Please join us for a screening of the new documentary film
My Kid is Not Crazy: A Search for Hope in the Face of Misdiagnosis
My Kid is Not Crazy, a film by Emmy-nominated director Tim Sorel, follows the lives of six children and their families as they battle the debilitating symptoms of PANDAS — Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Strep infections. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), PANDAS is estimated to affect 1 out of every 200 children in the U.S. but often goes undiagnosed.
When: Thursday, April 27
Doors open: 6 pm; Movie starts: 7 pm
Where: Oklahoma History Center – 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive, Oklahoma City, OK 73105
Contact: crossa@moleculera.com
Cost: $15
ORDER TICKETS
Visit film website: www.mykidisnotcrazy.com
Following the screening: Q&A with Tim Sorel, the film’s director; Madeleine Cunningham, PhD, Oklahoma University researcher; Peter Stanbro, MD, child and adolescent psychiatrist; and Martha Tarpay, MD, allergist and immunologist.
Mental illness or autoimmune disorder?
Kathryn, age 9, was a normal, healthy child. But within a matter of days, the star student, athlete and dancer was overcome with a rapid onset of OCD, refusing to eat or drink.
Drew, age 18, went through more than 11 years of misdiagnoses. Since age 6, she was given more than a dozen psychiatric medications and was hospitalized for seven weeks. She became despondent and suicidal.
Seemingly overnight, the children, featured in the film, develop dramatic personality changes and severe psychiatric symptoms, at times requiring hospitalization. Initially labeled as mentally ill, they are found to instead suffer from a treatable autoimmune condition triggered by a strep infection. But entangled in a medical community that remains skeptical of the disorder, the families must fight for recognition and treatment for their children.
The film features interviews with experts in the field including Dr. Susan Swedo, from the NIH, who identified and named PANDAS after finding undiagnosed strep infections were causing disabling mental illness in some children. Oklahoma University researcher Dr. Madeleine Cunningham, who worked alongside Dr. Swedo studying the disorder, is also interviewed throughout the film.
For more information download the event flyer below or contact Amy Cross at 405-239-5250.
