A Pittsburgh Family’s Fight to Get Their Daughter Help for PANDAS
IN THE NEWS | SEPTEMBER 2026
KDKA-TV | CBS Pittsburgh
By Meghan Schiller | September 22, 2026
There are some stories that stop you in your tracks because they feel so familiar.
A recent KDKA/CBS Pittsburgh report follows a family whose daughter experienced a sudden and dramatic change after a strep infection. What began as an illness quickly became something much bigger: tics, obsessive-compulsive behaviors, regression, emotional and behavioral changes, and a child who no longer seemed like herself.
For families who have lived through PANS or PANDAS, those details can be difficult to hear without recognizing pieces of your own story.
The family describes searching for answers, struggling to find a doctor who understood what they were seeing, and eventually receiving a PANDAS diagnosis. They also share another reality familiar to many families: even after finally finding an explanation, accessing treatment can become an entirely new battle.
Why This Story Matters
One of the hardest parts of PANS and PANDAS is how quickly a child’s life can change and how unprepared families often are for what happens next.
Parents may go from having a child who is functioning normally to suddenly dealing with severe anxiety, obsessive behaviors, tics, aggression, emotional outbursts, sleep disruption, regression, food restriction, sensory changes, or other symptoms that seem to appear almost overnight.
And then begins the search for someone who can explain why.
For many families, that search can take months or even years.
That is why stories like this matter so much.
When a major news outlet gives a family the space to tell their story, it helps other parents recognize that what they are seeing in their own child may have a name. It also brings the conversation into doctors’ offices, hospitals, schools, insurance companies, and communities that may still know very little about these conditions.
Most importantly, it reminds families going through this that they are not alone.
If This Story Sounds Familiar
If your child experienced a sudden and severe change in behavior, personality, movement, eating, sleep, anxiety, or everyday functioning following an infection or illness, PANS or PANDAS may be something worth discussing with a knowledgeable medical provider.
No single symptom confirms a diagnosis, and other conditions can cause similar changes. But when the change is abrupt, dramatic, and clearly different from a child’s previous baseline, it deserves to be taken seriously.
Families should not have to spend years searching for someone willing to listen.
Watch the KDKA Report
We are grateful to KDKA/CBS Pittsburgh for giving this family a platform and helping bring greater awareness to PANS and PANDAS.
Watch the full report →
Read the story →
Learn More
If you are new to PANS or PANDAS, start with our resources on symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and finding help.