ASPIRE Blog

PANS/PANDAS Meets IDEA’s Definition of Other Health Impairment Students with PANS/PANDAS may experience sudden and severe symptoms that significantly disrupt school functioning across academic, cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and sensory domains. […]

Legislative Action: Information for Legislators Toolkit & Handouts Download Legislative Toolkit Legislative Action: Information for Legislators Toolkit Download ASPIRE’s PANS/PANDAS Legislative Action: Information for Legislators Toolkit. 

This Legislative Toolkit covers […]

Start the Legislative Process Are you interested in starting the legislative process in your state? Meet with the ASPIRE Legislative Working Group (ALWG) to help you get started. Your voice […]

Why Mandated Insurance Coverage for PANS and PANDAS Is Necessary Providing Equal and Comparable Access to Medically Necessary Care See the below for downloadable resources:  Mandated Insurance Coverage for PANS/PANDAS: […]

  General Legislative Information Legislative Recap – PANS PANDAS Legislation Nationwide How Get Started: How to talk to your state representative Look Up Your State Representative & State Senator in […]

  Kapphahn C, Peet B, Gao J, Chan A, Farhadian B, Ma M, Silverman M, Tran P, Schlenk N, Thienemann M, Frankovich J. Sudden Onset Disordered Eating Behaviors and Appetite […]

Wu, X., Hao, J., Jiang, K. et al. Neuroinflammation and pathways that contribute to tourette syndrome. Ital J Pediatr 51, 63 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13052-025-01874-3 A 2025 narrative review published in Italian […]

Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections (PANDAS) is a neuropsychiatric syndrome that develops after a Streptococcus pyogenes (group A strep) infection. It is marked by the sudden start or worsening of obsessive-compulsive symptoms and/or tics in prepubertal children, with symptoms that come and go and often appear suddenly across different areas. The chapter explains that much of the ongoing debate stems from challenges in research methods, including the prevalence of strep, silent infections, limited testing, and study design issues. At the same time, it brings together evidence from clinical observations, brain studies, immune markers, animal and lab research, treatment trials, and long-term studies that support a link between strep and a specific group of acute-onset cases. The main point is that accurately recognizing PANDAS depends on timing, symptom pattern, and careful infection screening, and that the way PANDAS develops is similar to other immune-related problems that follow strep infections.

Occupational Performance Fluctuates With PANS Disease State Newby MJ, Lane SJ, Haracz K, et al. Occupational performance patterns in children with paediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal. 2024;72:e12995. […]

ASPIRE is working to support national efforts to pass legislation requiring insurance coverage for the treatment of PANS and PANDAS. By sharing your story and keeping the conversation clear, positive, and focused, you can help drive change.

If you’re reading this, you probably care about our family and our child. We understand that what we’re going through may seem confusing, unfamiliar, or even hard to believe. Sudden and extreme changes in behavior don’t match how most people think about illness, especially when the symptoms seem psychiatric.

Arthritis in Children with Psychiatric Deterioration: What This Case Series Shows Ma M, Sandberg J, Farhadian B, Silverman M, Xie Y, Thienemann M, Frankovich J. Arthritis in Children with Psychiatric […]