Gemma's four year old son changed beyond recognition following a short illness at the end of January.

"At first we doubted ourselves as parents or thought it was just a phase he was going through but as time went on we realised something was happening to our son beyond his or our control. He was unable to walk properly, tired extremely quickly, lost his balance and coordination. He was unable to control his aggression and sometimes had days when he would just cry and not want to leave the house. He became scared of things he used to love, he stopped going to his sports clubs and was unable to cope at nursery. His speech regressed and he had difficulty with remembering words he had always known. He developed physical TICS and extreme OCD which took over his thoughts making him unable to function without carrying out certain rituals. The gentle, kind and care free boy we knew no longer seemed to exist. Every day we became more distressed with what was happening to him and had no idea where to turn for help. It was at this time we discovered the PANS PANDAS UK support group.

This support groups was set up by a group of parents whose children were going through the exact same thing. They began researching the little known conditions called PANS and PANDAS and started to realise just how many children are suffering with these conditions.

PANS and PANDAS are conditions which cause inflammation in the basal ganglia region of the brain resulting in neuropsychiatric symptoms such as OCD, tics, eating disorders and anxiety along with many, many more. For more detailed information about the symptoms please see our website https://www.panspandasuk.org

In the short time since the parent group ‘PANS PANDAS UK’ has been established it has managed to achieve a lot and has supported many families in desperate need for answers.

With the support of this group our son has now been diagnosed with PANDAS by a specialist neurologist and has begun treatment to reduce his symptoms but we know this will be a long road and we will continue to need support on the way. This group need help to continue to support families, to spread the word and to educate healthcare professionals so that no more children are misdiagnosed."