A Rush to Medicate Young Minds

A Rush to Medicate Young Minds





By Elizabeth J. Roberts
Sunday, October 8, 2006; Page B07





I have been treating, educating and caring for children for more than 30 years, half of that time as a child psychiatrist, and the changes I have seen in the practice of child psychiatry are shocking. Psychiatrists are now misdiagnosing and overmedicating children for ordinary defiance and misbehavior. The temper tantrums of belligerent children are increasingly being characterized as psychiatric illnesses.
Using such diagnoses as bipolar disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Asperger's, doctors are justifying the sedation of difficult kids with powerful psychiatric drugs that may have serious, permanent or even lethal side effects.
There has been a staggering jump in the percentage of children diagnosed with a mental illness and treated with psychiatric medications. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that in 2002 almost 20 percent of office visits to pediatricians were for psychosocial problems -- eclipsing both asthma and heart disease. That same year the Food and Drug Administration reported that some 10.8 million prescriptions were dispensed for children -- they are beginning to outpace the elderly in the consumption of pharmaceuticals. And this year the FDA reported that between 1999 and 2003, 19 children died after taking prescription amphetamines -- the medications used to treat ADHD. These are the same drugs for which the number of prescriptions written rose 500 percent from 1991 to 2000.

Some psychiatrists speculate that this stunning increase in childhood psychiatric disease is entirely due to improved diagnostic techniques. But setting aside the children with legitimate mental illnesses who must have psychiatric medications to function normally, much of the increase in prescribing such medications to kids is due to the widespread use of psychiatric diagnoses to explain away the results of poor parenting practices. According to psychiatrist Jennifer Harris, quoted in the January/February issue of Psychotherapy Networker, "Many clinicians find it easier to tell parents their child has a brain-based disorder than to suggest parenting changes."

Parents and teachers today seem to believe that any boy who wriggles in his seat and willfully defies his teacher's rules has ADHD. Likewise, any child who has a temper tantrum is diagnosed with bipolar disorder. After all, an anger outburst is how most parents define a "mood swing." Contributing to this widespread problem of misdiagnosis is the doctor's willingness to accept, without question, the assessment offered by a parent or teacher.

What was once a somber, heart-wrenching decision for a parent and something children often resisted -- medicating a child's mind -- has now become a widely used technique in parenting a belligerent child. As if they were debating parental locks on the home computer or whether to allow a co-ed sleepover, parents now share notes with each other about whose child is taking what pill for which diagnosis.

These days parents cruise the Internet, take self-administered surveys, diagnose their children and choose a medication before they ever set foot in the psychiatrist's office. If the first doctor doesn't prescribe what you want, the next one will.

There was a time in the profession of child psychiatry when doctors insisted on hours of evaluation of a child before making a diagnosis or prescribing a medication. Today some of my colleagues in psychiatry brag that they can make an initial assessment of a child and write a prescription in less than 20 minutes. Some parents tell me it took their pediatrician only five minutes. Who's the winner in this race?

Unfortunately, when a child is diagnosed with a mental illness, almost everyone benefits. The schools get more state funding for the education of a mentally handicapped student. Teachers have more subdued students in their already overcrowded classrooms. Finally, parents are not forced to examine their poor parenting practices, because they have the perfect excuse: Their child has a chemical imbalance.

The only loser in this equation is the child. It is the child who must endure the side effects of these powerful drugs and be burdened unnecessarily with the label of a mental illness. Medicating a child, based on a misdiagnosis, is a tragic injustice for the child: His or her only advocate is the parent who lacked the courage to apply appropriate discipline.

Well-intentioned but misinformed teachers, parents using the Internet to diagnose their children, and hurried doctors are all a part of the complex system that drives the current practice of misdiagnosing and overmedicating children. The solution lies in the practice of good, conscientious medicine that is careful, thorough and patient-centered.

Parents need to be more careful with whom they entrust their child's mental health care. Doctors need to take the time to understand their pediatric patients better and have the courage to deliver the bad news that sometimes a child's disruptive, aggressive and defiant behavior is due to poor parenting, not to a chemical imbalance such as bipolar disorder or ADHD.

