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.