Virginia Delegates: Vote Yes on PANDAS HB 2404

Every parent’s worse nightmare is watching their child suffer and being unable to help them. For parents who have a child suffering from Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococcal Infections (“PANDAS”), this is their reality.

PANDAS is a disease, triggered by strep throat, which attacks the brain, causing psychiatric problems in children as young as seven. But it gets worse – often times, PANDAS will go untreated or misdiagnosed.

PANDAS affects roughly 1 in 200 children in the United States, ranging in age from 1 to 13 years of age, with a majority of cases between the ages of 4 and 9. The onset of PANDAS can be difficult to diagnose, but “children with PANDAS are initially diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive disorder or a tic disorder. OCD and tic symptoms in PANDAS are similar to those in the classic forms of childhood OCD and tic disorders.”

The everyday living nightmare is a reality for parents whose children are suffering but have not been diagnosed or have been misdiagnosed by their pediatrician. In an effort to raise awareness of PANDAS, various state legislatures are stepping up and passing bills to create awareness and create public advisory councils at the state level.

In 2003, the Arizona legislature passed resolution 1007, which declared October 9th of each year PANDAS awareness day. Arizona also created the House Ad Hoc Committee Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder to study PANDAS and advise the Department of Health Services on research, diagnosis, treatment and education relating to the disorder and syndrome.

Other states such as Connecticut and Illinois have followed suit and created their own advisory committees to learn more about PANDAS and the treatment for it and to create awareness of this disease.

Currently, the Virginia state legislature has a bill in the House of Delegates to create a similar advisory council in order to help raise awareness of PANDAS throughout the state. HB2404 outlines the provision for an advisory council to advise the Commissioner of Health on research, diagnosis, treatment, and education relating to these identified disorders and syndrome referred to by the National Institute of Mental Health as PANDAS.

HB 2404 has made its way through the “How a Bill Becomes a Law” process, just like School House Rocks taught us. As of January 31st, HB 2404 was heard and voted on in Subcommittee #1 of the Committee on Health, Welfare, and Institutions. For advocates of HB 2404, their hope of a PANDAS advisory council coming to the Old Dominion State was kept alive as delegates voted 10-0 in favor of the bill.

As it stands, HB2404 has to undergo one more vote before finding its way to the Senate, where it will then be voted on again and, hopefully, find its way to the governor’s desk for his John Hancock. From the outside looking in, the process to create an advisory board seems arduous, but for the families who have children suffering from PANDAS, the chance of an advisory committee dedicated to learning more about this disease and getting them the help they need makes the process worth it.

Here’s to hoping Governor Terry McAuliffe has the opportunity to see HB 2404 cross his desk, but first, the house of Delegates in Virginia will have to step up and vote yes every chance they get to ensure the safe passage of HB 2404. At the end of the day, HB 2404 is not just another bill. HB 2404, when enacted, will help shape the conversation about PANDAS and bring hope to those families suffering in silence and searching for answers to a disease doctors are still trying to understand.