Our Mission & Pediatric Services

Our Mission

Our practice works together to build life-long relationships between our staff and our families by consistently providing our patients with compassion, excellence and value. To fulfill this mission, we are committed to:

• Improving the lives of the youth we serve by providing quality care in a youth-centered environment.
• Listening to our patients and their families who we are privileged to serve.
• Guiding our patients along a path of optimal health and wellness.
• Continually pursuing excellence at all levels through continuing education.

One of the reasons we are trusted advisers for parents is because we are a safe harbor where they can ask questions, tell us their fears, be taken seriously and receive evidence-based information, reassurance and guidance.

Why Families Choose Us

Families choose our practice because we offer:

• Independent, relationship-based pediatric care
• Longer appointment times with your pediatric team — they really know you!
• Same-day sick visits
• Direct communication with your pediatric care team, even after hours
• School-based healthcare services and collaboration with local schools — more on school visits
• Comprehensive behavioral health care, including ADHD, anxiety, depression, and eating disorders
• Nutrition counseling and comprehensive pediatric obesity care, combining Lifestyle Medicine, behavioral support, and evidence-based medications when appropriate — more on nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine
• Integrative pediatric care, including auricular acupuncture
• Care coordination for children with complex medical and developmental needs
• Convenient access close to home in the Upper Valley

Our goal is to build lasting relationships with families while helping every child thrive.

Preventive Pediatric Care

Helping children stay healthy is one of the most important things we do. Services include:

• Prenatal "Meet Your Pediatrician" visits
• Newborn care
• Well-child visits
• Annual physical exams
• School physicals
• Sports physicals
• Camp physicals
• Childhood immunizations
• Growth and developmental screenings
• Vision and hearing screening
• Preventive health counseling

Same-Day Sick Visits

Illnesses and injuries can happen at any time, and we're here to help when your child needs care. Whenever possible, we offer same-day appointments for illnesses and injuries, including:

• Ear infections
• Sore throats
• Fever
• RSV
• Influenza
• COVID-19
• Cough
• Asthma flare-ups
• Allergies
• Rashes
• Vomiting and diarrhea
• Minor injuries
• Concussions

We also offer after-hours phone and telehealth consultations with your pediatric team, so families receive timely medical advice without always needing to visit an urgent care center or emergency department.

Our goal is to provide the right care, at the right time, from the pediatricians who know your child best.

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.

Infant Feeding & Family Support

Welcoming a new baby is exciting, rewarding, and sometimes overwhelming. We're here to support families from pregnancy through infancy with compassionate, evidence-based care and practical guidance. Services include:

• Prenatal "Meet Your Pediatrician" visits
• Newborn care
• Lactation consultation and breastfeeding support
• Infant feeding guidance, including breastfeeding, bottle feeding, combination feeding, and introducing solid foods
• Infant sleep guidance and healthy sleep habits
• Growth and nutrition support during infancy
• Developmental monitoring
• Onsite Diaper Bank assistance
• Community resource referrals

We partner with families to help children get the healthiest possible start in life. Learn more if you're expecting.

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. Learn more about integrative pediatric care and auricular acupuncture.

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. 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.

Auricular Acupuncture

Dr. Ashley offers physician-provided auricular acupuncture as an evidence-based option to support children and teens with anxiety, ADHD symptoms, headaches, pain, sleep concerns, emotional regulation, injury recovery, and overall wellness. Because she is also your child's pediatrician, every treatment is integrated into their overall care plan. Learn more about auricular acupuncture .

ADHD & Behavioral Health Care

Behavioral health is an essential part of pediatric care. We believe emotional, behavioral, physical, and social health are deeply connected, and we partner with children, adolescents, and families to develop individualized treatment plans that support the whole child.

We provide comprehensive evaluation and ongoing care for children and adolescents with:

• ADHD
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)
• Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
• Eating disorders

Treatment plans are tailored to each child's needs and may include:

• Parent and patient education
• Lifestyle Medicine counseling, including nutrition, physical activity, sleep, and stress management — more on Lifestyle Medicine
• Behavioral and emotional support
• Medication management
• Auricular acupuncture as an adjunctive treatment — more on auricular acupuncture
• Ongoing follow-up to support long-term success and well-being

We also work closely with families, schools, therapists, and specialists to coordinate care and support long-term success.

Developmental & School Support

Children thrive when healthcare and schools work together. We provide:

• Developmental screening
• Developmental evaluations
• Care coordination
• School consultations
• 504 Plan support
• Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting attendance
• Collaboration with teachers and school staff
• In-school appointments through HealthHubVT

Adolescent Medicine

As children become teenagers, their healthcare needs change. We provide confidential, developmentally appropriate healthcare that supports adolescents as they grow into healthy, confident adults. Services include:

• Lifestyle Medicine counseling — more on Lifestyle Medicine
• Healthy weight management
• Sports nutrition and optimization of athletic performance
• Injury prevention and recovery
• Menstrual care
• Contraceptive counseling
• Reproductive and sexual health
• Support for transgender and gender-diverse youth
• Mental and behavioral health support

We partner with teens and their families to promote lifelong health while respecting each adolescent's growing independence and individual healthcare needs.

Additional Medical Services

We also provide:

• On-site laboratory testing
• Phlebotomy
• Concussion management
• Medication management
• Chronic disease management
• Care coordination with specialists
• After-hours pediatric team availability by phone or telehealth for established patients

Local Weekly Free Play Groups

Playgroups are a great way for families to connect, find out about other resources in the area and provide conversations and written information about child development and parenting.

Local playgroups are funded by the Agency of Human Services, Department for Children and Families, Child Development Division through a Vermont Parent Child Center Network master grant.

The list of playgroups available in the area provided by Orange County and the Family Place can be found at the websites below.

• Orange County Parent Child Center
• The Family Place