About Marla Verdone and JUST IMAGINE Solutions for Dyslexia, ADHD and Autism
My name is Marla Verdone.
I am licensed as a Davis® Dyslexia Correction Facilitator through Davis Dyslexia Association International. I am also licensed as a Davis® Autism Coach and Facilitator through the Ron Davis Autism Foundation, and am the Director of JUST IMAGINE Solutions for Dyslexia, ADHD and Autism located in Janesville, Wisconsin.
I have always had an interest in learning, advocating and working in creative learning situations with others. I attended college at University of Wisconsin Rock County and Northeastern University. I have a BFA from The Art Institute of Boston, served on the Board of Directors for two children groups, and hold a special interest advocating for specialized medical and educational rights. I am a military wife, married to a retired Army Sergeant Major and have two daughters.
As a parent and substitute teacher, I could not understand why my own bright and creative child was having such difficulty with reading and math. I spent much time trying to figure out the puzzle of why my daughter was experiencing such difficulty - only to be told by some people in the educational field that my child was lazy, or that maybe I should try reading with her. I always felt that she demonstrated the strengths of a dyslexic learning style and researched and tried several methods without success.
Finally, I read The Gift of Dyslexia by Ronald Dell Davis and felt that it accurately described my daughter and her frustrations with letters and numerals but also her balance, focusing, sensitivities and hearing as well. I then decided to contact a Davis® Facilitator and traveled with her to attend a Davis® Dyslexia Correction Program and, a year later, followed-up with a Davis® Math Mastery Program.
The Davis programs changed my child's life forever! She went from being a very frustrated reader with severe balance issues and lots of sensory meltdowns to a top student, a competitive figure skater and leader. I saw her reading improvement on her second day of her program. The program corrected her difficulties by looking at the root cause. What I now see? Self-confidence and the blossoming of her strengths and gifts. She has the tools for life learning!
Watching my child's success but still seeing others struggle through my job as a substitute teacher, was heartbreaking. I realized that I loved sharing information about the Davis Programs and shared my own copies of The Gift of Dyslexia and The Gift of Learning to many people. Other teachers (and even our family Pediatrician) were interested in finding out more about what helped my daughter so drastically. I started getting referral calls from friends of friends and I was so passionate about the program - finding that all the stories were similar to what my daughter had gone through - I wanted others to be helped too. It was then that I decided to change my career and go through the rigorous training to become a Licensed Davis Dyslexia Correction Facilitator and Licensed Davis Autism Facilitator and Coach.
I have enjoyed working with creative visual thinkers and helping them reach their goals. I feel very privileged to share and witness the life changes that happen right in front of me with each client as they move onto the next chapters of their lives with an open book of possibilities!
I am licensed as a Davis® Dyslexia Correction Facilitator through Davis Dyslexia Association International. I am also licensed as a Davis® Autism Coach and Facilitator through the Ron Davis Autism Foundation, and am the Director of JUST IMAGINE Solutions for Dyslexia, ADHD and Autism located in Janesville, Wisconsin.
I have always had an interest in learning, advocating and working in creative learning situations with others. I attended college at University of Wisconsin Rock County and Northeastern University. I have a BFA from The Art Institute of Boston, served on the Board of Directors for two children groups, and hold a special interest advocating for specialized medical and educational rights. I am a military wife, married to a retired Army Sergeant Major and have two daughters.
As a parent and substitute teacher, I could not understand why my own bright and creative child was having such difficulty with reading and math. I spent much time trying to figure out the puzzle of why my daughter was experiencing such difficulty - only to be told by some people in the educational field that my child was lazy, or that maybe I should try reading with her. I always felt that she demonstrated the strengths of a dyslexic learning style and researched and tried several methods without success.
Finally, I read The Gift of Dyslexia by Ronald Dell Davis and felt that it accurately described my daughter and her frustrations with letters and numerals but also her balance, focusing, sensitivities and hearing as well. I then decided to contact a Davis® Facilitator and traveled with her to attend a Davis® Dyslexia Correction Program and, a year later, followed-up with a Davis® Math Mastery Program.
The Davis programs changed my child's life forever! She went from being a very frustrated reader with severe balance issues and lots of sensory meltdowns to a top student, a competitive figure skater and leader. I saw her reading improvement on her second day of her program. The program corrected her difficulties by looking at the root cause. What I now see? Self-confidence and the blossoming of her strengths and gifts. She has the tools for life learning!
Watching my child's success but still seeing others struggle through my job as a substitute teacher, was heartbreaking. I realized that I loved sharing information about the Davis Programs and shared my own copies of The Gift of Dyslexia and The Gift of Learning to many people. Other teachers (and even our family Pediatrician) were interested in finding out more about what helped my daughter so drastically. I started getting referral calls from friends of friends and I was so passionate about the program - finding that all the stories were similar to what my daughter had gone through - I wanted others to be helped too. It was then that I decided to change my career and go through the rigorous training to become a Licensed Davis Dyslexia Correction Facilitator and Licensed Davis Autism Facilitator and Coach.
I have enjoyed working with creative visual thinkers and helping them reach their goals. I feel very privileged to share and witness the life changes that happen right in front of me with each client as they move onto the next chapters of their lives with an open book of possibilities!