Dear Emma Thompson

My daughter who has autism also has had PANS and PANDAS for years. She had it long before we had a name for what it is. If you are not familiar with PANS and PANDAS, in a layman's nutshell, illnesses cause the body to attack itself in the form of inflammation in the basal ganglia, part of the brain. The inflammation causes OCD - for my daughter - repeating intrusive thoughts. My theory is that my daughter must have been flaring when she watched Pixar's "Brave" for the first time. The scene where Elinor throws Merida's bow into the fireplace is intense, and very badly scared my daughter, so much, that during a flare, sees this scene in her mind over and over and over, and feels the emotion of it. We have dealt with it for TEN. LONG. YEARS. We've seen multiple doctors, mainstream and functional/integrative. None of them have been able to stop the flares.

We're battling it again. We've had a rough couple of weeks. My daughter said she wanted to write a letter to Emma Thompson. I said, "Write one. I'll put it on my blog."

Here you go, dear daughter. Here is your letter to #EmmaThompson (and #BrendaChapman)

Dear Emma Thompson: My name is A and let me tell you something. Every since you were in the 2012 Disney/Pixar film, "Brave", as Elinor, I just hate her, because of her actions, her voice when she got angry, and your character threw Merida's bow in the fireplace. Your performance as Elinor scared me for 10 years now. I wish you would write me back and say you are sorry for traumatizing me. Heck, her anger makes me wanna be mean right back at people, like my own mom and dad!

I don't know if an apology from Emma Thompson would actually help, but my daughter thinks it would relieve the intrusive thoughts. 

And now that my daughter is an adult, I suppose the disorder is called Encephalitis, now, and not PANS and PANDAS, although the symptoms are exactly the same. Crossing the age of 18 did not change anything, medically.