The writer is a child and adolescent psychiatrist in California and the author of "Should You Medicate Your Child's Mind?"


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/06/AR2006100601391.html?referrer=emailarticle

 

Psychiatric medication is a form of modern-day lobotomy.

 

Some people need medicine to survive in this world due to a chemical imbalance in their brains.

Peace and love

 

I'm not against medication, as I myself am on medication for a real mental illness. However, I have been saying for over 10 years that children are being over medicated and misdiagnosed, and I don't even have a fucking degree. It doesn't take a genius to figure this much out. I mean I remember about half of my class in high school being "on something" prescribed (which they usually sold because they didn't need and wanted beer instead anyway). It is complete bullshit and a copout for parents who either can't or refuse to discipline their children. Parents just got too "tired" of dealing with the realities of being a parent. So parents started taking Prozac and the like to deal with life. Then they decided, hey children are mini me's and they should act like adults and not like children. Essentially they have robbed children of their childhood and turned them into little "suits". This is not normal of a child. A normal child will want to romp and play and yell and act up. DUH! But parents these days can't deal with this, so they want their children to be drugged so they can cope better. Of course their priorities are making more money so they have a bigger boat than the asshole next door.

And guess when it all started... right when it became a crime to spank your child. Gee, one wonders if there is any correlation. DUH! Parents have absolutely no control over the family unit anymore. If the child doesn't like what the parent says, then they either call protective services and trump up false charges or they run away and are seen as the "victim" or they act like little assholes and there is nothing anyone can do about it. If you yell at them you are wrong, if you spank them you are wrong, if you send them to their room, they sneak out and laugh at you. You can't reason with a child. Whoever believes you can is an idiot and has never spent time with a child who was not drugged. Kids these days have absolutely no respect for authority. They just don't care. They think they can rule the world. So I say, fucken let them. Let them go out and get the shit kicked out of them by the cops or the military. They think they are so bad ass they don't need a mom or dad, then send them to Iraq and bring home the soldiers with families who do give a shit. And no I'm not saying that parents should be "beating" their kids either, but I am saying that there is a place for a family and it is not in the government. The more power the child has over the parent, the more fucked up this country is going to be. Then again I doubt it will matter considering where the priorities of our leaders seem to lie these days anyway.

 

Exactly.

 

We aren't forced to take these medications.

 

hgh.. it would be nice if you would fuck off or something.
Your idiotic 'say a contrary thing' posts are not only unhelpful but amount to someone 'spamming' the threads.
You might as well just spam us with text blocks or something.

Yeah, I think its pretty obvious that we are a society just obsessed with medicating children.
It works.
Get the kid on some Ritalin and he is subdued.
Problem solved.
Besides that, its a huge payoff for me as the parent to believe that my child was simply born with some 'Ritalin deficiency'.
Oh thank god... its not my parenting and it cant be our excellent society either so thats a relief.
It turns out it was just a 'chemical imbalance'.
Now its 'balanced'.
Mmmmm 'Balance' is such a nice sounding word. Balance.

 

Children sure in the hell are.

 

First of all I am a very negative thinker and that is the reason why I tend to stray towards the less optimistic side of things. And second of all since when are did you become the medical doctor all of sudden? You talk in such big words and you portray such an intelligent person and yet everything that comes out of your mouth is personal opinions and personal beliefs. There is no truth to what you say and I think its time people realized that.

 

Yes, you are a negative thinker.
Thats was evident already but thanks for another post in which you simply describe previous posts and then say something contrarian.

Here is a suggestion for using forums or communicating in general: If there is something you disagree with - try and explain WHY.
Dont just point at it and declare, but explain or offer some reason or explanation.
Otherwise you might as well be posting blank replies.

 

hgh, I'm confused. You believe that children as young as 4 and 5 years old are not forced to take Ritalin and Strattera and Adderall by their parents? Am I understanding you correctly? So, you believe that 5 year olds go out to the corner and buy it off some dealers to get high right?

