Our passion is providing quality service to children.

Executive Director

With over 40 years of experience as a pediatrician, researcher, and lecturer, Dr. Cecelia McCarton is among the world's leading experts in diagnosing and treating children with developmental disorders.

In 1998, Dr. McCarton founded The McCarton Center for Developmental Pediatrics, a diagnostic and treatment center dedicated to childhood developmental disorders. She is also the Founder and Executive Director of The McCarton Foundation for Children with Developmental Disabilities, The McCarton School for children with autism, and the Children's Academy for children with speech and language delays.

Early in her medical career, Dr. McCarton developed an affinity for children who displayed special needs. After completing her residency in Pediatrics at the Bronx Municipal Hospital Center, where she also served as Chief Resident, she received two prestigious post-doctoral research fellowships from the Department of Psychiatry at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the Rose F. Kennedy Center for Research in Mental Retardation and Human Development at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.]

Since finishing her formal training in 1977, she has served as Director of the Clinical Research Unit at the Rose F. Kennedy Center and Director of the L.I.F.E. (Low Birth Weight Infant Follow-Up and Evaluation) Program. Her research experience includes national studies developmental complications in infants with low birth weight, infant health and development, and the prevention of mental retardation. Dr. McCarton has also taught pediatrics for over 25 years and is currently Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Throughout her career, Dr. McCarton has received numerous honors including grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Pew Charitable Trusts, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She has published over 50 book chapters and peer-reviewed articles in journals such as the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Child Development, Journal of Pediatrics and Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology.

A New York City native, Dr. McCarton received her BA from the College of New Rochelle and her Medical Degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She is a Diplomate of the American Board of Pediatrics (1988) and a member of many professional societies, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Society for Behavioral Pediatrics, Society for Research in Child Development, the International Neuropsychology Society and the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine.

Clinical Director

Ms. Sara Daum is one of the most respected speech-language pathologists in New York City, specializing in treating children with developmental disabilities and speech and language delays. As Clinical Director of the McCarton Center for Developmental Pediatrics, she leads our team of exceptional therapists and special educators treating a wide range of developmental disabilities. She also serves as the Center’s Director of Speech and Language and provides speech and language evaluations and therapeutic sessions.

Ms. Daum is also the Head of School for the Children’s Academy, New York City’s only multidisciplinary kindergarten through 9th grade independent day school for children with speech and language delays. Ms. Daum developed the rigorous, language-based learning program offered at Children’s Academy, which launched in 2008 and utilizes an Integrative teaching model in small classrooms with low student-to-teacher ratio (6:2:1)  and dedicated licensed Speech & Language Pathologists in every classroom.

She received her B.A. in Communicative Disorders from The University of Wisconsin-Madison, and her Master of Arts in Speech Pathology from Queens College, City University of New York; and holds a certificate in Applied Behavioral Analysis.