The Parent Perspective: Kelly Meehan, OD

November 8, 2022

One of my favorite segments of the My Child Will Thrive Podcast are the interviews I do with all parents and caregivers. While our episodes with experts are packed with invaluable information, the parent interviews on The Parent Perspective are so insightful, relatable and sometimes it’s just helpful to hear from other parents who went through similar situations with their children.

Today’s episode of The Parent Perspective is with Kelly Meehan, a parent of three and new integrative health practitioner. Kelly shared with us her story of struggling to find answers with her daughter’s physical and mental health symptoms until she was finally able to get answers (and a diagnosis) of celiac disease. Since then, going gluten free and optimising her children’s gut health has completely changed the way her children are able to show up in the world. We dive into a lot of symptoms that you might not know are associated with a gluten allergy or sensitivity and so much more.

[su_box title=”Things You Will Learn” box_color=”#84C141″ class=”nutshell_box”]

• Searching to find answers and finally finding them with a celiac diagnosis
• The brain and behavioural symptoms that can show up when children have gluten sensitivities
• How Kelly transitioned her whole family to a gluten-free lifestyle
• The hidden places that gluten is hiding that you may not know about
• What to do if your celiac or gluten sensitive child gets “glutened” 
• What Kelly would’ve done differently at the beginning of her journey with her child
• And much more…[/su_box]

Show Notes for this Podcast 

• Kelly’s story with her daughter’s symptoms and eventual diagnosis of celiac. (3:33)
• The changes Kelly saw in her daughter’s behaviour and mental health with getting off gluten and healing her gut. (8:26)
• Brain and behavioural symptoms that show up with celiac and gluten sensitivity that people aren’t always aware of. (11:15)
• What Kelly needed to do to optimise her children’s health after coming off of gluten. (15:05)
• Steps to make the transition to a gluten-free lifestyle. (19:14)
• One of the most surprising places Kelly found gluten hiding. (21:06)
• Why Kelly’s whole household went gluten free and what getting “glutened” means. (25:05)
• Supplements that help Kelly’s family when they’ve been glutened. (29:09)
• More about Kelly’s career as a paediatric optometrist and vision therapy.(31:42)
• The things Kelly might’ve done differently if she were back at the beginning of her journey. (34:48)
• How to connect with Kelly. (37:02)

Resources and Links

Kelly’s Website, Designed Family Wellness

Kelly’s Instagram

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More about Kelly Meehan

Kelly is a wife and busy mom of 3. She has a bachelors in Human Nutrition from Arizona State University, and a doctorate in optometry from the Illinois College of Optometry. She completed a residency in primary care with emphasis in Pediatrics at Nova Southeastern University. She most recently became an Integrative Health Practitioner in 2021 and is looking forward to helping transform your trajectory towards your best health.

Transcript

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0:00 Tara Hunkin:
This is My Child Will Thrive and I'm your host, Tara Hunkin, nutritional therapy practitioner, certified gaps practitioner, restorative wellness practitioner. And mother. I'm thrilled to share with you the latest information, tips, resources, and tools to help you on the path to recovery for your child with ADHD, autism, sensory processing disorder, or learning disabilities. My own experiences with my daughter combined with as much training as I can get my hands on,

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