Brain Injury Services client Reagan Bischoff, 12-year-old 7th grader at Riverbend Middle School, was named the 2022 recipient of the BIS Bryant Cohen Empowerment Award. Reagan has spastic cerebral palsy, epilepsy, dyslexia and ADHD, and has been a client of BIS since 2020. Reagan receives care through BIS’ ComPASS program and was nominated for this year’s award by her case manager Cynthia Cross. 

“I nominated Reagan because her positive outlook and determination inspires everyone who witnesses her perseverance in action. She is a fierce young woman. She doesn’t let anything stop her from moving forward.”

– Cynthia Cross, BIS case manager

Despite having difficulty using her left arm and leg, Reagan excels at sports, including lacrosse, swimming and horseback riding, and plays the trumpet in her school band. The progress she’s made since becoming a BIS client inspired her to start a YouTube channel, where she posts videos explaining how she overcomes everyday obstacles caused by her disability, such as tying shoes with only one hand. She hopes her YouTube channel will raise awareness for spastic cerebral palsy and inspire other kids like her with physical disabilities.

More on Reagan’s brain injury: Reagan was born with an issue that caused part of her brain to develop incorrectly. At 2 months old she began experiencing seizures, which became so severe that her parents chose to move forward with brain surgery. At 2 years old, Reagan began Constraint Therapy, a form of neurological therapy that forces the brain to rebuild brain synapses on the non-dominant side by limiting the use of the dominant side.