Welcome
My name is Ann, and I have a story to tell.
My son Isaac was born with a rare genetic variant, a life-altering diagnosis. But that was only the beginning. He suffered from another, invisible disorder—PANS—that went undetected for over seven years and turned our entire family’s life upside down and inside out.
Years ago, I was sitting on a restaurant patio, trying to think of an image or phrase that could help me put our life into words. I pictured my son’s face, angelic and pained, his eyes meeting mine through tiny Miraflex frames, and there it was: gray colored glasses.
There is no rose-colored filter for the story of our life, for childhood interrupted, family trauma, and finding our way through the unknown. But there is beauty even in the gray. And there is power and purpose in sharing our experience—to raise awareness about PANS and generate compassion and understanding for medically-complex children and their families.
Get to know us
In addition to being Isaac & Gillian’s mom, Ann is a Houston-based writer and editor with publications in religion, parenting, and children’s literature.
Our vision
Gray Colored Glasses’ vision is to make PANS a household name, leading to decreased suffering and isolation & increased community understanding and support.
From the Blog
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PANS Symptoms: Anxiety
It’s one thing to read PANS Diagnostic Criteria and something else to experience this disorder in real time. Part of raising awareness around PANS/PANDAS is helping people to understand what it can “look like” when it’s happening in your child or someone you know. Here, a focus on Anxiety.
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The Big Sick
This post marks the beginning of Isaac’s battle with PANS. It’s one thing to read a list of symptoms and something else to experience this disorder in real time. Part of raising awareness is helping people to understand what PANS can “look like” and feel like when it’s happening in your child or someone you…
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National Daughters Day
National Daughters Day offers a welcome prompt to write about my beloved daughter and also to remind us—all of us—that we never know what hardships people are carrying behind the scenes.
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5 Reasons Why PANS/PANDAS Awareness Matters
When we see “behavioral” changes in a child or youth, especially sudden changes, we need to consider PANS/PANDAS. This is the essential message we need to spread to doctors, teachers, parents, and communities. Here are 5 reasons why.
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Our story & my WHY
This is a recap and round up of posts about our early years with Isaac in case you missed any along the way or are just finding our story. Please share widely and invite your friends to read along, too.
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What is PANS?
October 9 is PANS Awareness Day. Please take a few minutes to learn the signs and symptoms of this syndrome, many of which could be diagnosed in isolation or mistaken for another medical or behavioral problem. In our son’s case, it was an onslaught of nearly all of the below symptoms three to four weeks…
Gray Colored Glasses 