interests becoming more child-like, younger

[SuzanneR]

My 20-year-old daughter with autism and PANS/PANDAS has, over the last few years, shifted her I nterests back to things she enjoyed as a toddler and young child. She has a renewed interest in some of the shows she watched as a younger child, like Sesame Street or the Backyardigans. Lately she has also become interested in reading the Big Red Barn, a book we read to her often when she was about 3-6 years old. At the same time, we have seen her OCD symptoms worsen and her anxieties increase. Could it somehow be linked to a PANDAS flare?  She also has Lyme, which we started treating last week with Suprax.  That initially caused even higher anxiety as the infections were stirred up by the antibiotic. Has anyone seen this happen in their own children? Any thoughts people share would be very appreciated.  

[bobh]

That sounds to me like what they call "regression" - going backwards in abilities during a flare.

The flare may be a herx from the antibiotic (look up "herxheimer reaction" on wikipedia, or search herx in this forum if you are unfamiliar with that term). If this is what is happening, then hang in there, you have the tiger by the tail, and it should get better than it was before the abx started.  I don't have direct experience with lyme as a trigger for PANS, so not sure how long it can take.

In this video, Dr. Rosario rifiletti, a PANS/PANDAS specialist and neurologist from New Jersey, discusses PANS and autism at a recent AutismOne conference, and proposes a theory as to why 10% to 20% of folks with autism have PANS:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sy9QdJmwvSw&index=5&list=PLtw9iWxwfPldYIunR7lctt9-unraLFtRa

[tj21]

My 17 yr. old son started watching Little Bear again! However, he is dev. disabled (borderline intellectual disability), so I am never quite sure what's related to what. Though he has been flaring for 3 months, and some tics that we haven't seen for two years have come back.

Tracy

Edited June 13, 2017 by tj21

[Cleopatra]

My dd was 7 when her PANDAS began. She regressed about 3-4 years in age at the time. Very common.