Relearning How To Fly!!
Rediscover Hope, Purpose and Strength!!
By Special Guest Blogger Mark A. Mulvaney Sr.
Happy Thoughts!
In the movie “HOOK” starring Robin Williams as Peter Pan the concept that Happy Thoughts give you the power to fly and truly live was brought to life. Peter had left Never Land and grew up to become a high powered lawyer, a pirate of sorts. He had long since forgotten the Happy Thoughts and adventures of his youth. Until Hook his childhood nemesis stole his children from him. He found himself powerless to redeem them. He could not fly. Tinkerbell reminded him that he had to find his happy thoughts in order to fly again and save his kids. I think that Happy Thoughts are what give our lives Purpose. Got Purpose? If you have purpose you have life and the power to fight the battles of life. Not everyone has the same Happy Thoughts. Peter revealed his rediscovered Happy Thoughts to his son Jack in the midst of a battle to save him. I think he put it this way in a mid-battle pause. Jack, I found my Happy Thought today! With a momentary pause he smiled and said, “It’s you!” New Hope, Strength and Purpose poured out of Peter. Rediscover your Happy Thoughts and Purpose today! Then Soar!!!!!!!!
Success Stories!
Love Our Good Samaritans
Our boy Jay wearing his patch and getting ready to hike!!
Sports Park:
A five-year-old non-verbal boy with Autism was with his family in a giant packed park for a soccer tournament. After each match the teams, and families would pack up and move to another field for the next match. During one such move, both parents thought the other had the child. After the move to the next field both parents realized at the same time that the boy was with neither of them. By the time they began to look for their son they received a call from a person that had found their child in another part of the park and scanned the patch sewn to his shirt. He was quickly reunited with his parents.
Ranger Rescue:
A family was having their annual reunion camping trip. The mom was very nervous about her 12-year-old daughter with Autism and sewed an If I Need Help patch on her vest. Sure enough when they were camping the child wandered. She was found some time later over a mile away by a Ranger who saw her If I Need Help patch, scanned it, and saw her profile. The profile told him who she was, her medical issues, and in what campsite her family was camped. He immediately drove her to the campsite for a successful reunion with her family.
Panic Attack:
A young adult with very high functioning autism (She can work and drive a car) has a history of panic attacks when in what she perceives to be stressful situations, and confronted by what she perceives to be authority figures. She has had many negative interactions with people in these situations including being screamed at and beaten. During these times she cannot speak, control her body, or express herself. She contacted If I Need Help and we created an If I Need Help card for her to carry with her. This card has a QR Code to access her profile, as well as text to describe who she is, what her health and emotional issues are, an emergency phone number, and how best to help her. Recently she was in a situation when she felt an imminent anxiety attack. An official approached her in an all-too-familiar way, which in the past has typically escalated. In this instance, she was able to hand her iD card to him, where he was able to understand the best course of action was to speak to her calmly and help her relax. She was able to regain calm, avoid a full anxiety attack, and communicate independently and successfully.
Help Prevent Drowning!
POOLS ARE EVERYWHERE THESE DAYS!
When someone with Autism wanders drowning is a major concern.
- You Can use Google Maps to see where swimming pools and other bodies of water are in your neighborhood.
- Head to the water first
- Water can act like a magnet to a lot of autistic kids
Tips and Information
To Become A Member
1. Go to QRCodeiD.org
2. Click on “Free Sign Up”
3. Register To become a Member by filling out your Account Info
To Setup Profile: (If you did not do so when you became a member)
1. Go to QRCodeiD.org and log into your account. (top right of the homepage)
2. Go to My account (top right of homepage)
3. Under “My account” go to “Edit QR Code iD Profile”
4. Remove default information, and enter your information
To associate a new code with your profile
1. Go to QRCodeiD.org and log into your account. (top right of the homepage)
2. Go to My account (top right of homepage)
3. Under “My account” go to “Add An Existing Code”
4. Enter new code
* Practice logging in and changing your profile info in real time so that in an emergency you will be able to update your status quickly.
*We recommend that you do not use last names or addresses in the public profile
*Additional information can be special medical, safety and behavioral concerns.
*Set up your secure password protected site. This can be seen when you or anyone you give the extra password to view the profile, but not from the code being scanned by a non-member. You can keep important info here that you may want to access in an emergency, or practical info you might want your babysitter to see.
*Have your loved one wear the code and practice standing still while you scan the code. This will help them know what to expect. If they can point to the code, or ask for it to be scanned this will be even better.
*Cover a few numbers of code, or just crinkle the fabric when taking a picture of the person, so that it cannot be scanned from wherever the picture gets posted.
(661) 524-6732 infoqrcodeid gmail.com
QR Code iD: A Labor Of Love
Creating QR Code iD has been a true labor of love for me. I feel that it will help people to be saved from dangerous situations when they may go wandering off. And it will also serve as a safe place to store important documents that have to be referred to often or at crucial times. This has arisen from my concerns for my son.
The most devastating event of my life was watching my son go through a major regression and subsequently be diagnosed with Autism. When Jay was about two and a half I was concerned by his low level of language, his lack of play with toys (although he was constantly holding them) and that he was not grasping concepts that others could at that age. He was chasing his older sister around in the most adoring way and whenever I sat down there he was on my lap. So we felt very bonded with him and his eye contact was great. At the time I felt he just had a language delay and would soon catch up with his peers. I had gone into kindergarten myself only able to string a couple words together. I had Jay evaluated by a school Speech Therapist. She had him started in Special Ed Pre-School. He was developing slowly and was able to say a sentence spontaneously.
Then around age four and a half, during the hottest Summer I can remember, Jay had a major regression. He lost all speech. I was unable to get him to say “Mom”, “yes” or “no” any more or look at me. He spent most of his time screaming and running from one end of the house to the other to crash into the bed or sofa. He no longer played with his sister and no longer wanted to cuddle. Soon after this development, he was diagnosed by the pediatrician with autism.
An army of therapists and specialists have come and gone in our lives since. I am so thankful for all their help. It has been an emotional roller coaster for the whole family dealing with Jay’s daily behavior. We have had to make many tough decisions about his interventions, in which we have invested most of our time and focus. I have learned to be a fierce advocate, and to be able to give thousands of high fives and still look excited to do so!
Jay is turning eleven this month. He seems to have a lot of joy and enthusiasm in his life, although he remains significantly challenged with language and academics.
