Dr. Lauren LaRose is a board-certified child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist, and she takes a personal and clinical deep dive into PANS and PANDAS. We break down what Pediatric Acute Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS) and its strep-triggered subset, PANDAS, actually are—forms of autoimmune encephalitis where the immune system mistakenly attacks the basal ganglia, leading to sudden-onset OCD, anxiety, mood instability, behavioral regression, sleep disruption, and academic decline. Dr. LaRose explains molecular mimicry, genetic predisposition, plus environmental triggers, and why diagnosis is clinical, sometimes supported by lab testing for infections like strep, mycoplasma, Epstein-Barr, flu, COVID, and tick-borne illnesses.

We also explore why tick-borne and vector-borne infections like Bartonella and Babesia may be more common than many providers realize, how neuroinflammation can masquerade as primary psychiatric disorders, and why treatment must go beyond antibiotics to include reducing overall inflammation, supporting gut health, addressing sleep and airway issues, and regulating the autonomic nervous system. We discuss school accommodations, flares after illness, and the emotional toll on families navigating disbelief and isolation. This conversation is both educational and deeply personal, offering clarity, validation, and practical insight for parents and providers trying to better understand PANS/PANDAS.

Join Dr. Lauren LaRose, psychiatrist and mom of three, as she brings on experts in mental health, physical health and education and explores ideas outside the traditional medical model. The Little Brain Campaign aims to make issues kids and caregivers face easier to understand, while always keeping in mind that we need to look beyond the usual answers to find what really works.

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Collin McConnell is a Speech-Language Pathologist who focuses on social-emotional learning, sensory integration, and brain integration. In this conversation, we break down how retained primitive reflexes, nervous system dysregulation, and early life stressors—like birth trauma, C-sections, and gut issues—can contribute to behaviors often labeled as ADHD, autism, dyslexia, anxiety, and defiance. Collin explains her whole-child approach, which combines intentional movement, rhythm and timing work, sensory integration tools, and cognitive behavioral strategies to strengthen the brain’s foundation rather than just address surface-level symptoms.

We also dive into what this means for parents navigating strong-willed kids, sensory sensitivities, school struggles, and daily power battles. We talk about fight-or-flight responses, why some kids seem “overreactive,” and how understanding your child’s nervous system can shift the way you respond in hard moments. This is a validating, practical conversation about lowering shame, preserving your relationship with your child, and investing early in social-emotional skills that pay off for a lifetime.

If you’re interested in learning more about Collin's work, you can visit her website, https://www.mobilekidcompany.com/, and follow on Instagram @mobilekid_co, for additional information and resources.

Join Dr. Lauren LaRose, psychiatrist and mom of three, as she brings on experts in mental health, physical health and education and explores ideas outside the traditional medical model. The Little Brain Campaign aims to make issues kids and caregivers face easier to understand, while always keeping in mind that we need to look beyond the usual answers to find what really works.

Follow The Little Brain Campaign

Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/thelittlebraincampaign/⁠

This episode includes brief references to childhood abuse and family trauma shared in the context of the guest’s personal story. Listener discretion is advised.

Kirk Martin is the host of the Calm Parenting Podcast, and he joins us to talk about what it really takes to parent strong-willed kids. We dig into how his own upbringing shaped his early parenting style, the turning points that forced him to confront his triggers, and why trying to “fix” your child often backfires. Kirk shares practical, real-life strategies for handling defiance, anxiety, sensory needs, and emotional explosions - without shame, fear, or over-accommodating. We also unpack the difference between authoritarian parenting, overly gentle parenting, and what he calls calm, confident leadership.

We connect this conversation to our own experiences parenting intense kids, including how trauma and fight-or-flight responses can show up in us as adults. Together, we explore why parenting is less about controlling behavior and more about regulating ourselves, building connection, and teaching tools for long-term resilience. If you’re raising a child who challenges you daily, this conversation is both validating and deeply practical, and a reminder that the traits causing friction now may be the very qualities that lead to success later.

If you’re interested in learning more about Kirk's work, you can visit his website, https://celebratecalm.com/, for additional information and resources.

Join Dr. Lauren LaRose, psychiatrist and mom of three, as she brings on experts in mental health, physical health and education and explores ideas outside the traditional medical model. The Little Brain Campaign aims to make issues kids and caregivers face easier to understand, while always keeping in mind that we need to look beyond the usual answers to find what really works.

Follow The Little Brain Campaign

Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/thelittlebraincampaign/⁠

Victoria Lenormand is a mother, activist, and the author of The Magic Of Not Fitting In: A Story of Family Empowerment in Changing Times, and she joins us to share her family’s powerful journey raising a neurodivergent child. We talk openly about the isolation, guilt, and self-doubt so many parents experience when their child doesn’t fit neatly into traditional systems, especially school, and how those pressures can quietly erode both a child’s mental health and a parent’s confidence.