Of course they are forced to take it. They have no idea what is going on, other than the fact that they are acting like children, which is exactly how they should be acting and the parents, teachers, courts, government, etc, can't handle it. They can't handle it because no one wants to "hurt anyone's feelings". I stated previously that it all began when children could no longer discipline their parents, which I stand by. But it also has to do with the fact that this stupid nation is so worried about being so goddamn politically correct, that we can't tell anyone when they are wrong anymore. For a person could not possibly be wrong in their thinking, or doing anything wrong, there must be a medical explanation for their behavioral problems. It couldn't just be that the kid learns to get away with murder (which kids are doing these days) because no one will correct them on any level.

5 year olds do not decide for themselves to go out and be put on these medications, they are most certainly being forced to take them. Are you stupid or something?

 

No, I don't believe that 4 or 5 year olds take ritalin or adderall and I don't even believe its legal to give a 4 or 5 year old an adhd medication let alone any other medication of that nature. But if its a 10, 11, 12 year old then yes I do believe adhd medication helps the user because of its calming and concentration effects. And I have no issue with adhd medications because those types of drugs have proven benefits on a persons life and overall well being unlike an ssri or maoi.

 

I think you misunderstood what I was saying. I was refering to when you stated that "we are not forced to take these medications". Children are forced, by their parents. Sometimes parents know what is best, sometimes they don't know jack shit. Sometimes parents just want to make life easier for themselves and really don't have the best interest of the kid in mind. Some time parents just don't know what to do and are limited by our government as I've already pointed out on how they can raise their children. I was not arguing whether or not these drugs do help a select FEW who actually need them, which I'm sure they do. What all of us here are saying is that children are being misdiagnosed and over medicated instead of allowed to be children. And just to make sure we are clear here, doctors have perscribed medication for children younger than 3 (though it is more likely to start around age 6).

There is absolutely nothing wrong with a child having a short attention span. They are supposed to. They are not fully developed adults. Children should not sit still, they should run and play and scream and be kids. Parents today want children to be prim and proper and quiet and get straight A's even though teachers can't teach because they have no resources and get paid practically nothing. And the teachers don't know what to do, because they can't control their own classrooms. They can't tell a child when they are wrong or being bad, for it might hurt the poor child's self esteem.

Anyway, the point we have all been trying to make here is not the effectiveness of medication, it is that parents, teachers and doctors are being irresponsible with the use of it. It is my personal opinion that if parents slowed down in their own lives a little, stopped to smell the roses so to speak, spent quality time with their children doing what the child wants to do without tons of pressure to be perfect from the parent, and the family ate a healthy proper diet (meaning absolutely no soda, or fast food), then there would be far fewer problems than we are seeing today. But I doubt many people will listen to me anyway. Suit yourselves is what I say. You will all figure it out one day, just like you figure out everything else I've already said would happen.

 

I'm sorry but your all over the place with your last statement. You started out by saying that its alright for kids to have adhd or as you put it, just a little hyper, but its not alright for parents to use medication to try and combat this hyperactive problem. Do you seriously believe that a parent forces a kid to go on an adhd medication because they are a little bit hyper?

Of course not, thats a last resourt. Parents use medication because they have no choice, a lage contingent of kids with a hyperactive disorder are troublemakers at school and home, they tend to get into a lot of troube and sometimes serious trouble, to the point of being arrested for a crime.

And then you go on to say parents are trying too hard to make their kid perfect. Well wouldn't you want your kid to be perfect in todays world. I mean theres no room for error anymore, kids these days have to and I mean have to go to college for at least 4 years just to survive on there own, I think that stresses a parent just a little bit. Its not always the parent that is hurting the child, alot of times its the environment that the child is surrounded in, todays crazy world.

And then you move on to a proper diet, as if a proper diet is seriously going to make a perfectly normal family, come on you can do better then that. I respect your opinion but some of what you said in your previous post is bit unbalenced to say the least.

