Does your child struggle to read? Are you exhausted with homework battles and other behavior issues?

 

Do you wonder if there is a deeper underlying problem like Dyslexia, ADHD, or sensory processing disorders, but you don’t know where to go for help?

Many parents take a wait-and-see approach while experts insist that early intervention is key to helping children with learning disabilities thrive.


Children who struggle with learning disabilities suffer from unnecessary stress and frustration resulting in tantrums, homework battles, and failing grades. These can often be greatly reduced if not eliminated with the right therapy. Sometimes that therapy is as simple as proper nutrition.


In this series you will learn to recognize the red flags associated with learning disabilities. Learn where to go for help and funding. Get practical tips about what can be done at home to help your child thrive. View your child from a holistic perspective - body, mind and soul - to serve the whole child.


Course curriculum

    1. Welcome and Introduction

    1. Watch the webinar “Special Education: The Big Picture and Holistic Approach”

    1. Watch the webinar: “The Experts Say…”

    1. Webinar #3: Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Dr. Robert Verdile

    2. Webinar Handout

    1. Watch the webinar: "Why Nutrition Should be Part of Every Therapy Plan"

    1. Watch the webinar: Vision and Learning Problems

About this course

  • Free
  • 12 lessons
  • 9 hours of video content

Instructors

Margaret Walsh

Educational Therapist

Margaret is the founder and director at Secret Garden Educational Pathways, where she provides online, homeschool and Christian friendly special education therapy/remediation. She started her journey by graduating with a Bachelor’s in Liberal Arts from Thomas Aquinas College. She trained and worked at Lindamood Bell Learning Processes during her summers between college. She pursued further specialized training and education with Equipping Minds and is a certified instructor of the Equipping Minds therapy program. To complete her education so she could help more students, she pursued and received a M.S. in Special Education. Margaret works constantly to provide the best help possible. She is a kind and understanding teacher, while at the same time encouraging high standards, and loves to have fun with and see her students succeed.

Elisabeth Graham

Speech-Language Pathologist

Certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and Licensed by the Commonwealth of Virginia, Elisabeth has been practicing as a speech-language pathologist for over 27 years. She received her Bachelor's Degree from Towson State University and her Master’s Degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Loyola College in Maryland. Elisabeth has worked in a variety of clinical settings prior to starting her own practice, including inpatient and outpatient hospital setting, speech and hearing clinic, home health, and skilled and assisted nursing facilities. She has held many different managerial positions including Regional Clinical Specialist, Rehabilitation Director, Clinical Coordinator and Program Manager of several area outpatient clinics where she managed a professional staff of physical, occupational and speech therapists. Elisabeth currently provides speech, language and literacy assessments and treatment through her private practice. She uses her many years of experience, along with a myriad of assessment tools, and collaboration with other professionals to provide a holistic, integrated approach to assessment and treatment, which allows for the most expeditious and successful outcomes for her clients.

Clare McCullough

Occupational Therapist

Clare McCullough is an Occupational Therapist who learned how to help children with Sensory Processing Disorder from her firsthand experience growing up a "sensory kid." Blessed to be a part of a big family with parents who intuitively parented with intention for her needs, Clare had wonderfully diverse opportunities to develop her mind and soul, giving her a very holistic perspective in working with children. Clare graduated from Hope College in 2011 with a Bachelor's degree in Spanish and Psychology and then went on to complete her Masters in Occupational Therapy from Western Michigan University, graduating in December 2013. She has worked for six years in an outpatient pediatric clinic and public schools in the Chicago suburbs after she returned to Northwest Indiana to be with her family. When she is not learning from and with children and their families, Clare enjoys spending time with her family, reading, being in nature and FaceTiming with her fiance who lives in Chile. Since Coronavirus quarantines began, Clare has begun undertaking a personal goal of creating a website where she will provide reviews of research articles on topics within pediatric Occupational Therapy.

Instructors

Tod Davis

Developmental Optometrist

B.S. Biology: University of Oregon. Athletic scholarship, Football. Doctor of Optometry: Southern California College of Optometry. Fellowship,Child Development: Gesell Institute of Child Development, New Haven CT. Memberships: Optometric Extension Program, College of Optometrists in Vision Development (Fellow), Neuro-Optometric Rehab Association, and College of Syntonics Speaking experience: Vision-related topics to organizations including Society of European Optometry, Brussels, Belgium; National University, Irvine, CA., master’s program Special Education; Loma Linda University, CA., masters program School of PT. Annually, up to 20 workshops and in-services to parent groups, educators, and other professionals. Former member of Toastmasters International Owner: Virginia Vision Therapy Centers, Inc, a vision therapy only practice. Main office Manassas, VA with 4 total locations.

Robert Verdile

Licensed Clinical Psychologist

Dr. Robert Verdile is a Virginia Licensed Clinical Psychologist who maintains an independent practice in Leesburg. He earned his Ph.D. from the Catholic University of America, Washington D.C., and completed a National Institute of Mental Health internship at Saint Elizabeths Hospital. He then worked at the Kennedy-Kreiger Institute of Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore under the supervision of psychologists Shirley and Henry Mark who in the 1950’s were pioneers in the field of learning disorders, publishing articles about their research in the Scientific American. Prior to establishing in 1981 his private practice Dr. Verdile worked for five years at the National Children’s Rehabilitation Center, which was a residential treatment center and school in Leesburg established by the Epilepsy Foundation of America for children with neurological and psychiatric disorders. He also completed a post-graduate certificate training program in Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy at the Washington School of Psychiatry. He continues to provide psychological and psycho-educational diagnostic testing and evaluation services working as well in consultation with area private schools and with Home School Legal Defense Association.

Ann Walsh

Nutritional Therapy Consultant

Ann Walsh is a former pediatric RN who gave up her nursing career to home-educate her children. In the process of raising her family she discovered the power of food and nutrition to overcome challenging health problems that the medical community cannot fix with medications and surgeries. This led to completing training in Nutritional Therapy Consulting. Her education coupled with her experience as a homeschooling mother of six has helped her know how to help other families who struggle with the nutritional piece of the puzzle with learning disabilities. She finds this path very rewarding as she sees the power of the right dietary changes for the individual in overcoming serious challenges.