Antipsychotic drugs are the new quick fix for mental illness in children, whether right or wrong. Doctors shouldn’t give children antipsychotic drugs at a young age, even though it may be the easy way out of dealing with these children. These drugs will make the victim lifeless and without character for a long time. Such drugs have caused major side effects which caused the child to have long-term issues, which they will face for the rest of their lives. In other words, antipsychotic drugs are gruesome for young children and therefore shouldn’t be used. Before antipsychotic drugs, people were locked away in asylums and in some cases doctors would use a surgical procedure for cutting nerve pathways in the frontal lobes of the brain, called lobotomy. Then around the 1950’s to the 1980’s, the first generation of antipsychotics was discovered. These drugs were developed because there was a lack of facilities for mental patients and very few people to care for these people. Apparently antipsychotic drugs are more humane for civilians with mental illnesses (Sue).
Few deny either that we’re a quick-fix culture, and if you give us a feel-good answer to a complicated
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The antidepressants and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) have been rolled out with highly visible, to-the-consumer ad campaigns (Kluger). From magazine ads to commercials on the television screen, drug companies try their hardest to absorb parents to buy their product even though it’s not always the greatest solution. With the help of advertising, drugs sales have increased. According to one study, behavioral medications for children accounted for children accounted for 17 percent of all spending for pediatric drugs, more than even antibiotics and allergy drugs. Problems were also caused from the 19% of all pediatric visits or intervention, and made it a chronic reason to consult a pediatrician
As stated previously, medication is the most common option that parents choose for their children. The most common prescriptions are Dexedrine, Cylert, Ritalin, and Adderall. Medication is highly effective. For around 75%-90% of prescribed patients, these work to solve their issues. This is a definite advantage to taking medication is that it is almost guaranteed to work. There are drawbacks to taking medication however; the trial-and-error process, cost of medication, and the side effects that can come with medication. As with any brain chemical medication, there comes a trial-and-error process to determine the right balance and the right amount to really curb the symptoms that come with. Just like any medication that people need to operate, the cost does add up whereas with behavioral therapy, there is no medication to buy and thus no costs. Lastly, there are side effects that come with ADHD. These can be insomnia, nervousness, headaches, and weight loss. Despite all these drawbacks, medication is the fastest and most effective way to treat ADHD (“Identifying and Treating Attention Deficit
More research is constantly being conducted on the safety and efficacy of psychotropic medication use by children. Nevertheless, time will indeed show if these kinds of medications will prove to be entirely beneficial for those that have taken them, or if they will end up hindering healthy development and causing irreparable, long time damage. If parents take the time to research the findings of studies that have already been conducted about these medications they, along with their child’s doctor, can make better informed decisions as to what may be the best approach for helping their child who may be experiencing psychological issues. Through the use of alternative treatments such as behavioral training or psychological counseling parents may realize that medications are not the only way to alleviate symptoms of a child’s psychological disorder.
Psychotropic medications, also referred to as psychiatric or psychotherapeutic medications, are used to treat psychiatric disorders, such as: depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). They have been used for many years and oftentimes come with dangerous side effects. The side effects that often occur in children taking these medications can include: fainting, blurred vision, vomiting, extreme weight gain, and even death ("Seroquel information,” n.d.). The use of psychotropic medication to treat mental disorders in children and adolescents is highly controversial because of ethical viewpoints (i.e. parents “drugging” their children to calm them down) and potentially harmful side effects, but one has to take into consideration whether the risks outweigh the benefits when deciding whether or not to give this type of medication to children.
The most popular use of Ritalin is in the treatment of Attention-deficient Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), which can affect children as well as adults. It is usually noticeable and brought to light when a child starts school, although it can be diagnosed earlier than this. ADHD is one of the most commonly diagnosed psychological disorders in children and the causes of it are still unknown. “It affects about 6–7% of children when diagnosed via the DSM-IV criteria” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attention_deficit_hyperactivity_disorder The symptoms of attention-deficient hyperactivity vary, but the most noticeable symptoms are when a person has a hard time focusing, keeping to themselves, talking excessively, and blurting out without thinking. They are often impulsive and do not think about the consequences that their behavior has. Medication is not the only form of treatment for ADHD, but it is the fastest acting treatment. “So while medication may help with some immediate relief from some of the symptoms, the person with attention deficit disorder still often needs to learn the skills needed to be successful while l...
