A Palm Beach County Woman diagnosed with cerebral palsy is overcoming adversity and facing challenges head-on.Twenty-one-year-old Brenna Evans was diagnosed with cerebral palsy when she was just three months old. WPBF 25 News Reporter Rachael Perry sat down with Brenna and her mom, Tara Evans, who explained what that moment was like."Well, we were initially told, honestly, that they didn't know what it was, what the problem was, or what happened," Tara said.Brenna has a twin sibling, and because of that, Tara said they were able to identify differences in their development."Her head was below the tenth percentile, so they knew it was small. So they just told us to go home, lay her on her back, and the plates in her head will open, they will develop normally, and it will be fine," she said.Doctors did an X-ray, and Tara said nothing seemed out of the ordinary. However, as time went on, Tara said they started noticing more and more things that Brenna's twin was doing, and she wasn't.The Evans thought she might be blind since she wasn't able to track objects with her eyes."Imagine our surprise when we went to the neurologist, and he said, no, it's much worse than that. She's missing 80 percent of her cerebellum, which controls all of the motor function and motor movement in your body," Tara said.Tara said she was shocked and had never even met someone with a disability prior to that."You just kind of feel like you're on an island floating out there in the middle of nowhere, and then you have to go through all the stages of grief until you get to a point where you're like, OK, I'm just going to accept this, and then I'm going to do everything I can for my child moving forward," she said.Tara said she remembers grilling the doctor for information and what life would look like for them going forward."I said, 'Look, I need to know, just give it to me honestly what her prognosis is for the rest of her life because I've got two small children, and I need to prepare for this, not just for me, but my kids," she said.Tara still remembers how the conversation went."He said what do you want me to say? And I said, well, is she ever going to be able to ride a bike with her brothers? And he said, 'No.' And I said, 'What can I expect? And he said, 'To be honest with you,' he said, 'I would not expect her to walk or talk,'" she told WPBF.However, the conversation wasn't all doom and gloom, instead Tara said the doctor's honesty was exactly what she needed."He was preparing me for it, and he said, 'It's not the end of the world, there's lots of programs, there's lots of opportunities.' And his advice was, and I'll never forget, was do as much therapy as you can, as soon as you can. That's the most important thing you can do for your child at this point," Tara said.When it came time for Brenna to start school, the Evans heard about the Arc of Palm Beach County. Tara said she still laughs about her reaction to their first tour of the school."When we came for our first tour, and I walked through here, I remember coming out going, Oh no, this is not the place for. She's too advanced," she said, laughing.They gave it a second chance and quickly fell in love with it."It really was, and it still is, the perfect place for Brenna. It's really met all of the needs that she has met all the goals that we had, and met all the requirements that we had for a school for her," she said.Thinking back to Brenna's first days at the Arc of Palm Beach County, Tara said there's a moment that really sticks out."When we first got here, like I said, she could crawl, but I never imagined that she would walk, especially since several doctors had said that she probably never walked," she said.However, that soon changed when a therapist at the school brought out a gate trainer, which is a medically related mobility device."And I remember the first day we got here, and the physical therapist at the time said, Oh, all the kids are going to get in the gate trainer, and we'll get them up. I looked at her, and I said, well, the doctor said she's never going to walk, so I mean, I don't think he would do that for Brenna," Tara said. Tara will never forget the therapist's response."She kind of looked at me, and she's like, no doctor can tell you what your child will or won't be able to do, and we never put limits on the kids here," Tara said.The therapist got Brenna in the gate trainer, and with time, Brenna started to walk."I thought she was crazy, and lo and behold, eventually, she did move her legs and walk in that gate trainer," Tara said.Brenna's list of accomplishments only grew from there."I mean, it's pretty amazing to watch her do something that you never expected that she would be able to do. I mean, there are so many of those moments, like even with her communication device, with the Tobii Dynavox, I never thought she would be able to say hello to me, I love you, I miss you, any of those words," Tara told WPBF.With her communication device, Brenna is able to use her eyes to communicate with others."It works through eye gaze and there's vision therapists that come and they work with her and they actually calibrate it with her eyes," Tara said.Tara said Brenna has slowly started using it more and