidisciplinary treatment team

Our goal is to help children and families build healthy habits that support lifelong health and well-being.

Auricular Acupuncture

Dr. Ashley offers physician-provided auricular acupuncture, an evidence-based therapy that uses tiny needles or ear seeds on carefully selected points on the outer ear. It may be used alongside traditional pediatric care to support children and teens with anxiety, ADHD symptoms, headaches, pain, sleep concerns, emotional regulation, injury recovery, and overall wellness.

Because Dr. Ashley is also your child's pediatrician, every treatment is integrated into their overall care plan.