When Infection Hijacks The Mind: PANS and PANDAS Explained

Overnight personality changes are every parent’s nightmare, especially when the symptoms don’t fit a neat box. Scott and Stephanie are joined by Gabriella True, President and founding Board Member of Aspire, to explain PANS and PANDAS in plain language and with hard-earned honesty.  Gabriella brings professional advocacy plus lived experience as a mom of twins impacted by PANS and as someone who has dealt with PANS/PANDAS symptoms herself.We dig into what makes pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome so alarming: sudden OCD, restricted eating, and complex tics that can arrive with severe separation anxiety, rage, urinary changes, and mood swings. We talk about why some kids don’t show “typical” infection signs, how strep and other triggers can set off a neuroimmune response, and why calling these shifts “symptoms” instead of “behavior” can change how families and clinicians respond.Gabriella also walks us through today’s treatment framework including infectious triggers and reducing inflammation alongside careful psychiatric support.  The conversation doesn’t skip the hardest part: suicide risk, the reality of hospitalization, and the urgent need for coordinated medical and mental health care.If this helps you put words to what you’re seeing at home, share it with someone who needs it, subscribe for more conversations like this, and leave a review so more families can find these resources when time matters most.