Community Impact goals
From a study done at Kaiser Permanente, done by Croen, L.A., et al, we find that the annual age and gender adjusted cost per child with Autism Spectrum Disorders was more than three time that of children without Autism Spectrum Disorders ($2757.00 Vs $892.00 per child, per year). And the cost of medications was $727 vs. $96 respectively. If multiplied by the number of children, at the incidence of 1:65-95 per thousand for autism, (most current 2010 statistics), then the annual cost of treatment for these children surpasses hundreds of billions of dollars in costs to the tax payer.
Within the last quarter of 2010, Dreamweaver House will initiate the first of several “Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial” items of its mission.
This is designed to objectively evaluate the efficacy of the Dreamweaver Protocol, in a manner that would satisfy FDA recognition, thereby making this Protocol available to the toolbox of mainstream treatment of these disorders, thereby contributing significantly to controlling the runaway growth of this epidemic. A significant impact will be made upon the Long Island Community, and will eventually impact the entire country, due to benefits accruing from the structure of this study. This study will call into use the following:
- 192 patients will be selected from willing families not already a client of the Center.
The patients will be assigned to one of four groups.
1) Patients receiving all therapies included within the Dream Protocol. – 48
2) Patients receiving Brainwave Entrainment and Action Caption alone – 48
3) Patients receiving Homeopathic Frequency patches (Bio Magnetics Patches) alone- 48
4) Patients receiving placebo alone -48
The study will be designed so that each group is blinded to the staff and investigators of all other groups, and will be conducted over a 12-month period.
RESOURCES
The resources required for this study includes:
1. 4 centers in 4 varied communities of Long Island – each having 4 groups and serving 12 children patients per group = 48 children per center
2. 4 Receptionists/program coordinators
3. 48 Associate clinicians – to cover 192 patients in 4 centers (@ 3 hours per week per child x 6 days per week)
4. 4 Program Directors
5. 1 Director of Research/ Doctor,
6. 4 Statisticians
7. 4 data entry personnel.
8. 1 Bookkeeper
9. 1 Office Manager/ Office expenditures/ community outreach and recruitment expenditures
BENEFITS OF THE FIRST STUDY
1. 62 Jobs drawn from the Long Island community
2. 192 families given Free treatment for Autism Spectrum Disorders
3. A possible FDA approved treatment for Autism Spectrum Disorders, which will cause the establishment of hundreds of centers across the country offering hundreds of jobs and local, State and federal savings of several hundred billion dollars in treatment expenses for the epidemic that is Autism Spectrum Disorders.
(4) Who is going to do the study.
The Centers Resident Medical professionals, Dr.James Carlson and Dr Robert Caires, will supervise the study, and independently, Dr. Gerry Leisman, Ph.D., M.D. of Leeds Metropolitan University, the University of Haifa and Touro College of Health on Long Island, is the Principal Investigator. It is understood the study will be conducted independently of DreamWeaver House Foundation Inc., which funds the project.
Who will manage the Dreamweaver Centers Programs.
Currently the main “Dreamweavers” whose volunteer service delivers the daily operations of Dream Weaver House are, Dr James Carlson who is the ‘In House’medical practioner on site at Dreamweaver House where he examines and evaluates all cases, the Executive Director and Founder, Len Anthony Smith, Program Director, Karalee Harrigan, Program Coordinator Bob Delgado and Dreamweaver House Treasurer, Regina Santiago.
Dr. James Carlson DO, a medical practitioner, is also a bio-chemist, nutritional and wellness expert. He is resident on site at Dreamweaver House where he examines and evaluates all cases. He also has a large practice of several thousand patients in Port Jefferson Station, New York. Dr. Carlson, holds degrees in biochemistry and in cellular physiology from Cornell University. His Medical degree is from New York College of Osteopathic Medicine, and he has been Chief resident at Delaware Valley Medical Center in Pennsylvania. He also has an MA in business, with an emphasis on healthcare economics and physician practice management from Regis University in Colorado. Additionally, he has a Juris Doctorate in healthcare law from Concord University School of Law in California.
Len Anthony Smith has pioneered a revolutionary new concept of using children’s movies, utilizing a new and patented media technology, to teach, encourage and improve reading and language skills to children internationally. It was at this juncture that he discovered that his years of work in media had led him to a process that could help special needs children. This was the pivotal point which began his research into many other innovative and proven technologies which could improve the lives of special needs children; hence his founding of Dream Weaver House.
Professionally, Len is a writer, director and producer of motion pictures, stage plays, music recordings and electronic media over the past thirty five years. His academic background has steered him through a BA in Theater and English and an Associate BS in Photography, to a career launching a Fine Arts degree in film production from the School of Visual Arts and his business initiating work in the graduate diploma program in Arts Management at Adelphi University, before progressing to his Master of Fine Arts program at New School university.
Karalee Harrigan, Program Director, has been married to a New York City principal for 40 years. She is both a mother and a grandmother. In 1984 Karalee graduated Magna Cum Laude from the City University of New York with a degree in Psychology. Upon graduation she worked for St. Vincent’s Hospital on Staten Island counseling schizophrenics in a half-way house. She later worked for the New York City Department of Health as a Health Resource Coordinator in three New York City Middle Schools. It is here she received her basic experience in dealing with a diverse group of children. She crated programs, taught in classrooms and gave daily ongoing counseling to troubled adolescents. She had been working successfully, pro bono 6 days a week, for the past two years, managing Dream Weaver House. She has endearing warmth towards all of the children along with a superior aptitude for administering each individual child’s program.
Robert Delgado: has over 25 years of diverse hands on experience in the operations of a variety of business including insurance, electronics assembly, warehouse and transportation. As a United States Marine whose service was followed by his graduation from the Suffolk Community College, Bob has been an ardent advocate for children and especially the handicapped. He has been awarded by the P.G.A. of America as a director of golf for the physically challenged and has been influential in amending laws on public golf courses which now permit the physically challenged to create and participate in golf tournaments. It is this area of public service that has also made Bob a force in raising funds and awareness for children’s causes and products.
Additional volunteers include Regina Santiago, principal fundraiser and treasurer.