FREE MASTERCLASS - Discover the real reasons behind your child’s struggles and what to do next.
PANS and PANDAS in Children: When Symptoms Appear Overnight
If your child changed fast and it frightened you, you’re not overreacting.
Many parents describe PANS/PANDAS as a “before and after” moment: a child who was coping (or at least predictable) suddenly develops intense anxiety, tics, obsessive thoughts, rages, regressions, sleep chaos, school refusal, or a level of fear and rigidity that feels completely out of character.
If you’re confused, exhausted, or quietly losing hope — please know this: you are not imagining it, your child is not broken, and you are in the right place
At The Brain Health Movement, we believe symptoms are signals. And when symptoms show up suddenly, they’re not “just behavioural.” They are often your child’s brain and body asking for support, regulation, and a clearer roadmap.
Informed by clinical insights from leading PANS/PANDAS and neurodevelopment experts, including Dr Nancy O’Hara, Dr Josh Madsen, Dr Lauren Lee Stone, Dr Lyndsey Wells, and others.
What are PANS and PANDAS?
What are PANDAS ?
PANDAS stands for Paediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal infections. It’s a term used when a child has a sudden onset or worsening of OCD and/or tics, and the timing suggests a link with a recent strep infection.
What are PANs ?
PANS stands for Paediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome. It’s a broader umbrella term used when a child has an abrupt onset of OCD and/or severely restricted food intake, alongside other symptoms such as anxiety, emotional dysregulation, regression, sensory changes, sleep issues and more.
PANS is increasingly understood as a neuroimmune condition, where inflammation, immune activation, and nervous system dysregulation intersect, often in children who were already carrying vulnerability from early stress, illness, or developmental load.
The most important word is “sudden”
PANS/PANDAS are often discussed because of the speed and intensity of change. Parents frequently say:
“This is not my child.”
And that is a meaningful clue.
Important note: This page is educational and supportive, not a diagnosis or medical advice. If you suspect PANS/PANDAS, proper medical assessment and rule-outs matter.
Common PANS/PANDAS symptoms parents notice
Every child is different, but patterns appear again and again. Symptoms can come in flares, and the severity can change over time.
- Sudden-onset OCD (intrusive thoughts, compulsions, reassurance seeking, rigid fears)
- New or rapidly worsening tics (motor and/or vocal)
- Restricted eating (especially in PANS)
- Intense anxiety, panic, separation anxiety
- Rage cycles, irritability, emotional volatility
- Sleep disruption (insomnia, night waking, fear at bedtime)
- Sensory overload (noise, touch, clothing, crowds)
- Regression (behaviour, speech, toileting, social connection)
- Brain fog, memory issues, concentration problems
- School refusal, shutdowns, sudden overwhelm
- Changes in handwriting, motor control, coordination
Core symptoms
Other symptoms that commonly show up alongside
Clinicians working with PANS/PANDAS often observe these symptoms clustering together because the same brain circuits, particularly those involved in threat detection, regulation and executive function, are being impacted.
If you’re nodding as you read this, you’re not alone, and there is a reason these symptoms often show up together.
Why it can feel so terrifying as a parent
Because it’s not just the symptoms. It’s the whiplash.
You’re trying to parent a child who may feel unpredictable, frightened, rigid, dysregulated, or suddenly “not themselves”, while juggling school meetings, appointments, sleep deprivation, and that constant 2am spiral of:
“What am I missing? What if it gets worse? What if I do the wrong thing?”
We see this again and again: parents drowning in information but starving for clear guidance.
This is exactly why “ten more protocols” usually doesn’t help.
You need clarity. You need a sequence. You need a roadmap.
A note from one parent to another:
Many of us at The Brain Health Movement didn’t come to PANS/PANDAS through textbooks or theory.
We came to it the way many parents do, through sudden changes, frightening behaviours, unanswered questions, and a child we barely recognised.
This condition is personal for us. It’s part of our family’s story.
While every child’s path is different, what we’ve learned is this: parents don’t need more fear or more protocols.
They need understanding, sequence, and a nervous system that feels safe enough to heal.
What to do if you suspect PANS/PANDAS
Many PANS/PANDAS-informed clinicians emphasise the importance of ruling out immune triggers while simultaneously supporting regulation and stability, not waiting for “perfect labs” before helping the child feel safer.
You don’t have to figure it all out in one day. These steps can bring calm and clarity quickly:
TRACK THE TIMELINE
Write down:
When symptoms started
How quickly they escalated
Any illness/infection around that time
Any major stressors or changes
Sleep changes, appetite changes, regressions
This simple timeline is often one of the most helpful tools you can bring to clinicians.
GET THE RIGHT MEDICAL SUPPORT
PANS/PANDAS discussions sit at the intersection of infection, immunity, inflammation, neurology and mental health. Appropriate assessment and referrals matter.
If your child is in crisis (severe restriction of food/fluid, safety concerns, psychosis-like symptoms, risk of harm), seek urgent medical help immediately.
STABILISE THE NERVOUS SYSTEM AT HOME
Across our expert faculty, one message is consistent: when the nervous system is in a sustained threat state, no protocol works as intended.
Even while you pursue medical answers, your child’s system needs safety and regulation. When the nervous system is overwhelmed, everything becomes harder: sleep, behaviour, sensory tolerance, learning, emotional control.
This is where many families can make meaningful day-to-day improvements while the bigger picture is being assessed.
AVOID THE "DO EVERYTHING AT ONCE " TRAP
When you’re scared, it’s tempting to throw every intervention at once. But healing rarely works like that. Building the foundation first often changes what becomes possible next.
