P.A.N.D.A.S Awareness Stair Climb at Swallow Cliff Stairs in Palos Hills

In about a years’ time, PANADAS/PITAND/PANS Advocacy and Support of Illinois has grown to include over 100 families and they continue to add members daily. These families are struggling with the medical, social, educational and financial impacts of PANDAS/PITAND/PANS. They spend hours upon hours researching how best to help their children and often times learn to understand the medical complexities better than doctors themselves. THIS MUST CHANGE. PANDAS/PITAND/PANS Advocacy and Support of Illinois is dedicated to improving the quality diagnosis and effective treatment outcomes for all children with PANDAS/PITAND/PANS. We strive to build public awareness, provide family support, and gather the resources to stay informed to keep our children healthy. With those goals in mind, we are proud to announce that Governor Quinn has Proclaimed October 9, 2013 PANDAS/PITAND/PANS Awareness day in the State of Illinois.

PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococcus) and its associated PITAND (Pediatric Infection Triggered Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder) and PANS (Pediatric Acute onset Neuropsychiatric Disorder), are medical, immune disorders that are becoming more and more prevalent thought the stand and the country. PANDAS is not rare, but is rarely diagnosed. It is more commonly misdiagnosed as Tourette Syndrome, ADD ADHD, behavioral disorders, bi-polar disorder, OCD and even autism. Each and every day all of us are struggling with the medical, social, educational and financial impact of this disorder. It is a mountainous task, very aptly symbolized within this family friendly event at Swallow Cliff. We see this climb as representative of the difficult tasks our children and families face every day. Step by step, our families raise to the challenge before them, please join us on October 13 from 1:00 to 4:00 pm, our PANDAS/PITAND/PANS Awareness and Support group of parents will be located to the left of the stairs under a canopy. Information in the form of postcards about PANDAS/PITAND/PANS will be available to the general public and the families. A copy of the Proclamation will be on display and our group will be on hand for support or questions.No donations will be solicited. In the event of rain, the climb will be canceled.

Our group is dedicated to improving quality diagnosis and effective treatment outcomes for all children with PANDAS. By holding this event, we strive to build public awareness and provide the family support we all need to keep our children healthy. We want to thank the Forest Preserve District of Cook County staff for working with us to provide a family friendly and healthy celebration, while raising awareness amongst the community! We hope that we can STEP UP to raise awarenessof PANDAS/PITAND/PANS at the stairs of Swallow Cliff inPalos Park, IL.

Contact number: Michele Kleczkowski #708-280-8012, KrisThompson cell #630-962-9310 or Wendy Nawara # 630-479-7143