In the film we watched in class The Medicated Child we saw several children who had been diagnosed with various psychiatric illnesses and were placed on various, often a large number of different, medications that effect their brain, mood a lot of other things. One of the doctors in the film even admitted it was a guessing game. In my opinion until your brain is done developing you shouldn’t be trying to change it. The only reason the kids had access to psychiatrist and could be placed on all the drugs were because their parents, or parents’ insurance could pay for it. As we learned in the article by Busfield the pharmaceutical companies are in it to make money if they couldn’t afford the doctors or the pills I personally think at least two thirds of those kids would have been better
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is the most widely diagnosed “mental-illness” in children in the United States today, and approximately 99% of children diagnosed are prescribed daily doses of methylphenidate in order to control undesirable behaviors. (Stolzer)
Medications are a major part of treating bipolar disorder however, they can be dangerous especially in children. In the video Rebecca Riley died due to overdose of untested drugs. Many children who are diagnosed with bipolar disorder are put on multiple medications. This is because one medication may cause side effects that may need another medication to subdue that side effect. Many will need antipsychotics as well as antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications. Psychologist also can’t determine a proper dosage or treatment of medication without experimenting. Basically psychologist have to use their best guess and see how the child’s behavior changes. Many of the research on the effect medications have on mental disorders is based on results from adult trials. As stated previously many children with severe bipolar disorder are prescribed many medications at one time even without full research on the side effects. In the article, Medications Prescribed for Children with Mood Disorders: Effects of a Family-Based Psychoeducation Program, it explains the issues that are seen in the video we watched. The study however, noted a decrease in medication use when using psychoeducational psychotherapy programs. The goal of these programs is to inform and allow families to take a more active role in medication management. Based on the article it does state that medication is quite us full in treating mood disorders contrary to what was stated in the video. The video stated that medications may not work well or at all with children. At some point in order to expand research on medications drug companies needed incentive. Pediatric studies began during the Clinton administration and drug companies were awarded 6 months exclusivity and trademarking the medications produced for pediatric studies. Warning labels could soon be put on bottles to warn
The usual antipsychotic drugs sold at pharmacies and prescribed by local doctors can be more dangerous to children than people expect. Prescribing antipsychotic drugs to children is controversial because antipsychotic drugs can help children if taken with care, but they can also have strong side effects for children. Antipsychotic drugs should not be prescribed to children and adolescents because they can interfere with their development and growth, there are less dangerous medications and treatments that can be used as a substitution, and children might have been mistakenly diagnosed with a disorder.
According to Dr. Robert Epstein, Medco’s chief medical officer, seventeen percent of total drug cost spending last year was for behavior medicines; compared with sixteen percent for both asthma and antibiotics, eleven percent for skin disorders and six percent for allergy medicines. There was also a 369% increase in spending on ADHD drugs for kids under the age of five. A lot of children have been diagnosed with ADHD, and many of their parents have opted to give them behavioral drugs. Some parents give the drugs because they are not aware of the long term effects or the psychological dependency, and lastly because they are not aware of the alternatives. As parents we have to be more cognizant of what these disorders are and how they affect the child. Drugs are not always the only solution.
There is no quick-fix for Schizophrenia. Upon diagnosis, there is usually a trial and error period while the individual experiments with various antipsychotics until the best medication for Schizophrenia is established. The goal is to find the right dosage of the right drug, which manages symptoms and relapses, yet manifests the smallest number of side-effects.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a psychiatric disorder that causes children to have problems with paying attention, trouble with following instructions, have impulsive behaviors and become easily distracted. Medications, such as Adderall and Ritalin, are used to treat the symptoms of this disorder by helping the patient to focus and pay attention while also curbing their impulsive behavior and hyperactivity. Side effects of these medications are, but not limited to, anxiety, addiction and in some cases psychosis. Proponents of giving ADHD medication to children argue that ADHD is a real disorder in children and the medication does improve the symptoms of the disorder by a large margin as well as being cost effective. Also, not only are the parents happy with the outcome of their children taking the prescribed medication but so are the children themselves. Proponents also argue that by not letting parents of the children, young adults and adults choose to take these prescriptions when diagnosed with ADHD that the medical and psychiatric communities would be in violation of the principle of autonomy. Justice as well would be violated since most of the burden of dealing with all the symptoms caused by this disorder would fall onto those with ADHD and partly on their families. Opponents of giving ADHD medication to children point out that it is not only going to children with ADHD but also being prescribed to those not diagnosed with the disorder as well as the pills being given or sold to other children and young adults. They also claim that the full side effects of ADHD medication are still not known and could have harmful long- lasting side effects on the children taking the medications. In this case, the princip...
When parents and doctors put children on dangerous medications like Adderall, Dexedrine, and Ritalin, they seem to overlook the dangers and consequences that come with taking antidepressants and stimulants. Children can often end up suffering from a more severe sickness than when they started when they began the treatments (source #8). The ...
10. Zito, J.M., Safer, D.J., dosReis, S., Gardner, J.F., Boles, M., Lynch, F. 2011. Trends in the prescribing of psychotropic medications to preschoolers. Journal of the American Medical Association 283 (8).
Boys on these medications become dependent on the drugs to help them become better individuals and if drugs are the sole use to control these symptoms these boys will never know if they possess the strength or the will power to overcome these symptoms that can be managed by discipline and practice. Taking care of boys with ADHD involves participation from all family members. These families need to become informed on ADHD, just as they would educate themselves on any other chronic
Children, like any other age group, have their numbers steadily increasing with time. They too face the same issues as adults and need an intervention to help them recover. Children have the right to be prevented from mental health complications and the families and health systems should work together to enhance that. Enhanced systems should be able to detect such conditions early enough and provide interventions that solve the problem in the long run. Efficient detection systems can also help establish causes of mental issues among children and provide an opportunity for preventive health approaches.