How The Brain Health Movement can support families with PANS/PANDAS
We are not here to label your child, dismiss your instincts, or tell you it’s “just anxiety”.
We’re here to give you what most parents are missing:
A Whole Child, root-cause roadmap that connects the dots, starting with the nervous system.
Our approach looks at how the nervous system, gut, immune system, brain development, birth stress, inflammation and environmental load can interact. Because in real life, these things don’t sit in separate boxes.
The Whole Child Healing Sequence
We organise support into a clear sequence:
Regulate → Rebuild → Restore
This sequencing reflects how the brain and body actually heal, a principle echoed across paediatric neurodevelopment, functional medicine and clinical practice. This matters because you can’t build resilience, higher function and long-term change on a dysregulated foundation.
Regulate
Support the nervous system first:
Co-regulation and safety cues
Reducing overwhelm and sensory load
Building predictable routines that actually work in real life
Helping you regulate too, because your nervous system affects your child’s
rebuild
Strengthen biological foundations:
Gut and immune balance
Nutrition support that feels doable
Addressing load, inflammation and chronic stressors in a structured way
Supporting neuro-motor development and retained primitive reflexes (where relevant)
Supporting detoxification pathways gently and safely, particularly for children who struggle to clear inflammatory or environmental load
restore
Create long-term stability:
Sleep and circadian support
Emotional and behavioural tools that stick
Reconnection, resilience and confidence for the whole family
A plan you can follow without spiralling into “what next?”
PARENT-LED COMPASSION-FIRST (because we know what it's like)
The Brain Health Movement was created by a mother who lived this journey behind closed doors: the meltdowns, the school calls, the fear, the exhaustion, the lonely Googling.
So we don’t just educate you. We support you.
Our programmes are designed for real life:
Learn at your own pace (video, audio, transcripts, practical downloads)
Gentle, clear teaching (no shame, no overwhelm)
Ongoing support and community, so you don’t have to carry this alone
MULTI-DISCIPLINARY, EXPERT-LED, ORGANISED PROPERLY
Our expert-led content draws from clinical practice in paediatric neuroimmunology, neurodevelopment, nutrition and functional medicine. Instead of chasing different opinions and booking endless consults, we bring together world-class experts across:
Nervous system regulation and neurodevelopment
Gut, nutrition and immune balance
Neuro-motor immaturity and retained reflexes
Inflammation, stressors and environmental load
Parenting under pressure and co-regulation
And crucially: we organise it in the right sequence so you always know what matters most right now.
A note from Lucia (and why this is personal)
Dear Parents and Carers,
If you’ve landed here, it’s likely because something in your child’s behaviour, learning, or emotional world doesn’t feel right, and no one seems to be giving you the clarity and answers you need.
You’re not alone.
I know this story intimately, because I’ve lived it.
When my son Quinn began to show escalating tics, disconnection, dysregulation and other neurological symptoms, I did what every good parent does, I searched for answers. I went from doctor to therapist, expert to specialist.
But the answers never truly helped. At best, they masked the symptoms. At worst, they made me feel hopeless and alone.
Deep down, I knew:
My son was not broken.
His symptoms weren’t random.
And medication was never going to be the answer for our family.
It wasn’t until I began to dig into the why behind the symptoms that everything changed. Eventually, I encountered the world of PANS/PANDAS, a diagnosis that explained the suddenness, but not yet the full healing path.
I discovered our children’s behaviours are signals, urgent calls from their nervous system, brain and body, asking for support, healing, wholeness and balance.
Over time, and through working with the world’s leading paediatric, neurodevelopmental and functional medicine experts, I learned that lasting healing is possible when we address root causes like:
Nervous system dysregulation
Gut, nutrition and immune imbalance
Neuro-motor immaturity and retained reflexes
Inflammation, stressors and toxic load
Today, Quinn is radiant. He’s calmer, connected, and no longer defined by his diagnosis or symptoms.
And now, I want the same for you.
With real hope,
Lucia x
Best next step
If you’re new to The Brain Health Movement, start with clarity and a calmer nervous system:
You don’t need to keep guessing, Googling, or doing this alone. You just need the right roadmap, and the right team by your side.
PANS/PANDAS FAQs
What’s the difference between PANS and PANDAS?
PANDAS is typically discussed in relation to strep timing. PANS is broader and focuses on sudden onset symptoms that may have different triggers.
Does it always involve strep?
Not always. PANDAS is linked to strep by definition; PANS is broader. Either way, proper assessment matters.
Can symptoms come and go?
Many families report symptoms in flares, with periods of improvement and periods of worsening.
Can The Brain Health Movement diagnose or treat PANS/PANDAS?
We don’t diagnose or prescribe treatment. We provide education, a Whole Child framework, and parent-led support you can use alongside appropriate clinical care.
What if my child is in crisis?
If you have urgent safety concerns, severe food/fluid restriction, or severe psychiatric symptoms, please seek urgent medical help immediately.
“Is PANS/PANDAS the same as anxiety or OCD?”
No. While anxiety and OCD can be prominent features, PANS/PANDAS involves an abrupt neuroimmune shift that affects regulation, behaviour, emotion and cognition. Understanding the difference matters for both treatment and support.
Final reassurance
When symptoms appear suddenly, it can feel random and terrifying. But in our experience, they’re not random… they’re signals.
Healing doesn’t begin with doing everything at once, or doing it perfectly. It begins with safety, presence, and the right sequence, addressing root causes in a way your child’s nervous system can actually tolerate.
This is how real healing happens. And how lasting change becomes possible.
FREE DOWNLOAD