From Judy McCarter

Ann and Rud,


I was so saddened when I heard about Jay’s passing. What a loss it is for everyone who knew him.
I met Jay when I was an Occupational Therapy Student at the University of Kansas in the early 1980’s. Those were the good old days when OT students stayed on the Lawrence campus. I so enjoyed working with Jay, Millie Copeland and Carol Adams. I looked so forward to working with Jay every week. He gave me an awareness of what wonderful kids I might be able to work if I could just hang in there through the bookwork. He was my motivation to just keep going on.
Jay was and still is such an inspiration to me. He is the reason that I have specialized in Sensory Processing Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorders. I also see a large number of clients with a co morbidity of Bipolar Disorder.
I was so sad when I heard at ICDL that you had spoken Ann and I had missed that conference. My mentors and ICDL staff told me it was extraordinary. Imagine that I had to go all the way to Virginia from Oklahoma to hear about Jay. I have never forgotten Jay in the 29 years. Working with Jay made that big of an impact on me and the decisions I made for my life’s work.
Last fall I was so blessed to have met Dr. Riffel. I was so excited that she could tell me about Jay and what a wonderful adult he had become.
Last summer I had the wonderful opportunity to see Jay again. My life’s work had come full circle. Standing before me was such an articulate and polite adult. His spirit was so sweet and he reminded me so much of that young boy I had treated so many years ago.
In the last 29 years Jay has been such an inspiration to my patients, their families and me. His legacy will be his gift of joy, inspiring others and being the ultimate example of hope.

Hope to inspire others, hope to improve ourselves and hope for the future. We would all be so fortunate to have touched as many lives as Jay. Jay’s journey ended by giving others the ultimate gift of hope. Jay will always inspire me and make me want to strive to be a better person and a better example for others. Thank you both for sharing your precious Jay with me both as a boy and an adult. I will never forget him and the hope his life will always stand for.

Judy Lay-McCarter, OT