Cerebral Palsy Clinic Provides Vital Services

Cerebral Palsy Clinic Provides Vital Services

BOBBY ARDOIN

Editor/Consulting Writer

Children and adults in the Opelousas area are fortunate to have a facility where they are able to obtain treatment for developmental disabilities at no cost, members of the Opelousas Noon Rotary Club were told on Tuesday.

Opelousas Cerebral Palsy Clinic executive director Lynn Moreau told the group which met at the Opelousas General Hospital South Campus, that for the last 65 years, the clinic has employed therapists that assist with physical, speech and occupational difficulties.

Funding to pay for the licensed therapists who Moreau said work at reduced rates, is obtained primarily through private donations and fundraisers, like the benefit activity scheduled to be held on the first Tuesday in December at the Steamboat Warehouse in Washington.

Primary Revenues

The annual Breakfast With Santa event, which provides a major funding source for the clinic, will be held from 7 am until 9 am.

For the past several years, Breakfast With Santa, started by the late Opelousas businessman Bobby Dupre, has been hosted at the Opelousas Civic Center

Moreau explained that since the Civic Center has no kitchen, chefs who have cooked for the occasion, had to awaken at 2:30 am, prepare their breakfasts and then transport the meals to the Civic.

Steamboat Warehouse chef Jason Hugeut said the move to the location that he operates, will also include several new breakfast recipes for the attendees.

Last year about 170 persons attended the event, said Moreau,

Who Receives Services

The clinic primarily services children, but Moreau noted that currently the Cerebral Palsy Clinic has three adults receiving treatment.

“We have received an overwhelming response from the families we serve. Their appreciation is something that is really hard to put into words,” Moreau pointed out.

At one point this summer the clinic therapists were seeing 50 children. The large number of patients cost the clinic about $15,000 this summer, but the need outweighed the expenses, Moreau said.

The clinic website indicates that it serves individuals from St. Landry and Evangeline parishes twice weekly.

Therapists working at the facility can also assist patients three times weekly through the school system.

Referrals for clinic supervision are normally made through physicians, according to the website.

Presently occupational therapy has become the most requested need provided at the clinic.

Moreau said therapists find that patients are now having difficulty using items such as crayons and writing instruments, since many of them during early developmental stages have used hand hand devices or computers.

How Did It Start?

Moreau said individuals living inside the two parishes began a fundraising campaign to build the clinic for children with cerebral palsy.

However the purpose of the facility expanded after that after it was decided that children with other disabilities could also have access to treatment.

“The idea for where we are today grew out of a grassroots campaign. Families with children who had special needs gathered together and worked on their plan, which became a mission.” Moreau said.