more, and it's allowed her to express herself."It's great for many reasons because especially when there's something wrong with her, she's not a crier, she's not a complainer, so when she does cry or complain, I know there's something wrong, and it's super frustrating because I don't know what it is and she can't tell me. Finally, with this we can put it on a page where she can answer where it is that's bothering her," Tara said.The Arc of Palm Beach County is a charter school and non-profit that serves students from PreK through the age of 22. The curriculum focuses on a therapeutic educational model, which is designed individually for children with special needs.Tara said the Arc is modeled around several forms of therapy that have been a large part of Brenna's success."Occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech therapy are all integrated into the entire school. So inside of the classroom, the OT, the PT, and the speech therapist all reside," she said.Tara said those therapists are the primary reason they chose to enroll Brenna in the Arc."It was the therapists. They are just amazing, top-notch, and you can tell that everybody at this school, here at the Arc, is really invested in the children. They do it because they love the children, they want to see them succeed, and honestly, that's what really turned us was just the employees at the school. From the aid at the school, the teacher, the therapists, were all so invested in seeing our child succeed," Tara told WPBF.Something Tara said she didn't think of when Brenna first started attending the Arc was what would happen when Brenna turned 18. Through working with the therapists and experts at the school, the Evans were able to navigate paperwork, insurance, Medicaid and more. Outside of the actual school day, the Evans learned of the respite program."We used the respite program when Brenna was younger because she had actually three other siblings, and just trying to go to a soccer game, to a swim meet, to anything with your other child was daunting. We wanted to make sure all of our kids got enough attention and didn't feel like they grew up in the shadow of everything that we do for Brenna," Tara said.With Brenna's graduation approaching, Tara said it's comforting to know they have the support system and resources from the Arc to ensure Brenna's next chapter is just as successful.The Arc of Palm Beach County has a list of resources and information for students and parents. They also have a gala planned for April 5, 2025, for people who would like to support the nonprofit.Top Headlines:EXCLUSIVE: Palms West Hospital to Improve Security Following Nurse's Brutal BeatingGet the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.
A Palm Beach County Woman diagnosed with cerebral palsy is overcoming adversity and facing challenges head-on.
Twenty-one-year-old Brenna Evans was diagnosed with cerebral palsy when she was just three months old. WPBF 25 News Reporter Rachael Perry sat down with Brenna and her mom, Tara Evans, who explained what that moment was like.
"Well, we were initially told, honestly, that they didn't know what it was, what the problem was, or what happened," Tara said.
Brenna has a twin sibling, and because of that, Tara said they were able to identify differences in their development.
"Her head was below the tenth percentile, so they knew it was small. So they [doctors] just told us to go home, lay her on her back, and the plates in her head will open, they will develop normally, and it will be fine," she said.
Doctors did an X-ray, and Tara said nothing seemed out of the ordinary. However, as time went on, Tara said they started noticing more and more things that Brenna's twin was doing, and she wasn't.
The Evans thought she might be blind since she wasn't able to track objects with her eyes.
"Imagine our surprise when we went to the neurologist, and he said, no, it's much worse than that. She's missing 80 percent of her cerebellum, which controls all of the motor function and motor movement in your body," Tara said.
Tara said she was shocked and had never even met someone with a disability prior to that.
"You just kind of feel like you're on an island floating out there in the middle of nowhere, and then you have to go through all the stages of grief until you get to a point where you're like, OK, I'm just going to accept this, and then I'm going to do everything I can for my child moving forward," she said.
Tara said she remembers grilling the doctor for information and what life would look like for them going forward.
"I said, 'Look, I need to know, just give it to me honestly what her prognosis is for the rest of her life because I've got two small children, and I need to prepare for this, not just for me, but my kids," she said.
Tara still remembers how the conversation went.
"He said what do you want me to say? And I said, well, is she ever going to be able to ride a bike with her brothers? And he said, 'No.' And I said, 'What can I expect? And he said, 'To be honest with you,' he said, 'I would not expect her to walk or talk,'" she told WPBF.
However, the conversation wasn't all doom and gloom, instead Tara said the doctor's honesty was exactly what she needed.
