Your Child's Care

Help your child get early treatment

Helping your child get early treatment starts by detecting the symptoms early. You as the parent will likely be the first one to detect early symptoms. You should ensure that you seek medical care right away if you see symptoms of AFM in your child. If your clinician suspects your child has AFM, they should hospitalize your child immediately, do a physical exam of the patient, and perform an MRI to review pictures of the spinal cord. Your clinician should consult neurology and infectious disease experts to discuss possible treatments. We don't have enough information to know if certain treatments may help some patients, but the following treatments have been used:

• Corticosteroids (used to treat inflammation)
• Intravenous immunoglobulin (used to treat immune disorders)
• Therapeutic plasma exchange (used to remove antibodies from blood)

For more information, see our clinical guidance for the acute medical treatment of patients with AFM. CDC does not make treatment recommendations for individual cases.

The Siegel Rare Neuroimmune Association also provides a portal to help connect clinicians to AFM experts. AFM Physician Consult and Support Portal.

Ask the clinician about your child’s diagnosis

Clinicians diagnose AFM by taking a careful medical history, doing a physical exam of the patient and performing an MRI to review pictures of the spinal cord. Your child's clinician is the best source of information about their diagnosis of AFM.

Help your child get the best long-term care after they are diagnosed

If your child has AFM, there are some rehabilitation options that may help improve their outcomes. Physical rehabilitation might also improve long-term outcomes if your clinician implements it early in your child's illness onset. Some patients have also received nerve transfer surgery (used to repair nerve injuries) in hopes of improving long-term outcomes. Talk to your clinician about these options for your child's long-term care.

Types of clinicians who may be involved

Many different types of clinicians may be involved in your child's care. Each clinician has an important role in helping your child get better. These include:

• Primary care doctor
• Neurologist (a clinician who specializes in treating brain and spinal cord illnesses)
• Infectious disease clinician
• Physical therapist (a clinician who treats patients using physical methods such as massage, heat treatment, and exercise)
• Occupational therapist (a clinician who treats patients through rehabilitation and performing activities required in daily life)

Consider joining support groups

Navigating the healthcare system and overseeing your child's recovery can be a tremendously difficult journey and stressful for everyone involved. We encourage you and your family to reach out to others for support and connect with other parents of children who have AFM. For patient resources, including support groups, visit the

• Siegel Rare Neuroimmune Association Resources
• AFM Association
• Parent Facebook group

You can also:

• Talk to your child's school staff to
  • develop an action plan to help your child succeed in school,
  • locate resources they may have to accommodate this illness,
  • find opportunities for your child to interact with peers, and
  • address any concerns you have.
• Educate others involved in your child's life about AFM, such as school staff, other family members, and your child's peers. When people know more about this illness, they may be better able to help and accommodate your child.

Get your child involved in activities with others

Encourage friends and family to spend time with your child if they feel well enough for visitors. Spending time with others is an important part of wellbeing and recovery.

Consider participating in AFM research

To learn more about participating in AFM Research, visit How to Get Involved in Research.

Learn more about CDC’s work

To learn more about what CDC is doing and findings from our research, visit

• What CDC is doing
• Classifying and Diagnosing AFM