The mission of McNabb Feeding Therapy is to provide feeding therapy to infants, children, and teenagers within Fairfield County and New Haven County. A feeding specialist provides feeding therapy within the home setting through in-person visits or telehealth visits.

The goal is to improve swallow safety and efficiency with consumption of liquids and solids, facilitate progression to an age-appropriate diet, improve volume intake, expand food repertoire, and improve parent-caregiver feeding relationships.

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About Me

I am a pediatric speech-language pathologist and a certified lactation consultant. My work experience entails working at a children’s hospital as a feeding specialist, providing assessment and treatment for medically complex infants, children, and adolescents with feeding and swallowing disorders. I have a vast amount of experience treating premature infants with underlying medical diagnoses within a Level IV NICU, the highest level of a NICU that cares for the most complex and critically ill newborns. Many of my patients have tubes that are fed directly to the stomach to provide primary means of hydration/nutrition. It is my goal to improve swallow safety and efficiency to ultimately transition the infant to full oral feeds and wean use of tube feeds. It is extremely important to me, that I develop individualized feeding goals that are in alignment with the parents’ goals for their infant or child.

Additionally, I focus on providing treatment for patients’ with oral motor delays/deficits that may impact their ability to successfully bottle feed, breast feed, spoon feed, and/or chew solids. I provide treatment approaches which allow patients to developmentally progress to purees and solids. I also offer services that help expand the patient’s acceptance of novel or non-preferred food items for picky eaters.

Southern Connecticut State University Masters Degree, Summa Cum Laude, Speech-Language Pathology

Fairfield University Bachelor of Arts, Summa Cum Laude, Psychology, Neuroscience

Education:

- Certificate of Clinical Competence - Certified Lactation Counselor - CPR Trained - Nasotracheal, tracheal, and in-line suctioning - Modified Barium Swallow competency

Certifications:

Feeding therapy provided within your own home or through telehealth. Research has proven that therapy within the home improves the likelihood that skills will generalize to the patient’s natural environment.

  • Autism

  • Cancer

  • Cardiac conditions

  • Cerebral palsy

  • Dysphagia

  • Failure to thrive

  • Feeding difficulty

  • Gastrointestinal diseases (e.g., GERD, eosinophilic esophagitis)

  • Gastrostomy tube

  • Genetic disorders (e.g., Trisomy 21)

  • Laryngomalacia

  • Neurological impairments (e.g., hydrocephalus, seizure disorder)

  • Oral motor deficits

  • Prematurity

  • Tracheostomy tube

  • Vocal fold paralysis

Patient Populations:

Evaluation/Treatment:

  • Bottle feeding

  • Breastfeeding

  • Oral stimulation

  • Oral motor delays/deficits

  • Hypersensitivity to taste/texture

  • Food selectivity

  • Meal time behaviors

  • Self-feeding skills

  • Transition to age-appropriate modalities (cup, straw)

  • Improve volume intake by mouth to reduce dependence on tube feeds

Testimonials

  • “I cannot recommend Kaitlyn enough. She has truly become so much more than my daughter’s feeding therapist, she’s family. Kaitlyn was there for us at our hardest times. She provided my daughter and us as caregivers, the tools to build upon to get her feeding by mouth. She was there when my little one ate her first cracker and I’ll never forget how exciting and amazing it felt to get her to this step. I still tear up thinking about it. The base of my daughter’s feeding journey all started with Kaitlyn and we were able to have continued success because of her help. My daughter’s g-tube was removed within a year and she now eats a variety of foods. She is happy, healthy, and eating totally independently. Whenever I have questions or need ideas I still go to Kaitlyn. She is extremely knowledgeable and truly loves what she does. She is the most compassionate SLP and we feel lucky to have her in our lives. Having any medical challenges for your little one is very scary, but for our feeding journey Kaitlyn made a huge difference. Thank you Kaitlyn we love you!” - Jenni

  • “Have you ever met someone that has truly made such a powerful impact on your life? For our family, that person is Kaitlyn McNabb. Kaitlyn worked closely with us during our son’s recovery from open heart surgery to give us pointers on feeding techniques, feeding positions, various types of pacifiers and nipples for bottle feeding. She was patient, kind, empathetic and encouraging. Kaitlyn was knowledgeable of our son’s medical complications and worked closely with us, providing the appropriate feeding tips. Her temperament and guidance were instrumental during a time of profound frustration for us as parents as we feared our baby would never be able to handle a full feeding or gain back the weight he lost during his hospital stay. in person or virtually through telehealth, she provided us with unwavering support, counsel, and praise. Kaitlyn was there for many of our son’s major milestones. He got there in large part to Kaitlyn’s determination, guidance, and unwavering care for our son.” - Diane

  • “My daughter was diagnosed with laryngomalacia and was aspirating when she drank milk at six weeks old. I was so nervous, but I met Kaitlyn who helped me navigate this diagnosis and learn how to safely feed my child. She gave me comfort during a very scary time. She was always wonderful with my daughter! She continued to help my daughter with speech therapy as she got older. She is now two years old and swallowing and speaking wonderfully without any major issues. I can’t thank Kaitlyn enough for all she did for my family and I”. - Danielle