🐼 Today is PANDAS Awareness Day

PANDAS Awareness Day: When a Child Suddenly Isn't Themselves

Today is PANDAS Awareness Day, and it gives me an opportunity to talk about a condition I've seen affect children and families in profound ways.

Pandas are cute bears.

PANDAS the medical condition is anything but cute.

What are PANS and PANDAS?

PANDAS stands for Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal infections.

PANS stands for Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome.

These conditions can involve the sudden onset or dramatic worsening of neuropsychiatric symptoms.

Children may develop:

• OCD symptoms or intrusive thoughts

• Severe anxiety

• Tics

• Emotional dysregulation or aggression

• Sensory sensitivities

• Sleep or eating disturbances

• Difficulty concentrating

• Changes in handwriting

• Declining school performance

For some children, the change can be dramatic.

Parents may describe it simply:

“This isn't my child.”

That statement deserves to be taken seriously.

Why awareness matters

PANS/PANDAS is complex. There is no single diagnostic test, and other medical and psychiatric conditions can cause similar symptoms.

Treatment therefore needs to be individualized. Depending on the child, care may involve addressing an underlying infection when present, inflammation or immune dysfunction, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and factors such as sleep, nutrition, and overall metabolic health.

Unfortunately, I've seen children struggle for months, or even years, before finding a healthcare professional who recognizes that what they're experiencing may be more than simply anxiety or behavioral problems.

When a parent says, “Something has changed,” we need to listen.

We need to ask questions.
We need to look at the whole picture.
And we need to help families find an appropriate path forward.

These children need to be heard. These families need support.