At Belly & Mind, we believe feeding and communication are about more than just eating or talking—they're about connection, confidence, and supporting the whole child.

Here's what makes our approach different:

• Whole-child, whole-family care. We look beyond symptoms to understand your child's unique strengths, challenges, sensory needs, development, and family routines.

• Parents are part of the team. Therapy doesn't stop when the session ends. We coach and empower caregivers with practical strategies they can confidently use at home, making progress more meaningful and sustainable.

• Individualized therapy. Every child is different, so every treatment plan is personalized to meet your family's goals, values, and daily life.

• Evidence-based, child-led care. We use research-supported approaches while following your child's pace. We focus on building trust, reducing stress, and creating positive experiences—not using pressure or force.

• Culturally responsive care. We recognize that every family has unique traditions, foods, and beliefs around mealtimes and communication. We partner with families to honor those values while providing evidence-based support.

• A collaborative approach. Whether your child is receiving occupational therapy, speech therapy, or both, we work together to provide coordinated care that supports the whole child.

• Our goal is simple: to help children build lifelong skills while helping families feel confident, supported, and understood every step of the way.

What services do you offer?

Belly & Mind provides comprehensive pediatric services to support your child's feeding, communication, development, and overall well-being. Our services include:

• Feeding evaluations and therapy

• Pediatric gastroenterology care

• Speech and language evaluations and therapy

• Occupational therapy evaluations and therapy

• Autism evaluations

To learn more about each service, including who it's for and what to expect, please visit our Services page.

A pediatric gastroenterologist (GI doctor) is a physician who specializes in diagnosing and treating conditions affecting a child's digestive system. After completing pediatric residency training, they receive an additional three years of specialized fellowship training in pediatric gastroenterology.

Pediatric gastroenterologists care for children with conditions involving the esophagus, stomach, intestines, liver, gallbladder, and pancreas. They are experts in evaluating digestive concerns, interpreting specialized tests, and developing treatment plans for a wide range of gastrointestinal conditions.

Your child may benefit from seeing a pediatric gastroenterologist if they experience concerns such as chronic constipation, reflux, abdominal pain, difficulty swallowing, poor weight gain, feeding difficulties, or other digestive symptoms.

No! One of the benefits of coming to Belly & Mind is that you can schedule an appointment directly with us—no referral is needed. If you're concerned about your child's feeding, communication, or development, we're here to help you get started.

Yes! We offer telehealth appointments on a case-by-case basis when it's clinically appropriate for your child and family's needs.

We love incorporating telehealth into evaluations and treatment because it allows us to see your child in the place where they are often most comfortable—their home. Observing your child's natural routines and environment gives us valuable insight into how feeding, communication, and daily activities unfold outside of the clinic.

Telehealth also allows us to provide personalized recommendations for your home environment, mealtime setup, play spaces, and everyday routines, making our strategies more practical and easier to implement. In many cases, combining in-person visits with telehealth offers the best of both worlds and helps us support your family in meaningful, real-life ways.

Dr. Ruiz speaks Spanish, Tina speaks Vietnamese (conversational), and Stephanie speaks Cantonese (conversational) and Mandarin (basic)