"He was preparing me for it, and he said, 'It's not the end of the world, there's lots of programs, there's lots of opportunities.' And his advice was, and I'll never forget, was do as much therapy as you can, as soon as you can. That's the most important thing you can do for your child at this point," Tara said.
When it came time for Brenna to start school, the Evans heard about the Arc of Palm Beach County. Tara said she still laughs about her reaction to their first tour of the school.
"When we came for our first tour, and I walked through here, I remember coming out going, Oh no, this is not the place for. She's too advanced," she said, laughing.
They gave it a second chance and quickly fell in love with it.
"It really was, and it still is, the perfect place for Brenna. It's really met all of the needs that she has met all the goals that we had, and met all the requirements that we had for a school for her," she said.
Thinking back to Brenna's first days at the Arc of Palm Beach County, Tara said there's a moment that really sticks out.
"When we first got here, like I said, she could crawl, but I never imagined that she would walk, especially since several doctors had said that she probably never walked," she said.
However, that soon changed when a therapist at the school brought out a gate trainer, which is a medically related mobility device.
"And I remember the first day we got here, and the physical therapist at the time said, Oh, all the kids are going to get in the gate trainer, and we'll get them up. I looked at her, and I said, well, the doctor said she's never going to walk, so I mean, I don't think he would do that for Brenna," Tara said.
Tara will never forget the therapist's response.
"She kind of looked at me, and she's like, no doctor can tell you what your child will or won't be able to do, and we never put limits on the kids here," Tara said.
The therapist got Brenna in the gate trainer, and with time, Brenna started to walk.
"I thought she was crazy, and lo and behold, eventually, she did move her legs and walk in that gate trainer," Tara said.
Brenna's list of accomplishments only grew from there.
"I mean, it's pretty amazing to watch her do something that you never expected that she would be able to do. I mean, there are so many of those moments, like even with her communication device, with the Tobii Dynavox, I never thought she would be able to say hello to me, I love you, I miss you, any of those words," Tara told WPBF.
With her communication device, Brenna is able to use her eyes to communicate with others.
"It works through eye gaze and there's vision therapists that come and they work with her and they actually calibrate it with her eyes," Tara said.
Tara said Brenna has slowly started using it more and more, and it's allowed her to express herself.
"It's great for many reasons because especially when there's something wrong with her, she's not a crier, she's not a complainer, so when she does cry or complain, I know there's something wrong, and it's super frustrating because I don't know what it is and she can't tell me. Finally, with this we can put it on a page where she can answer where it is that's bothering her," Tara said.
The Arc of Palm Beach County is a charter school and non-profit that serves students from PreK through the age of 22. The curriculum focuses on a therapeutic educational model, which is designed individually for children with special needs.
Tara said the Arc is modeled around several forms of therapy that have been a large part of Brenna's success.
"Occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech therapy are all integrated into the entire school. So inside of the classroom, the OT, the PT, and the speech therapist all reside," she said.
Tara said those therapists are the primary reason they chose to enroll Brenna in the Arc.
"It was the therapists. They are just amazing, top-notch, and you can tell that everybody at this school, here at the Arc, is really invested in the children. They do it because they love the children, they want to see them succeed, and honestly, that's what really turned us was just the employees at the school. From the aid at the school, the teacher, the therapists, were all so invested in seeing our child succeed," Tara told WPBF.
Something Tara said she didn't think of when Brenna first started attending the Arc was what would happen when Brenna turned 18. Through working with the therapists and experts at the school, the Evans were able to navigate paperwork, insurance, Medicaid and more. Outside of the actual school day, the Evans learned of the respite program.
"We used the respite program when Brenna was younger because she had actually three other siblings, and just trying to go to a soccer game, to a swim meet, to anything with your other child was daunting. We wanted to make sure all of our kids got enough attention and didn't feel like they grew up in the shadow of everything that we do for Brenna," Tara said.
With Brenna's graduation approaching, Tara said it's comforting to know they have the support system and resources from the Arc to ensure Brenna's next chapter is just as successful.
The Arc of Palm Beach County has a list of resources and information for students and parents. They also have a gala planned for April 5, 2025, for people who would like to support the nonprofit.
Top Headlines:
EXCLUSIVE: Palms West Hospital to Improve Security Following Nurse's Brutal Beating
Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.