Together, we explore what changed when Victoria stopped trying to force her son into environments that weren’t built for him and instead chose to center safety, strengths, and emotional well-being. We dig into why we take children seriously when they say they don’t feel safe at home, but often ignore them when they say the same thing about school, and how redefining success can protect self-esteem and create real growth. This conversation offers hope, validation, and a reminder that different paths aren’t failures, but rather they’re often exactly what neurodivergent kids need to thrive.

If you’re interested in learning more about Victoria’s work, you can visit her website, https://geminidirections.co.uk/, for additional information and resources.

Join Dr. Lauren LaRose, psychiatrist and mom of three, as she brings on experts in mental health, physical health and education and explores ideas outside the traditional medical model. The Little Brain Campaign aims to make issues kids and caregivers face easier to understand, while always keeping in mind that we need to look beyond the usual answers to find what really works.

Follow The Little Brain Campaign

Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/littlebraincampaign/

Dr. Elisa Song is an integrative pediatrician and the author of Healthy Kids, Happy Kids, and she joins us to break down how the gut microbiome shapes children’s physical, immune, and mental health. We dig into what the gut microbiome actually is, why it plays such a powerful role in brain development and emotional regulation, and how common childhood exposures—like antibiotics, antacids, ultra-processed foods, stress, and environmental toxins—can disrupt this delicate system. Dr. Song also emphasizes an important and hopeful message: the gut is resilient, and it is never too late to support repair and healing.

We also explore the gut–brain connection through the lens of the vagus nerve and nervous system regulation, unpacking how chronic stress can keep both kids and parents stuck in fight-or-flight mode. Dr. Song connects these concepts to neuroinflammatory conditions like PANS and PANDAS, helping explain how immune activation, gut dysfunction, and nervous system imbalance intersect. Throughout the conversation, we focus on practical understanding, root causes, and the importance of caring for caregivers, too, because supporting children’s health starts with supporting the whole system.

If you’re interested in learning more about Dr. Song’s work, you can visit her website, https://healthykidshappykids.com/, for additional information and resources. To follow more of Dr. Song's work, you can find her on Instagram @healthykids_happykids.

Join Dr. Lauren LaRose, psychiatrist and mom of three, as she brings on experts in mental health, physical health and education and explores ideas outside the traditional medical model. The Little Brain Campaign aims to make issues kids and caregivers face easier to understand, while always keeping in mind that we need to look beyond the usual answers to find what really works.

Follow The Little Brain Campaign

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/littlebraincampaign

Towny Robinson, CEO of JayMac Pharmaceuticals and inventor of EnLyte, joins us to break down the science of methylation and why it plays such a critical role in mental health, brain development, and overall wellness. We dig into how the brain uses nutrients, especially B vitamins, to produce neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, and GABA, and why disruptions in this process can show up as depression, anxiety, ADHD, bipolar disorder, addiction, and more. Towny explains how genetic polymorphisms (including but not limited to MTHFR) and environmental factors can impair methylation, leading to what many people experience as a “chemical imbalance.”

We also explore cerebral folate deficiency, autism, PANS/PANDAS, and other neurodevelopmental conditions, including how autoimmune blocks can prevent folate from reaching the brain and what forms of folate can safely bypass those pathways. Together, we unpack why single-nutrient supplementation often falls short, the importance of a full-spectrum, coenzyme-based approach, and how EnLyte was designed to support methylation at multiple points in the pathway. This conversation reframes mental health symptoms by focusing on root causes and offers a hopeful, science-backed explanation for how balance and normalization are possible.

If you’re interested in learning more about Towny’s work, you can visit EnLyte's website, https://www.enlyterx.com/ , for additional information and resources.

Join Dr. Lauren LaRose, psychiatrist and mom of three, as she brings on experts in mental health, physical health and education and explores ideas outside the traditional medical model. The Little Brain Campaign aims to make issues kids and caregivers face easier to understand, while always keeping in mind that we need to look beyond the usual answers to find what really works.

Follow The Little Brain Campaign

Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/littlebraincampaign

Dr. Rosalie Greenberg is an adult, child, and adolescent psychiatrist with decades of clinical experience, and she joins us to unpack how her understanding of pediatric mental illness radically shifted over the course of her career. Trained at Columbia during the early days of pediatric mood disorder research, Dr. Greenberg became a specialist in childhood bipolar disorder before encountering mounting evidence that many of these severe psychiatric presentations were actually driven by underlying neuroinflammatory and immune-mediated conditions. We dive into how infections like strep, tick-borne illnesses, and other immune triggers can lead to sudden, dramatic behavioral and psychiatric changes in children.