 

first off look at my username! im adhd and i take adderall to treat myself... i am very distant when i dont have my meds.... and when i start to come down from it im a rollercoaster....happy,hyper,sad,pissed,depressed,then happy,pissed,depressed... im unsteady... ill admit i am addicted to my medications now and if u read the form under the confessions ill be talkin bout my adderall and adhd problem.... being bipolar is wat i think also part of adhd.... they are both also misdiagnosised allll the time i was diagnosis with adhd when i was probably 9 i was still young so they never no how i might have turned out... im a current highschool student and i now believe i need it not cause it makes me a better student but i feel like im actually normal and not failin and daydreamin all the time....

 

I am not all over the place; I'm explaining my point of view, which has a lot of complex parts. It is quite difficult to engage in an intellectual discussion on this board though, but I did know better before delving into this subject. (not necessarily referring to you).



In any event, to rebut: I never said it is "alright for kids to have adhd". I said that I do believe in a few select instances the disease does occur. But I honestly do not believe that everyone who is currently diagnosed with ADD or ADHD actually has it. I think it is rare. But like any other disease, if one does have it, and all other methods have been exhausted, then by all means allow for the choice of medication. But children don't have the choice, their parents have to make these decisions for them and a lot of parents are not looking out for the best interests of their child, like I've already stated. And much of the time, parents aren't given any other options unless they go out looking. Doctors don't tell them what alternatives there are.

Again, you are not understanding. I am not saying that it is completely wrong to medicate people. Like I have stated from the beginning, medication is sometimes appropriate. However, I firmly believe that children are being misdiagnosed, and over medicated as a way to make life easier on the (most likely) over medicated parent. No, I do not believe it is good for a parent to just give a child medication without considering the root of the problem (which is most likely the parent not raising the child properly, because children can't raise themselves) and without trying other forms of therapy to correct the problem (which from what you describe is acting out due to behavioral issues, not hyperactivity- These two things really are separate). For most parents medication is not the last resort. They don't typically do research and consult more than one doctor. And I blame teachers and doctors just as much. Doctors love to give out drugs, we all know this. It is how they make money (and if you don't believe that, then you are really naive). These days doctors take less and less time with their patients (especially if they are not covered by insurance) and honestly have no idea what is going on. A parent (or more likely a teacher) will suggest that this is the problem and the doctor will ask a few extremely general questions which could conclude many diagnosis, and then they say, here give the kid these meds and see what happens. Some good doctors do discuss diet and exercise and socialization, but that is rare. Plus, parents want a quick fix. And like someone else pointed out already, they don't want to consider that it could be their fault that their child has a behavior problem. They want to blame it on genetics and give a kid a pill so they don't look like the bad parents they are. After all, wouldn't want to interfere with t-time or that half million-dollar house they have to work 80 hours a week to pay the mortgage on. (sorry if you are having trouble following my sarcasm, it jumps in at the most odd places). Regarding the role of the school system in this situation. Teachers are pretty much fed up. They can't control the students because the students are not taught respect at home. The parents don't respect the teachers. If the kid gets a poor mark, the parents raise hell and blame the teachers, not the kids for not preparing for the exam. Now we have these stupid accountability tests, which don't measure anything and actually hinder students from learning what they really need to know. But education and educators are slightly off topic. My point was a lot of teachers tell parents to put their children on medication so they can do their job. If I were a teacher, I'd tell the parents that I refuse to teach their brat and make the parent teach them. But teachers can't do that these days. Somehow though they all have medical degrees and can tell parents to go get their child drugs so little Johnny stops throwing spit wads.


