Since then, through my own experience parenting a child with PANDAS/AE and sitting with hundreds of parents raising children with complex medical, developmental, or psychiatric needs, I've learned this: We've been approaching it all wrong. This week, as we commemorate PANDAS Awareness Day, I'm reminded that behind every child's battle with neuroimmune illness is a parent fighting a parallel one, often invisible, misunderstood, and dismissed. Parental PTSD is real, and recognizing it is an essential part of raising awareness.