Texas PANS PANDAS Updates

Texas Banner

Texas PANS Advisory Council Updates

For complete updates on the Texas PANS Advisory Council, including meetings, council members, etc – Click Link

2025 Meeting Dates

  • February 11, 2025
  • May 13, 2025
  • August 12, 2025
  • November 4, 2025

These meeting dates are tentative and are subject to change.


Health & Human Services Webinar

Webinar Texas Health and Human Services

What: “Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS), an Often-Overlooked Condition in Children”

Who: Parents, caregivers and people who work with families and children

When: October 6, 2022, 10-11:30 a.m. CDT

Presenters include:

  • Qazi Javed, M.D., PANS Advisory Council member; double board-certified integrative medicine physician practicing child, adolescent and adult psychiatry with Integrated Psychiatry Austin; diplomate, American Board of Integrated and Holistic Medicine
  • Kynthia Brooks, program development specialist, for the HHSC Office of Disability Prevention for Children

Register for Webinar:  Click Link

This free event will include live captioning and American Sign Language interpretation.

For questions, email Jay Smith at jay.smith@hhs.texas.gov or call 512-206-5100.


Texas Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome Advisory Council Publishes a Council Report – 2022

pansac-advisory-council-report-september-2022The Texas PANS Advisory Council published a council report as required by House Bill 2783, 86th Texas Legislature, in September 2022.

The Texas Advisory Council report on PANS is comprehensive, covering definition, incidence rate, epidemiology, treatment recommendations, caregiver burden, and impact on social structures and education settings.

Read Full Report

 

 


Texas ODPC Virtual Conference

On Tuesdays in March, the 2nd annual HHS Office of Disability Prevention for Children Statewide Virtual Conference will host a series of free webinars to highlight key topics on preventing intellectual and developmental disabilities in children. The conference will include a PANS presentation and panel.

Register for Conference

PANS Panel – March 22nd -10:00-11:00 am CST
Sharon Lemmons (dietician), Quazi Javed (psychiatrist), Lisa Hardy (ASPIRE Board Member/Texas Chapter Lead), and other members of the Texas PANS Advisory Council

More about the conference:
The conference will kick off on March 1, and each week ODPC will highlight a different topic related to National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month (DDAM), as well as ODPC’s areas of focus. The conference will include awareness strategies aimed at parents, families, providers, and other stakeholders throughout Texas. CEUs will be provided. 

ODPC Virtual Conference Flyer

Register for Conference

Regarding the conference, please send your questions, comments, and feedback to: jay.smith@hhsc.state.tx.us


The Texas Advisory Council Webinar on PANS PANDAS

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission’s Office of Disability Prevention for Children held a webinar on Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS), an often-overlooked condition in children. Presenters discuss the causes of PANS, as well as the importance of early identification and diagnosis of the syndrome. This webinar is intended for parents, caregivers, and people who work with families and children.

View Presentation Slides

Presenters:

  • Qazi Javed, M.D., PANS Advisory Council member; double board-certified integrative medicine physician practicing child, adolescent and adult psychiatry with Integrated Psychiatry Austin; Diplomate, American Board of Integrated and Holistic Medicine
  • Irma Villarreal, program development specialist, for the HHSC Office of Disability Prevention for Children

 


Governor Abbott Reappoints Thirteen To Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome Advisory Council

September 9, 2021 | Austin, Texas |

Governor Greg Abbott has reappointed Lisa Hardy, ASPIRE Board Member alongside 12 professional colleagues as a member of the Texas PANS Advisory council. See the announcement for the full list. The council advises the commission and the legislature on research, diagnosis, treatment, and education related to pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome.

The council has set a foundation with their newly released Council Report on PANS PANDAS. They will focus on the means to eliminating the barriers to treatments that impact patients and their families. The council aims to advise the commission and legislature on research, diagnosis, treatment, and education related to PANS.


