Brooke Pence has been a part of Riverside throughout her life. She lives in Piqua with her parents, Eric and Heather. Her mom is also a paid service provider for her personal needs through the Ohio Shared Living program.

Brooke and her family were recently able to utilize waiver funds for an e-bike, which broadened her horizons more than expected. There were surprising and positive results beyond the expected result of simply enjoying bike rides with her family. Despite never really being one to communicate verbally, her family noticed that Brooke enjoyed waving and saying, “Good Morning,” as she rode past people. Since she was showing a new interest in communicating, they shared this information with Riverside caseworker, and Brooke recently started services with a speech therapist.

Brooke is now using buttons to communicate some of her wants and needs, like playing her music through Alexa. Many people that she has waved to are now her friends, especially at her campground, where she loves hanging out around the campfire with her special group of friends. These friends even made items to personalize her bike.

Aside from biking, Brooke loves music, dancing, and eating pizza. She is usually always happy, and Heather says she believes everyone falls in love with Brooke as soon as they meet her because she always has a smile to greet them with.

In addition to being active in the community with her family, Brooke attends RT Industries for adult day services during the week. She is also an active member of her church with her family.