Journalist and author Jessica Slice comes back to the show to share her family’s experience with PANS, or pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome, which began when her daughter experienced a sudden and severe change in behavior and functioning following a viral illness. Jessica recently shared her story in a viral article in New York Magazine, and today she takes us deep into what happened to her daughter, the medical dismissal her family encountered, and the long path toward getting a diagnosis and treatment. We also dig into why PANS and PANDAS remain controversial, what researchers believe may be happening in the brain, and what Jessica learned through both her family’s experience and her reporting. And importantly, we talk about what parents can do if their child experiences a sudden, dramatic onset of symptoms that they suspect could be PANS or PANDAS, including where to begin and how to advocate for care.
About Jessica Slice
Jessica Slice is a journalist, author, and podcaster. Her book, Unfit Parent: A Disabled Mother Challenges an Inaccessible World was one of NPR’s top books of 2025. She has been published in Modern Love, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic, the Guardian, The Globe & Mail, LitHub, Alice Wong’s bestselling Disability Visibility, Slate, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, and more.She’s been featured in Vogue, The New Yorker, PBS, NPR, The Cut, the BBC, etc.
She is the co-author of Dateable: Swiping Right, Hooking Up, and Settling Down, This is How We Play, This is How We Talk, and the forthcoming We Belong which was co-authored with the late Judy Heumann. She lives in Toronto with her family.
Things you'll learn from this episode
How Jessica’s daughter’s sudden, dramatic loss of functioning after a routine virus ultimately led to a PANS diagnosis
Why PANS symptoms can be mistaken for psychosis, autism-related behavior, or other mental health conditions, potentially delaying appropriate care
How PANS differs from PANDAS and why infections beyond strep may be associated with sudden-onset neuropsychiatric symptoms
What researchers are exploring about immune dysfunction, the blood-brain barrier, and the basal ganglia in understanding PANS
Why controversy, conflicting medical guidance, insurance barriers, and treatment costs can make accessing care extraordinarily difficult for families
How parents can advocate for evidence-based care, evaluate trustworthy medical information, and keep pushing when their child’s sudden changes aren’t adequately explained
Resources mentioned
Life with PANS: When a Virus Causes Psychiatric Symptoms (Jessica’s story in New York Magazine)
Unfit Parent: A Disabled Mother Challenges an Inaccessible World by Jessica Slice
Jessica Slice’s website
Jessica Slice’s Whatever What Is (Substack)
Jessica on Instagram
Jessica Slice on What We Can All Learn from Disabled Parenting (Tilt Parenting podcast)
PANS/PANDAS Physicians Network Page
PANS/PANDAS Support Groups
Allison Raskin on the Made Visible podcast
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