Mother’s fight for custody of her children inspires new Florida law, but still can’t get her children back

The past four years have been gut wrenching for Tasha Patterson. It all ended with devastating news two weeks ago. The twin sons she has...

---

The past four years have been gut wrenching for Tasha Patterson. It all ended with devastating news two weeks ago. The twin sons she has been fighting for years to regain custody of were adopted out to another family. Heather Walker has this 7Investigates.

Tasha Patterson, Mother: “We are not OK. I may look OK, but we are not OK.”

When we first met Tasha in 2024, she was already two years into a legal battle with the Department of Children and Families.

She and her husband had been accused of abusing their twin sons, just weeks after they were born in 2022.

Tasha Patterson: “They start telling me, ‘Your baby has rib fractures.’ They had my second twin brought in and he had fractures everywhere.”

Even after the babies were taken away from Tasha and her husband, they still continued to develop bone fractures. They were later diagnosed with a rare genetic condition called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, or EDS.

It causes easy bruising and fragile bones and can take months to get a diagnosis.

In Tasha’s case, the babies weren’t diagnosed until after the court’s final judgment.

Tasha Patterson: “You took too long to find out what happened, and for that reason, the door is closed.”

Tasha’s attorneys say the judge has refused to review recent medical evaluations from doctors and specialists, who all agreed the Patterson twins had conditions like “metabolic bone disease” and “hypermobility EDS.”

A former medical director of the Broward County Child Protection Team reviewed the case.

While he asked us not to reveal his name, he sent a statement, saying: “…There is a plausible medical explanation for the findings on the Patterson children and the court should reconsider its decision.”

Valentina Villalobos, Attorney: “The court’s refusing to look at it too. I mean, she’s denied all of our motions without a hearing.”

The problem in Tasha’s case is that genetic testing can take months, even years. That makes it nearly impossible to gather enough evidence in time for a custody trial.

Octavia Brown, Attorney: “That may be something that needs to be dealt with in the [Florida] Legislature that when there are medically complex cases that parents are allowed additional time to provide evidence.”

Recently, Florida lawmakers approved a bill that slows down the process.

South Florida Senator Barbara Sharief first filed Senate Bill 304, also known as “Patterson’s Law,” after meeting Tasha and studying her case.

Florida Sen. Barbara Sharief (D) Florida District 35: “I was a little concerned with what I was seeing because I did not see a place where the parents were allowed to advocate to get their kids back.”

Under Patterson’s Law, families will have more time to prove their children have an underlying condition that could be mistaken for abuse. It also allows families to get a second medical opinion that could be different from the state’s abuse claims.

Sen. Barbara Sharief: “In many cases, when the parents are producing evidence of a different specialist, a different opinion, those opinions are not being taken with the same consideration as the DCF opinions, and that is unfair.”

Tasha’s case may be the inspiration behind Patterson’s Law, but it actually won’t help get the adoption of her kids reversed. The law is set to go into effect in July, and will only apply toward future cases. However, Tasha plans to keep advocating not only for her children, but other families in similar situations.

Tasha Patterson: “When are you going to stop ignoring what I’m putting forth? When are you going to start paying attention that medically complex cases are real? I did say that first interview, I am not going away until they fix it and I’m here in 2026, still not going away.”

Two days before Mother’s Day Tasha’s twin sons were adopted out. They went to a relative, so she is still able to see them, but it’s not the same.

However, this mom is not giving up.

The state refuses to comment any further on the case. It tells 7News information about its investigations is confidential.

Heather Walker, 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com