Building what didn’t exist
Clarity, connection, and compassionate guidance for individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders and the families who support them.
Dr. Dina Friedman
Building What Didn’t Exist
From this need, Launch Lodge emerged— a coastal Delaware retreat program offering individualized support, emotional regulation, functional skill-building, and meaningful recreational experiences. These retreats provide the structure and nurturing participants need to strengthen skills and launch toward greater independence.
The Search for Answers
Despite countless evaluations, we still had no diagnosis for many years. We knew something significant was happening, and medical providers were often perplexed by her symptoms. No one could identify an underlying cause. At age 18, we finally received clarity: Sienna was diagnosed with a CAMK2-related neurodevelopmental disorder— a rare, single-gene mutation affecting calcium signaling in the brain and impacting emotional regulation, development, behavior, and complex medical systems. This diagnosis reframed everything. It provided answers, but it also revealed another truth: there were no established treatment pathways.
Turning Understanding Into Action
Determined to accelerate progress, I partnered with the Milken Institute, a global health-policy think tank that identifies the highest-impact opportunities in research, clinical development, and philanthropy. Together, we created the Giving Smarter Guide, which highlights where support is needed most to propel CAMK2 research forward and strengthen the clinics working to serve this community. I also came to see how many families remain in the dark simply because rare neurodevelopmental disorders are not widely recognized and access to testing is limited. Increasing awareness and expanding opportunities for diagnosis have become central to my mission— so families can gain answers sooner, find community, and avoid the years of uncertainty we endured. This commitment is reflected in our advocacy efforts and in the “Rare Is Everywhere” auction, dedicated to raising awareness and ensuring that 100% of funds raised go directly to CAMK2 research and the development of clinics that support this community.
Identifying the Most Urgent Need
Through conversations with CAMK2 families and information gathered from clinical and community sources, a clear pattern began to emerge. Emotional regulation consistently surfaced as one of the most urgent and impactful needs— for both individuals and their families. With no direct treatment currently available, emotional dysregulation affects safety, learning, behavior, relationships, and overall quality of life. This realization led to the development of CAMKalm, an individualized emotional-regulation tool currently under development, designed to help individuals manage fight-or-flight responses in the absence of targeted medical treatments.
Supporting the Caregivers
As I continued this work, I could not ignore the emotional and physical toll on caretakers. For years, I had supported caregivers through my clinical practice, and I saw firsthand how many were managing chronic stress, isolation, and the ongoing demands of caring for individuals with neurodevelopmental needs. To expand this support, we began developing a Wellness Retreat for Caregivers, held in coastal Delaware. This retreat is designed to provide restoration, community, and emotional support for caretakers who rarely have opportunities for rest or renewal.
United in Purpose
Each initiative— caretaker support, independent-living retreats, advocacy work, and support for research and clinical care— grew from a need that had gone unanswered for too long. What began as one family’s journey has become a broader mission: to bring clarity, connection, and compassionate guidance to individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders and the families who support them. By closing these long-standing gaps, we can help create a future marked by greater peace, meaningful support, and expanded possibility.
This is the heart of Limitless Pathways.
For Dr. Dina Friedman, the journey from clinical psychologist to passionate advocate began at home. Raising a daughter with special needs transformed not only her understanding of the challenges families face, but also her life’s purpose.
As the mother of a daughter with CAMK2-related disorder, a rare genetic condition, she recognized that while resources existed for children with disabilities, far fewer addressed the emotional needs of their caregivers and siblings. This realization inspired her to shift the focus of her clinical practice toward supporting these often-overlooked family members.
Drawing on her personal and professional experiences, Dr. Friedman founded Limitless Pathways, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering individuals with neurodevelopmental differences and supporting their families. She also serves on the board of CAMK2 Therapeutics, advocating for greater awareness, research, and treatments.
She is the proud mother of two daughters, Sienna and Skyler, who are just months apart in age and affectionately known as her “virtual twins.” Both daughters inspire her in their own unique ways. She shares her life with Martin, their daughters, and a beloved family of rescue animals.
Through both the heartbreak and beauty of her journey, Dr. Friedman has discovered that love can reveal strengths and possibilities we never knew existed. If there is one lesson she has learned, in both the hardest and most beautiful ways, it is that love truly has no limits.
Dina Friedman
Meet our founder
Clinical psychologist · Founder, Limitless Pathways
