- - Emily Simpson Reveals Son Luke, 10, Will Receive Brain Procedure amid PANDAS Diagnosis

Hannah SacksNovember 8, 2025 at 2:39 AM

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Emily Simpson/Instagram

Emily Simpson and her son Luke. -

Emily Simpson gave a health update on her 10-year-old son Luke during the season 19 reunion of Real Housewives of Orange County

Simpson shared that her son Luke was recently diagnosed with PANDAS

Luke will soon have a laser procedure done on his brain to reduce the swelling, Simpson shared

Emily Simpson is sharing an update on her son Luke.

During the season 19 reunion of Real Housewives of Orange County, Simpson shared that her 10-year-old son Luke had been recently diagnosed with PANDAS. According to the Cleveland Clinic, PANDAS, or pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infections, refers to a group of symptoms — such as tics and obsessive-compulsive behavior — that is thought to affect kids who've had strep infections.

Asked by Cohen how her son Luke is doing, Simpson began by saying it's "very complicated."

"He went from a happy fourth grader that no teacher had ever said, like, there’s issues. He was gifted. And all of a sudden, my child just completely changed," Simpson said of her son. "He just regressed. He started talking like a baby. Acting out. And I was so confused.”

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“And when the first episode aired, I had so many moms in my DMs saying, ‘Have you checked into PANDAS?’ It’s very complicated. I’m not a medical doctor, but it’s associated with strep throat,” she continued.

Simpson said her son had a very bad case of strep throat this past January, which could've caused PANDAS.

"In PANDAS, the bacteria remains and then it affects the brain. And the brain swells. So all of these symptoms are associated with strep throat," Simpson explained. "And there’s higher risk in kids that are on the spectrum. And also he has ARFID. I mean, all roads kind of lead back to being on the spectrum.”

ARFID, or avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder, is a condition where people limit their food intake caused by fear or anxiety about food or the consequences of eating.

“Is it something that can be treated?” Cohen asked about PANDAS.

“Yeah, so he is going to have a laser treatment on his brain,” Simpson said. “To reduce the swelling in his brain. He asked if the laser would hurt, and I said, ‘No, it won’t hurt.’ So he has to go five days in a row for like three hours, and it’s supposed to reduce the swelling.”

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She went on to say that while it's been overwhelming, she's grateful for the moms who DM'd her and suggested she check out PANDAS.

"I would’ve never known to have my child tested for PANDAS if it wasn’t for these moms that watch and reached out to me and told me. So it’s been an amazing community of sharing information and learning, and that means a lot to me," Simpson said.

"And then of course, there’s horrible people that post awful things that are like, ‘How did she not know her son couldn’t read?’ Well, it’s not that I didn’t know he couldn’t read, he’s a totally different child. I mean, four months before he was in the gifted program and now, you know, he’s regressed. I’m not a terrible mom, I’m dealing with symptoms that are completely different."

Simpson added that her son, Luke, is now in a different school, where he receives one-on-one instruction from his teacher.

“So the school anxiety is gone. I mean, I used to deal with, I would wake up in the morning and he would hide," she said. "But we’re still dealing with the episodes, the acting out, the aggression, the babbling, the talking like a baby."

"You know, I have to be so careful about putting him in too much therapy," Simpson explained. "Because I need him to feel like a normal child. I need him to not think, ‘Why am I going to all these things every day?’"

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”