School can be difficult for a PANDAS child. The following are resources that may be helpful to parent, teacher, and administration.
Useful Websites and Handouts
Sample Letters: You can use these frameworks to craft a letter for the teachers, administrators and staff who interact with your child at school. Copy and paste the text, then customize them for your personal use.
- P.A.N.D.A.S. Letter for Schools (with Orchestra Analogy)
- Letter to School while in a PANDAS Exacerbation
- Letter to School while in Remission
- Letter Requesting Notification of Strep Exposure from Classmates
Websites:
- NYSOTA-Recognizing and Treating Children with PANDAS in OT (slight pause will occur while loading)
- PANDAS in the School Setting School Nurse News
- OCD Education Station Coping with OCD in the School
- Wrightslaw Special Education Advocacy and Law
- Preparing the School for Your Child with Tourette Syndrome Tips for Tics in the School Environment
- Section 504 and IDEA Comparison Chart 504 vs IEP
- IOCDF OCD in Kids International OCD Foundation pediatric website (Info on OCD and PANDAS)
Handouts
From Crayons to College: PANDAS/PANS in the School Setting: Considerations Regarding Academic Accommodations/Compensatory Strategies, and Services for Students with PANDAS/PANS ©Dr. Jamie Candelaria-Greene 2012 (posted with permission of Dr.Candelaria-Greene)
AOTA PANDAS OT Handout Copyright 2011 by the American Occupational Therapy Association. All rights reserved. This material may be copied and distributed for personal or educational uses without written consent. For all other uses, contact copyright@aota.org.
Other Suggestions
Even if you don’t have a 504 Plan or IEP in place, you can still talk to the teacher(s) and administration about what would make school more comfortable for your child and for you. Some suggestions are:
- Call the Principal and say you want to be notified when a classmate is absent due to strep. If there are siblings, you can request the same for their classes as well. The school will not be able to give you specific names due to privacy and this only helps if the parent actually gives the reason for absence to the school.
- Talk to the teacher about allowing frequent bathroom breaks if frequent urination is an issue. If you don’t discuss this, the teacher may have class rules about how often a child is allowed to go and when the child is allowed to go. If you don’t tell them frequent urination is a symptom of his/her autoimmune disorder, the teacher will not know.
- Establish a “code” with the teacher. Perhaps if the child puts a certain object or piece of paper on their desk or the teacher’s desk, it will signal the teacher that the student is overwhelmed and needs a break from the class room.
- Opt out of standardized testing if they will cause anxiety.
- Get permission for your child to use a water bottle in the class room. Water fountains are filled with germs and bacteria.