When the Misdiagnosis is Child Abuse – The Atlantic
See it hereSome pediatricians are trained to determine whether kids’ injuries are accidental. Their assessments can be subjective—but they’re often accepted as fact. And when they’re wrong, parents can needlessly end up in jail.
Local physician raises awareness of PANDAS – delmartimes.net
See it hereFor young children, an innocuous sore throat could be a sign of PANDAS (pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders), a condition that a Solana Beach-based doctor in California has been centering his practice around.
State’s rush to judgment almost took this boy from his family – Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram
See it hereJaxen Steimlosk, 4, of North Yarmouth has lived with serious health problems for most of his life. But officials accused his mother of medical child abuse and tried to assume custody.
Dr. Eli Newberger, a Boston pediatrician who is a leading expert on medical child abuse, reviewed Jaxen’s case and wrote in a report that the family was “grievously harmed” by Maine’s investigation.
“Never previously have I witnessed such a rush to judgment, a defamatory campaign against a mother and her family in a community,” wrote Newberger, who was hired by the Steimlosks’ attorney, Beth Maloney, and was prepared to testify on their behalf. “The paucity of interest in seeking the truth of the matter is jaw-dropping.”
Calgary parents raise awareness about little-known childhood illness – CBC News
See it here“It’s a disease from hell.”
That’s how Marnie Deschenes describes the illness that struck her oldest son just before his 8th birthday.
“He just started to rage like a caged wild animal,” said Deschenes as she recalls the day in June, 2013 when — as the family was out running errands — she witnessed a sudden and dramatic shift in the little boy’s personality.
Bad medicine – USA Today
See it hereCritics say powerful pediatrician too quick to diagnose child abuse, traumatizing families.
Hundreds of parents say kids wrongly taken from them after doctors misdiagnosed abuse – NBC News
See it here“They made us feel like we were monsters,” said a Florida mother who temporarily lost custody of her 4-month-old son based on a doctor’s report.
What Parent Should Know About PANDAS – U.S. News and World Report
See it hereALTHOUGH RARE, IN SOME cases a strep infection can precipitate or worsen symptoms of mental illness. Known as pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infections, or PANDAS, symptoms typically appear in kids between age 3 and puberty, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.
Eating Disorders: Could Common Infections be the Culprit – The Atlantic
See it hereIn 2007, Carlo Carandang, then an attending physician at a hospital in Halifax, Nova Scotia, saw a most unusual patient: an 8-year-old boy who had recently adopted some strange beliefs, all while losing 18 pounds. The boy thought that nurses were “evil,” and that he could inject other people with his fat cells simply by walking past them.
School Places PANDAS Child’s Desk In Bathroom – Newsweek
See it hereA middle school student with special needs in Bellingham, Washington, was shocked to discover that his desk had been moved out of the classroom and into a bathroom.
Boy’s Sore Throat Causes Seizures – The UK Mirror
See it hereLee Wilson, from Ashford, Kent, got a throat infection that, within weeks, led to a condition called PANDAS – which causes the immune system to attack the body’s healthy cells