Helping Children with Cerebral Palsy

and other Developmental Challenges since 1954

Spring 2015 Newsletter

Dear Friend of the McMains Center,

"He's smiling, he's happy." Those are the words of a parent pleased with the services his child receives at the McMains Center. Keep reading! So far, 2015 has been an action-packed year, and we want to share some of our latest news with you, and thank you for your ongoing support of our mission to identify and treat children with cerebral palsy, developmental delays, and learning disabilities to enable them to reach their potential and function as independently as possible.

16th Annual Tickfaw State Park Canoe Trip

May 2, 2015

This event keeps going strong each year with our awesome specially adapted canoes for children with disabilities. We were lucky to have beautiful weather
and enjoyed our time together out on the water.
Thank you to all of our volunteers, and a special thanks
to BASF Corporation who volunteered their time
and cooked some great jambalaya for lunch.

Melissa Samuels (speech therapist), Jayda, and

Sydnie Cole (physical therapist)

Josh, Ashlyn, Anne (Director of Programs & Services) and Al Hindrichs, creators of the canoe trip 16 years ago

Henry sitting in a specially adapted canoe seat, excited to get on the water

Shanna McCarty (Director of Development) and BASF volunteers with a hand-painted tile made by McMains Center clients to thank

the company for its

Sips & Suds sponsorship

Dana Scott learning from Debbie Gauthreaux (occupational therapist) how the kids worked on fine motor skills by incorporating making this gift bag into therapy: everything from painting the "M" on the bag to tying the ribbon

McMains Center staff who helped at the Canoe Trip

What a great time celebrating nature, family, and

activities for people of all abilities.

We can't wait for next year!

2nd Annual
Sips & Suds Champagne and Beer Stroll

April 16, 2015

We're on to something good!

For the second year in a row, our campus was packed with guests

who toured the Center, enjoyed wonderful food, drink, and music,

and raised funds for our therapies and other services.

The McMains family with Emily Mayo (Board President) and Renee Craft (Executive Director)

Kendra Scott boxes at the jewelry pull

David St. Romain

Raspberry and pecan mascarpone from Sammy's Grill Catering

Mike Gonzales and Dan Hebert

cooking jambalaya

Cindy and Bryan Kutz,

parents of a McMains Center client,

serving caprese bites from Renaissance Hotel

An array of wines at the wine pull

Our guests heard from Dan Seidel

about his son Sam's experience at the Center.

Through his therapy at McMains, Sam has surpassed

far beyond his prognosis, Dan shared.

"He's smiling, he's happy,

he enjoys his brother and sister.

We bring Sam places, we do things with him.

And a lot of that is [because of] the work done here."

Dan Seidel and his son Sam

Emcee John Spain and

Event Chair Tracey McMains auctioning off a getaway for two at L'Auberge

Board members Jay Little

and Jenny Hebert

Maggie Gladden, Dr. Brad Culotta, Ashley Culotta and John Paul Funes

Dr. Barry Rills, CeCe Lyles

and Peggy Rills

A big thank you to all who attended!

We enjoyed the evening very much,

and we hope you did, too.

To view other photos from Sips & Suds, click here,

tag yourselves and share photos.

And keep up with us on Facebook here!

Special Thanks to Our Sips & Suds Sponsors


Dr. and Mrs. Brad Culotta The Pediatric Clinic	Dr. and Mrs. Kyle Girod Dr. and Mrs. Barry Rills

7th Annual

No Such Thing As Impossible� Bike Ride
March 8, 2015

Families, kids and 100+ cyclists joined to share

in our excitement of awarding

more than 100 adapted bikes

to children with disabilities through the

Wheels to Succeed program.

Cyclists preparing for their ride

Kids lining up for the fun ride

Reasons to Celebrate This Spring

March

Cerebral Palsy Awareness & Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month

Help us spread awareness about cerebral palsy and developmental disabilities by inviting your friends to like our Facebook page.

National Social Work Month

We gave a big thank you to Autumn and Anne for all the amazing work they do as social workers at the McMains Center.

Anne also serves as our Director of Programs & Services.

Our social workers Autumn and Anne

April

Occupational Therapy Month

Kristi and Kristin,
two of our OTs,
giving tours of the OT gym
during Sips & Suds

April 21-27

National Volunteer Week

A volunteer helping out at the Kids Bike Event

May

Better Hearing and Speech Month

Kids draw themselves in speech therapy and write about what they do:

May 4-8

Teacher Appreciation Week

Our educational therapists Chris and Sandy

Celebrating our educational therapists

Therapy Tidbit

Fun with Shaving Cream

Tips from our Occupational Therapists

Shaving cream is messy fun for the whole family! Shaving cream can help reduce tactile sensitivity to "wet-messy" textures. For more hesitant children, let them push a toy car "around the track" or have figurines "go swimming" in the shaving cream.

Don't forget to respect the children's tactile defensiveness. Let them wash their hands and clean up when they've had enough.

Christopher painting with shaving cream

Christopher drawing in shaving cream

Shaving cream can also be used as a great multi-sensory activity for practicing

pre-writing strokes such as "crocodile teeth," "pig tails," circles, lines down, and lines across.

For sustained attention and concentration during homework time, try having your child practice spelling words or math equations in the shaving cream.

Board of Directors

EMILY MAYO | President

GINA DUGAS | Vice President

KAREN B. YOUNG | Secretary-Treasurer

ANGIE ADOLPH

SEBASTIAN ALVAREZ

STEPHANIE ANDERSON

SHAUNE BERTHELOT

CINDY BISHOP

LAURA BOUDREAUX, MD

SONNY CRANCH

MARY KAY DEVILLIER