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
What is If I Need Help?
What is If I Need Help?
By ERIN WILSON, co-founder
There are people who have Autism, toddlers, cognitive disabilities, other special needs or health issues that keep them from being able to state personal information such as name, phone number, address, medications taken, bedtime, favorite clothes, TV shows, books, foods, toys, apps, hobbies, computer programs, where Mom, Dad, and Grandpa work, issues peculiar to that day, the hotel where the family is staying on vacation, behavioral issues, interventions, and treatments.
Many of these people have different caregivers throughout the day that need to be updated to the current situation; therapists that need to know what therapy to use, and need to notate scores or note progress; babysitters that want to know what time to give the child a bath; teachers that need to know what methods work to help teach. Also, many of these people with disabilities wander off from their family or caregiver with no warning. Rescuers need to know who to call, and how to help.
If I Need Help creates a way to put all of this information in one place. So everyone can be on the same page and the person with disabilities can be cared for in the best, safest and most efficient way possible. Clients can use our databases to whatever level they want, from a password-protected secure page for known caregivers to use, to a non-secure page for rescuers, and caregivers who are not well known.
This information is accessed from any computer browser by commonly used methods of entering a webpage address’s into the browser, either by entering the URL manually with the computer keyboard, or by scanning a QR code, both of which will have the same result, to take you to the client’s non-secure homepage. This non-secure page displays all the information, or as little, that a loved one wants someone to know when finding the wearer. There will be a link on this individual’s homepage which will let the user enter the individual’s secure page. This password-protected secure webpage can also be opened without scanning directly from a computer browser for caregivers to use throughout the day. All of this info (secure and non-secure) can be changed at any time, and as often as a subscriber wants in real time.
For the scanning method of website access we have designed a shirt that can have a QR code printed on it. We’ve commissioned Special Needs Artists to create beautiful artwork to put on our shirts, buttons, key chains and other products that have our QR codes on them. These talented Special Needs Artists will be discovered and contracted to contribute original artwork for our products. We are committed to the special needs community and support it through employment opportunities and donations to nonprofits.
People are also able to purchase a shirt without the QR code to support the Artist. As a service, with a subscription people will also be able to download QR codes to print on their own shirts, bathing suits, pajamas, and other clothing.
New products are being added all the time including: iD Cards, Dog Tags, Shoe Tags, Stickers, Pins, Clings etc. Please keep re-checking our website to see our new helpful products
Wandering Prevention
In my research about wandering I came across many great tips that I would like to share.
A person suffering from dementia may get lost during any stage of the disease because they become confused for a period of time.
Here are a few warning signs: returning home later than usual, trying to go to work that is no longer there, doing repetitive movements, being disoriented in familiar places, asking where people are, moving as if performing a chore but not actually doing that, and appearing lost.
Enough all ready about the signs what can be done?
-Try providing a routine, finding the time of day that when the person is most confused and planning an activity that fulfills his/her need to have purpose. Perhaps the person would enjoy a little exercise or chore such as walking the dog.
-The experts say do not correct the person when s/he makes a request to go home when already home, but affirm, instead, that s/he is safe and will be okay for the night. Suggest enjoying where they are.
-Always make sure basic needs are being met, such as eating and using the restroom.
-It is best to stay away from places that are unfamiliar and overwhelming, which can cause confusion.
-Place the door lock out of reach. We use a door lock in which a numeric code has to be entered to exit.
-Paint the front door the same color as the wall to camouflage it. Childproof locks also work. I like the suggestion of placing a dark mat in front of the door to make it appear as if there is a hole in the ground so as to keep said person from approaching.
-Never ever leave a person with dementia home alone.
-Hide the car keys.
-If the person gets up frequently at night to relieve himself or herself, make sure night-lights are installed in the home. Also, restrict the intake of fluids before bed and have the individual use the restroom before turning in.
-If the person wanders, the police may be notified within fifteen minutes. Be sure to say a “vulnerable adult” is missing.
I spend a lot of time observing my son, to try to figure out what is going on in his mind. He is super fast to take off. Now some times I can recognize a very subtle energy change in him before he tries to split. So I position myself between him and the exit whenever these situations come up.
Best of luck to you in discovering these patterns.
Help For Loved Ones Who Wander
The fear of wandering/elopement is very real if you have a loved one who has autism, Alzheimer’s, Down Syndrome, or other cognitive or physical impairments. The CDC determined that 1 in 88 individuals now have autism. Data from the Interactive Autism Network (IAN) states the 49% of children with autism attempt to elope from a safe environment. One third of these who wander are unable to communicate their name, address or phone number. Parents reported that 66% had a close call with traffic and 32% had a close call with drowning. Our intention with QR code iD is to provide help for a person before they enter into a crisis situation.
Alzheimer’s accounts for 31,000 incidents of critical wandering a year, according to researcher Robert Koester. This amount will increase as the Baby Boomers age. At least 60% of people who have dementia will wander. They are disoriented and cannot judge dangerous places and situations. Unfortunately, when a person with Alzheimer’s wanders off, they do not cry out for help, they don’t leave physical clues, they might travel to a former favorite location, and may have a history of wandering.
Qr Code iD alerts people to knowing this person is needing help by having “If I need Help” in large red letters. People who have Autism, dementia, Alzheimer’s, Down Syndrome, or other cognitive or physical condition that hinders their ability to provide personal information can benefit from having a personal code. The person who finds the wanderer can scan the QR code with a smart phone or iPad or manually enter the number associated with the code into the website to obtain the contact information to reunite the person with loved ones. Also, any information that is important during an emergency for the finder to know, such as ways to sooth or medical conditions and how to deal with them, will be provided. This information can be changed in real time by logging into the site. There is a password-protected area in which documents that may be wanted for reference can be stored.
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.