Texas Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome Advisory Council Publishes a Council Report – 2021

Texas PANS Advisory Council ReportThe Texas PANS Advisory Council published a council report as required by House Bill 2783, 86th Texas Legislature, in September 2021.

The Texas Advisory Council report on PANS is comprehensive, covering definition, incidence rate, epidemiology, treatment recommendations, caregiver burden, and impact on social structures and education settings.

Read the full report

 

 


Governor Greg Abbott Creates Advisory Council in Texas on PANS

Texas Advisory Council Website

On November 13, 2020, The Texas Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome Advisory Council met for the first time. The 19-member council advises the commission and the legislature on research, diagnosis, treatment and education related to pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome. Jay Smith, project manager for the Office of Disability Prevention for Children, serves as council liaison. Specific council tasks include the following: provide a review of current practice guidelines for diagnosis and treatment, increase clinical awareness and education, develop strategies for outreach to educators and parents to increase awareness, and develop a network of volunteer experts on diagnosis and treatment. The meeting began with introductions, followed by a review of procedures, and concluded with a brief discussion of agenda items for subsequent meetings. The next council meeting is tentatively scheduled for February 26, 2021.

About the Texas PANS Council

Governor Greg Abbott has appointed Lisa Hardy, ASPIRE Board member along with Kara Cashteen, Anne Esquivel, Ph.D., Dan Freeland, D.O., Lisa Formby, Sarah Garrett, Suzanne Gazda, M.D., Anthony Infante, M.D., Ph.D., Qazi Javed, M.D., Paula Kruppstadt, M.D., Sharon Lemons, Darcy McMaughan, Ph.D., Amy Offutt, M.D., and Carol Trautman, Ph.D. to the Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome Advisory Council for terms set to expire on August 31, 2021. The council advises the commission and the legislature on research, diagnosis, treatment, and education related to Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS).

The process of House Bill 2783, relative to the establishment of a Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS) Advisory Council, becoming a law began four years ago. It may be longer than that if you count the many years before then, when parents, grappling with suddenly psychiatrically sick children, began sharing information and supporting one another in regional support groups. The suddenness of the illness associated with sore throat or seemingly mild infection and the unusual, extreme and disruptive symptoms had parents desperate for help finding many medical professionals without expertise or knowledge. The illness, although studied for over 30 years, has proved to be complex and challenging for providers and had a devastating impact on families and their children.

In preliminary meetings, scientific research and parent experiences helped convince legislators of the overwhelming need of these children for access to effective treatment and better dissemination of new PANS research among medical professionals. A small group of people, led by Kara Chasteen, Burnet County Republican Party Chairwoman, began to make progress and doors began to open. State Representative Colonel Terry Wilson of District 20, in collaboration with his Chief of Staff, Jeff Frazier, authored HB 2783 and State Senator Dr. Dawn Buckingham served as Senate sponsor and filed a companion bill.

Regional support groups were the foundation of the grassroots effort and were pivotal in moving the bill through both houses of the legislature. Many parents, grandparents, and friends wrote letters and made calls advocating for improvements for children with PANS. On June 10, 2019, with bipartisan support HB2783 relative to the establishment of Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome was signed into law by Governor Abbott.

Our deep gratitude to Governor Greg Abbott, Representative Terry Wilson, Senator Dawn Buckingham, Co-sponsors, Representative Andrew Murr, Representative John Kuempel, Representative Scott Sanford, and Representative Ed Thompson, Jeff Frazier and Kara Chasteen. Thank you also to those who provided testimony or attended meetings: Tracy Ganske, Jennifer House, Liz Lozier, Amy Offutt, Wendy Nawara, Josie Stevens, and Lisa Swint. We are grateful for the many parents and individuals in the community who worked together to help pass this law establishing a Texas PANS Advisory Council. Our hope is that this is the beginning of a better future for children with PANS in Texas.

Texas Legislative Update: Governor Abbott Appoints Fourteen To Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome Advisory Council

Leave a comment