Join a webinar and gain knowledge from an experts on eating disorders.

Helping Parents of Athletes Navigate Return-To-Sport While Battling REDs and/or Eating Disorders

When a young athlete is experiencing Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs) or an eating disorder, parents often face the difficult challenge of balancing activity restrictions with the desire to allow full sport participation. This session will help parents understand this “gray area” and provide practical, research-backed guidance for supporting a safe return to sport. 

We’ll begin with an overview of REDs—what it is, how it overlaps with eating disorders, and how it differs. From there, we’ll review the medical and nutritional markers used to determine when sport participation is safe. Parents will learn practical tips on how to support a gradual, safe return without relying on unnecessary or outdated “all-or-nothing” approaches. By the end of this session, parents will feel more confident in guiding their athlete through recovery, reducing anxiety, preventing setbacks, and promoting a sustainable return to sport that prioritizes health and recovery above performance.

Katherine Hill, MD is a board-certified pediatrician and eating disorder specialist with over 15 years experience in the field, first getting interested in athletes and disordered eating as an NCAA Division I swimmer. She completed medical school and pediatric residency at Stanford, and spent 4 years as faculty at Stanford as Clinical Assistant Professor of Adolescent Medicine. She then served as the lead medical doctor and Vice President of Medical Affairs and Care Delivery at Equip Health for nearly 5 years before joining forces with Dr. Megan Hellner to found AthleatMD, a medical and nutrition practice focused on athletes struggling with sports nutrition, REDs, and eating disorders. 

Dr. Megan Hellner is a California-based researcher and registered dietitian with 20(ish) years of experience treating athletes with eating disorders. Throughout her career, she’s partnered with numerous sport organizations nationwide as both a clinician and educator, and served as a founding dietitian for several eating disorder treatment programs. Dr. Hellner is a Cofounder of AthleatMD, a virtual multi-state practice providing medical and nutrition support to athletes with disordered eating and/or REDs. She is deeply passionate about helping athletes across sport and skill-level navigate food and body issues through the various stages of their athletic career, such as competition, off-season, pregnancy/postpartum, or ‘retirement’ from sport.

Autism and Eating Disorders: Strategies for Parents

Autistic individuals are especially vulnerable to eating disorders. While many evidence-based treatments exist for eating disorders, research has found that individuals with autism do not respond the same as neurotypical peers and frequently require adaptations to treatment. In this webinar, the presenters will explain the behavioral and biological commonalities between autism and different eating disorders. Neuroaffirming adaptations to common eating disorder treatments will be explored. Additionally, parent interventions to support eating disorder recovery in individuals with autism will be illustrated. Case examples will be provided throughout this presentation.

Melissa Nishawala, MD is the medical director of the autism program and the clinical director of the feeding and eating disorder program at the NYU Child Study Center where she has more than 25 years of experience treating children, adolescents and adults with eating disorders, autism and related conditions.

Dr. Michelle Miller is a clinical psychologist at NYU Child Study Center where she has been providing evidence based-treatments and assessments for over a decade. Dr. Miller specializes in treating eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, tic disorders, trichotillomania and autism spectrum disorder. Dr. Miller additionally has expertise in conducting autism evaluations.

Past Webinars

Date

Title

Watch

Feb. 4th, 2026

Cognitive Rigidity in Eating Disorders: How Psychedelics May Help

Jan 14th, 2026

Feeding Without Fear: Navigating Nutrition in ARFID

Nov. 12th, 2025

Facing Mealtime Challenges

Oct. 22nd, 2025

When is a Higher Level of Care Needed?

Sep. 17th, 2025

Addressing Medications Like Ozempic in the Context of Eating Disorders

Jan. 15th, 2025

Dec. 4th, 2024

Let's Talk About Family Support for Autism and Eating Disorders

Nov. 13th, 2024

Challenging Parent Perceptions on Weight, Fat, and Food

Oct. 31st, 2024

(In Spanish) Reconstruyendo la Confianza en la Mesa: Cómo el FBT Puede Cambiar la Vida de tu Familia

Aug. 14th, 2024

July 11th, 2024

How We Developed FBT and Why it Works

May 8th, 2024

Treating Eating Disorders with Psychedelics: A Guide for Parents

April 10th, 2024

Eating Disorders Affect Us All

March 27th, 2024

Does Medication Work in the Treatment of Eating Disorders?

Feb. 28th, 2024

Promoting Life in the Treatment of Severe and Enduring Eating Disorders

Jan. 17th, 2024

Dec. 6th, 2023

Suicidiality & Self Harm in Eating Disorders

Nov. 9th, 2023

Oct. 11th, 2023

Refeeding Your Loved One

Aug. 14th, 2023

Eating Disorder in Males

July 12th, 2023

The Effect of Eating Disorders on Siblings: An Authentic Conversation

May 3rd, 2023

Understanding ARFID & its Genetic & Environmental Causes

March 22nd, 2023

What is "Fat Phobia" and How can it Affect Your Loved One's Recovery

March 2nd, 2023

Navigating Ramadan with an Eating Disorder

Jan. 31st, 2023

2023 AAP Guidelines with Dr. Anna Tanner

Jan. 18th, 2023

Eating Disorders, Biology, & Body Image

Dec. 15th, 2022

Nurturing Your Loved One with an Eating Disorder through the Holiday Season

Nov. 9th, 2022

Guided Self-Help Family Based Therapy for Adolescents with Anorexia Nervosa: What is it and Who is it for?

Oct. 18th, 2022

This is Hard and Skills Can Help: DBT Skills to Enhance Family Communication

Aug. 11th, 2022

How to Talk to Your Child When ED Has You Walking on Eggshells

July 14th, 2022

Skills Sharing for Supporters of People with Eating Disorders

June 3rd, 2022

What Parents and Patients Have Taught Me

May 18th, 2022

Partnering with Primary Care: Building a Team to Beat Your Child's Eating Disorder

May 1st, 2022

De-Escalating Violence and Aggression

Feb. 25th, 2022

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Eating Disorders: A Guide for Beginners

Jan. 20th, 2022

Permission to Parent

Dec. 16th, 2021

Having a Sibling with an Eating Disorder

Nov. 10th, 2021

What Caregivers Should Know About CBT and DBT

Oct. 13th, 2021

Medical Complications in Children and Adolescents with Feeding and Eating Disorder

Sept. 14th, 2021

Supporting Your Loved One Struggling with Bulimia Nervosa

Aug. 4th, 2021

ARFID 101: Subtypes, Symptoms, and Effective Treatments

July 21st, 2021

Is Anorexia Nervosa an Eating Disorder? How Anxiety Inhibits Eating

June 16th, 2021

Webinar with Daniel El Grange, PHD: What's New with FBT?

May 20th, 2021

What Parents Should Know About Higher Weight Eating Disorders

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