Regarding whether or not I would want my child perfect: Fuck no! I have thought long and hard about this. If we decide to have children, we have already talked about problems such as this arising. We will not medicate our children needlessly. We will go out of our way, quit working if we have to and take care of our children with the natural resources available to us. I would want my child to act like a child. I would never ever want to rob someone of their childhood. We grow up way too quickly as it is and become bitter and cynical before we know it. If my child does not get a 4.0 GPA, oh well, as long as he/she tried the best they could that is what is important. Going to college, please. I have seen kids dumber than a box of rocks get into college. Plus, do you actually believe you learn anything in college that is more beneficial than what you learn in the real world (let me guess, your high school has you brainwashed to believe you will learn something very meaningful in college... what a crock of shit). And no, my child will not need to be a pageant queen to earn my love, nor a sports star. My child will just have to be happy and laugh a lot and run around and play and be creative and learn what they want to learn. Don't get me wrong, I'm not some crazy hippy who is going to let my child be spoiled or get away with murder (nah, we'll leave that up to the rich yuppie kids who drive beemers). My child will be disciplined, and will have boundaries. They will be well rounded and well educated (in my sense of an education, which does have elements of traditional education-reading, writing, math, sciences, physical education, nutrition, government, world studies, religion/philosophy, etc). And I will know what is going on in their life because I will play an active role. I won't be working too much to notice what is going on, and my child will be my top priority, not how much crap I can accumulate before I die so I can feel like a bigger person than the guy next door. Don't you understand that it is exactly that mentality that has brought this on. This is why kids are being neglected and over medicated and babysat by the tv. Parents are too busy keeping up with the Jones's to pay attention and care. Fuck, parents are all strung out on Prozac anyway.



Now, on to proper diet. What doctors used to tell parents of children suspected of having ADHD or ADD is to change his/her diet and exercise. A lot of the kids who supposedly have this problem (which I highly doubt they do) are overweight or actually malnourished. They sit in school all day and don't run around much or get to expend any energy, then they go home and sit in front of the tv or computer all night, eat a bunch of junk food, processed garbage because the parents are too busy to prepare a proper meal, and then they go to bed. No fucking wonder they are "hyper". DUH! Do you really need a doctor to figure this one out? The truth of the matter is kids can't even go out on the playground and play tag anymore (at least not in some of the schools here). They are fed (when they are not hungry) at ridiculous hours of the day because the schools are all over crowded and their options are crap and more crap.

And you keep bringing up that these children end up with behavior problems and get arrested. I was not aware of the rise in 8 year old arrests these days. I know that children again are having more issues than before, but I have already told you these children are acting out for attention. Their parents are not part of their lives like they should be. And if being good doesn't get them the attention they crave, then they are bad. Sometimes they just want to push the envelope as far as they can. That is what kids/teens do. All of us do it, even as adults. The problem is that there are no more boundries, so the kids do whatever the hell they want. Kids are not being arrested simply because they have ADHD and they are really hyper and need to be medicated. That is ridiculous.


As far as me being all over the place with my writing, that is just how it is. I honestly don't have time to sit here and organize my thoughts and type out a table of contents and bibliography. It isn't because I have ADHD though, it is because I live in the real world and I can't waste time and energy here. If this were important enough I could, but I really don't care to. You get it as I think it. You're smart though; you manage to piece together what I'm saying.

 

LOL FIRST OFF: go take your medicine and chill the fuck out. Stay in school, for this is where you will learn how to construct sentences and speak coherently (in most cases). Daydreaming is good, I do it quite a bit these days. I did it in high school as well and still managed a 4.0 without medication (the pot/beer was not prescribed). (In Algebra, I used to pretend all of the numbers hated each other and were attacking one another, and jumping out the windows etc. Funny, I still got an A). (What? I said I don't have ADHD, I didn't say I wasn't absolutely fucking insane!)

Crack heads and heroin addicts believe they need crack to feel better as well. (actually, they do because they will go through withdrawal, which is probably what you go through if you are off your meds for a while, which is most likely what leads you to believe that you "need it"). This still does not prove that you have ADHD or that you need to be medicated.

 

Ok, now your just repeating yourself. Just stop, we get it.

 

LOL, took ya long enough. I mean you didn't seem to get it the other 3 times I stated it. At least you are no longer attempting to twist my words.

 

no

and there is no such thing as a chemical imbalance. goodness...
take the time and reallly think about it. on your own.