We explore Dr. Greenberg’s groundbreaking review of patients previously diagnosed with pediatric bipolar disorder, where the majority were later found to have tick-borne infections such as Lyme, Bartonella, and Babesia. Together, we discuss why standard psychiatric diagnoses often fail to capture root causes, the limits of conventional lab testing, and why psychiatry, immunology, neurology, and infectious disease must be viewed as deeply connected. This conversation challenges siloed thinking in medicine and offers a powerful reframe for parents and clinicians searching for answers beyond symptom management.

If you’re interested in learning more about Dr. Greenberg’s work, you can visit her website, https://www.rosaliegreenbergmd.com/, for additional information and resources.

Join Dr. Lauren LaRose, psychiatrist and mom of three, as she brings on experts in mental health, physical health and education and explores ideas outside the traditional medical model. The Little Brain Campaign aims to make issues kids and caregivers face easier to understand, while always keeping in mind that we need to look beyond the usual answers to find what really works.

Follow The Little Brain Campaign

Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/thelittlebraincampaign/⁠

Dana Carretta-Stein is a certified EMDR therapist, mom, and the owner of Peaceful Living Mental Health Counseling, and she joins us to break down what EMDR actually is, how it works, and who it’s for. We dig straight into how trauma reshapes the brain and nervous system, why EMDR focuses on what happened to you rather than symptom management, and what the therapy looks like in real life.

We also spend time unpacking relational and attachment trauma, which Dana explains is far more common than single-incident PTSD and often resurfaces when people become parents themselves. Together, we talk about trauma living in the body, nervous system regulation, co-regulation with kids, the myth of “perfect parenting,” and why repair matters more than getting it right every time. This conversation is especially relevant for parents, caregivers, and anyone who feels stuck between knowing what to do and being able to actually do it—and is curious whether EMDR might help close that gap.

To follow Dana’s work or get in touch, you can find her on Instagram and TikTok at @the_emdr_coach or visit danacarretta.com

Join Dr. Lauren LaRose, psychiatrist and mom of three, as she brings on experts in mental health, physical health and education and explores ideas outside the traditional medical model. The Little Brain Campaign aims to make issues kids and caregivers face easier to understand, while always keeping in mind that we need to look beyond the usual answers to find what really works.

Follow The Little Brain Campaign

Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/thelittlebraincampaign/⁠

Emily Levy is a dentist at Billings Family Dentistry, and she joins us for a third, deeper conversation on TMJ, this time focusing on sleep and sleep-breathing disorders. We dig into why so many symptoms are dismissed as “normal” simply because they’re common, and how sleep issues are frequently missed in both medical and dental care. Emily breaks down how airway obstruction, neurologic regulation, and craniofacial structure all intersect with TMJ, pain, and overall health, and why proper screening matters for both kids and adults.

We also talk through the real-world signs of sleep-breathing disorders, from snoring misconceptions and bruxism to behavioral issues, anxiety, learning challenges, and bedwetting in kids. Emily explains why quick fixes like night guards or tonsillectomy alone often miss the root problem, and how early, functional intervention can lead to meaningful improvements in sleep, development, and quality of life. This conversation is essential listening for parents, caregivers, and providers who want to better understand the connection between sleep, TMJ, and long-term health.

Join Dr. Lauren LaRose, psychiatrist and mom of three, as she brings on experts in mental health, physical health and education and explores ideas outside the traditional medical model. The Little Brain Campaign aims to make issues kids and caregivers face easier to understand, while always keeping in mind that we need to look beyond the usual answers to find what really works.

Follow The Little Brain Campaign

Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/thelittlebraincampaign/⁠

Eleanor McAuliffe is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Certified Eating Disorders Specialist-Consultant based in New Orleans, and she joins us to break down what eating disorders actually are and what most people misunderstand about them. We talk through the full spectrum of eating disorders, including anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, and ARFID, and why focusing on symptoms and lived experience matters more than labels. Eleanor explains how eating disorders function as serious, life-threatening, bio-psycho-social illnesses rooted in genetics, brain changes, environment, and coping, not choice or willpower.

We also dig into why eating disorders often begin in adolescence but frequently persist into adulthood, how they can coexist with high achievement and “doing well” on the surface, and what effective treatment really looks like. Eleanor shares why recovery requires a team-based approach, how family support plays a role at every age, and how compassionate intervention can help people access care when the illness makes treatment feel impossible. This conversation is essential listening for parents, caregivers, and anyone trying to better understand eating disorders beyond stereotypes.

Join Dr. Lauren LaRose, psychiatrist and mom of three, as she brings on experts in mental health, physical health and education and explores ideas outside the traditional medical model. The Little Brain Campaign aims to make issues kids and caregivers face easier to understand, while always keeping in mind that we need to look beyond the usual answers to find what really works.

Follow The Little Brain Campaign

Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/thelittlebraincampaign/