LearningRx CEO, Kim Hanson, recently asked our franchisees to share a little bit about their reason for franchising with LearningRx. Susie McDaniel, owner of LearningRx Atlanta-Buckhead and Alpharetta, Georgia, shared her “why” with us in My LearningRx Story. Susie has been with LearningRx since 2007 and has had a great impact on the Atlanta and Alpharetta communities. She is deeply committed to the families in her center and prioritizes their customer experience. We are thrilled to share her story with you!
It has been said that “necessity is the mother of invention.”
The saying holds particularly true for me. I am Susie McDaniel, a wife, mother of two boys, a physical therapist, and owner of LearningRx centers in Atlanta and Alpharetta, Georgia.
Growing up, I always knew that my children would be one of my greatest accomplishments. When my oldest son, Matthew, was born, I was over the moon! However, as he grew older, I started to notice some mild delays in achieving the expected milestones. By the time he reached preschool, he was kicked out due to his attention, sensory, and social issues. I was devastated! Matthew’s struggles took a toll on our whole family. My husband and I were constantly worried about his future, and our younger son, Thomas, began to feel neglected. I even began having panic attacks. As a mother and a physical therapist, I was determined to find a solution.
With my physical therapy background, I had always been passionate about finding the root cause of any problem and then working to find the best treatment. I began researching tools within my field and trying a wide range of other interventions. We experienced some success, but I felt like a big piece of the puzzle was still missing. That was when I learned about cognitive skills training and LearningRx from a friend in another state. After traveling to see the programs firsthand and talking with many others who were passionate and had personal success with the programs, I immediately knew this was what Matthew needed. I had never intended to own my own business, let alone something that wasn’t traditional P.T., but I knew I needed to leave my professional comfort zone and “reinvent” my life to help my children. I made the transition from being a traditional physical therapist to being more of a “Brain Physical Therapist” and opened my first LearningRx center in Atlanta in 2008.
Both of my sons were some of my first clients. Their results were nothing short of remarkable. Matthew’s short-term memory, processing speed, attention and executive functioning skills improved. Without ever going on medication for his attention struggles, he tackled a challenging private high school curriculum and made honor roll on several occasions. He is now majoring in Robotics Engineering, making the dean’s list. He earned a Hope scholarship and has been invited to enroll for an extra year to earn his Master’s in Robotics. This was the same child who was kicked out of preschool! His success in school—all the way up through college—is in large part because of the one-on-one brain training we did when he was younger.
Thomas’ experience is also noteworthy, as it shows that even students without specific learning challenges can benefit from cognitive skills training. LearningRx helped him become a stronger, more competitive student. He is an extremely confident student and academics cause him very little stress. He gets excellent grades without a lot of effort and has become an avid reader. I can see how LearningRx enhanced his ability to achieve in school and build his confidence. He received top scores in AP courses during high school and is also majoring in Robotics Engineering.
When they took their college entrance exams, both boys received strong scores. I attribute these scores to the training they received at LearningRx.
For our family, LearningRx offered a significantly greater outcome compared to other options we had tried. It not only improved our children’s academic performance, but also their self-esteem, confidence, and overall well-being. Necessity is truly the mother of invention, and I am forever grateful for this life-changing intervention, not only for my own family but for the countless other families we have helped in the past 15 years. It was difficult to leave a beloved profession, but I have been able to bring hope and empowerment to countless families like mine. I’m so thankful that I needed this program—without that necessity, I might never have experienced the joy of helping clients change their lives with brain training.
