[1] As a young boy, Dawson captured the attention of America's leaders and national media by undertaking a letter writing campaign on behalf of his father and others with Alzheimer's.
[3] In this role, Dawson traveled to Washington, D.C. several times to testify before the United States Senate and House of Representative committees about his family's experiences.
[4] While in Washington, Dawson was granted access to several senior legislators and public officials including President Bill Clinton and Vice-President Al Gore.
[4] National Public Radio became the first nationwide media outlet to support his original letter-writing campaign, after Dawson (aged 9) read one of his letters on the air.
[5] Soon afterwards, NBC, CBS and Nickelodeon picked up the story of Dawson's campaign on behalf of his father and other people with Alzheimer's disease.