An Ossining mom whose son has autism started a company last year with a partner and immediately they knew who they wanted as part of their staff.

Cornelia Quinn and Barbara Booth are co-founders and CEOs of QB Sleeves, a reusable microbial machine washable airplane tray cover made from recyclable plastic.

The idea came to Quinn years ago when her son Jake, who has autism, was diagnosed with leukemia. They family spent a lot of time traveling to doctors and needed a way to keep Jake safe from germs.

"Every time we got off a flight, Jake would get a bacterial infection," says Quinn. "And this happened numerous times and after doing some research we found that the airplane tray table in particular had probably the most anount of germs and things."

Booth says she even talked to flight attendants who admitted that tray tables are rarely sanitized.

So, the two started their company in 2021 and knew they wanted to hire Jake and other people who are on the spectrum.

"I think the percentage is around 21% of people with autism actually are employed, so that's a very low percentage and it's always been a big issue for me," says Quinn.

Jake is joined by three other employees, and they all have ample opportunities.