Psycotropic Drugs Used in Children
PHYSCOTROPIC DRUGS USED IN CHILDREN
A report on the use of Psychotropic drugs used to control active children
Lauren L. Dewar
April 20, 2010
Introduction
At eleven years of age, Thomas Edison was taken out of school because his teachers considered him difficult and he “could not be taught.” While in school Edison’s mind often wandered and his teacher was overheard calling him “addled.” Another labeled him as retarded. This ended his three months of official schooling. Because of this Thomas’s mother home schooled him and taught him math, reading, and writing. He then went on to become one of the greatest inventors of all times. In today’s “find a cure” society Thomas Edison would have most definitely been put on the now very popular medications Ritalin, Adderall, or Prozac. These are mind-altering psychotropic drugs used to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Taking that into consideration, one might ask themselves that if Thomas had indeed been put on these medications, would he have ever been capable of experimenting and discovering his great inventions?
After analyzing the data, this report will make it clear that children should not be prescribed such mind altering medications to control their activeness. It will be clear that these drugs have serious short and long-term side effects, sometimes even death. Through research it will also be clear that there is no diagnosis for ADHD and that the checklist doctors go by to diagnose ADHD is not enough proof of a disease that needs to be medicated.
This report includes four sections: background information, my methodology, results of the study, and conclusion and recommendations.
Background Information
For starters, there is no scientific basis for diagnosing ADHD. Often times it is the school counselor or social workers who are simply not equipped to make mental health assessments making the ADHD diagnoses (Williams). Simply, if a child is observed to be acting bored, distracted
A report on the use of Psychotropic drugs used to control active children
Lauren L. Dewar
April 20, 2010
Introduction
At eleven years of age, Thomas Edison was taken out of school because his teachers considered him difficult and he “could not be taught.” While in school Edison’s mind often wandered and his teacher was overheard calling him “addled.” Another labeled him as retarded. This ended his three months of official schooling. Because of this Thomas’s mother home schooled him and taught him math, reading, and writing. He then went on to become one of the greatest inventors of all times. In today’s “find a cure” society Thomas Edison would have most definitely been put on the now very popular medications Ritalin, Adderall, or Prozac. These are mind-altering psychotropic drugs used to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Taking that into consideration, one might ask themselves that if Thomas had indeed been put on these medications, would he have ever been capable of experimenting and discovering his great inventions?
After analyzing the data, this report will make it clear that children should not be prescribed such mind altering medications to control their activeness. It will be clear that these drugs have serious short and long-term side effects, sometimes even death. Through research it will also be clear that there is no diagnosis for ADHD and that the checklist doctors go by to diagnose ADHD is not enough proof of a disease that needs to be medicated.
This report includes four sections: background information, my methodology, results of the study, and conclusion and recommendations.
Background Information
For starters, there is no scientific basis for diagnosing ADHD. Often times it is the school counselor or social workers who are simply not equipped to make mental health assessments making the ADHD diagnoses (Williams). Simply, if a child is observed to be acting bored, distracted
Cited: Guevara, James. "Psychotropic Medication Use in a Population of Children Who Have Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder." (2002): 1. Leonard, Henrietta L., M.D. "Child & Adolescent Psychopharmacology UPDATE." Stimulants, Development and Substance Abuse 7.5 (2005): 3. Null, Gary. "The Drugging of Our Children." (2001). O 'Meara, Kelly Patricia. "Hyper-Drugging of Active Kids." Insight on the News (2001): 1-3. Plasker, Eric H. "Today 's Chiropractic." (1997): 1-5. Williams, Armstrong. "The Drugging of America." New York Amsterdam News (2004): 1-2.