There's a special airing on PBS tonight called The Medicated Child. At Babble, we just ran an interview with the filmmaker, Marcela Gaviria, about what she learned in the course of making the documentary. The thought of four-year-olds taking Xanax is anxiety-making, but lots of kids don't respond to any other treatment, so it's a very complicated issue:The doctors from the Bipolar Institute in Pittsburgh say that it can take years to properly diagnose bipolar disorder. Yet there has been a 4,000% increase in childhood bipolar diagnoses in recent years.
There are a couple of things happening here. First, the doctors I interviewed say they are simply better at identifying bipolar in children today than they were ten years ago. They believe these kids have always existed, but that doctors failed to recognize the symptoms of bipolar and called these children oppositional or diagnosed them with ADHD. But, at the same time, because there is still confusion about how to diagnose bipolar in kids, many doctors I interviewed told me that it´s very likely that the 4,000% increase in bipolar includes some number of misdiagnoses.
This documentary was a follow-up to one that you produced in 2001 about the same topic. What changes have you observed between then and now?
I am surprised by how the number of children on psychiatric medications continues to rise. It seems as if ADHD paved the way for even more complicated diagnoses like bipolar. In 2001, the issue of medicating kids with psychiatric drugs was boiling over. There were heated hearings nationwide and the scientologists were actively protesting and shouting. The debate exists today, but it's on the internet, in blogs and chat rooms across the country. I feel this debate really needs to be taken to a different level. Six million children are on psychiatric medications. They deserve to have the research that tells doctors which drugs work best, what combinations work least, what is the long term impact of being on these drugs, can you outgrow some of these mental illnesses, what are the long term outcomes of some of these disorders. Right now we don't have these answers. And that is a tragedy.
Read the rest of the interview here (check out the extra ammunition against Dr. Phil on page two). And if you want to see the show, it's on tonight; check times here.
Reader Comments ( Page 2 of 2)
16. I have a 5 year old son who has epilepsy and was also diagnosed with ADHD in Jan 2007. His school suggested we have him tested for various things, such as learning disabilities, etc. as epilepsy can be linked with other problems. They never once uttered the word ADHD or medication. He was diagnosed after a battery of tests. I spent hours in his classroom observing and taking notes. We started seeing a cognitive behavioral therapist. We saw a psychiatrist. We were given a script for Ritalin, and it was up to us to decide whether to give. After much research and soul searching and fighting and crying, we decided to try it. It's not a miracle drug. We only give it in the AM on school days. Sometimes we don't give it at all if he starts out with a good morning. We've had our script filled twice in a year, with a month of dosage left on the second refill. We constantly work with him and his behaviors. We see the psychiatrist and the therapist. We meet with the teacher every two weeks, with several emails in between, and I still do classroom observations. It's hard, incredibly hard. But let me tell you, no one has a clue what it's like until you've been there. I read, research, teach, preach, love, cry, suffer....I love my son and what to do what's right for him. I want to teach him to be a productive member of society. I want him to succeed, excel. So I will continue the course we are on, no matter what flak goes on about meds, bad parenting, bad doctors, pushy teachers, etc. etc. etc. My son is worth the fight we go through!!!!!!!
jenny at 1:50PM on Jan 9th 2008
17. As a Mother of a child who was diagnosed with ADHD and Dyslexia, I believe I have a few words to add. The school system was a FIGHT. A long and drawn out battle. Mind you, I was the kind of parent that made my children accountable for their actions, some days it was very hard to stay on top of things. The school district was adamant about my son taking prescription drugs. He won't be accepted this at school until he takes medication. I refused, he still went to school. Weekly progress reports were mandatory. If my son failed to bring one home on friday, he was confined to inside the house for the weekend, which mean't my husband or myself were confined also. Then the school district decided they were going to put him in special education with mentally challenged children. Well we took on this fight. My son's math skills were off the chart his science was not far behind. I would go into the classroom and my son's desk would be at the back of the room, facing the wall. WELL, no wonder he is a behavior problem. He was diagnosed in the 2nd grade. He finally got a teacher that wasn't going to exclude him or put up with his behavior in 5th grade. She worked with our family, if my son decided to act up in class, she made him sit at her desk, that was too embarassing for him, so he straitened up. We never Drugged him, he spent a lot of time at home. He was made to behave. We even took the bedroom door off of the hinges for 2 weeks, (slid the door under his bed) because door slamming was not tolerated. As a parent you have to take a stance with your children, I am not your friend, I am your parent. My son is now 30, has a great job, married to his High School Sweetheart, they own a beautiful home, drive nice vehicles, have a beautiful son who just turned 1. If I had allowed them to drug him....would he be where he is today? I doubt it!
Mean Momma? at 2:49PM on Jan 9th 2008
18. im scared im bipolar. My dad and paternal grandmother both have it.im only 13... how do they diagnose it?
SaveThePoles at 8:54PM on Jan 9th 2008
19. The issue is the parents who don't want to deal with their children. Medicating a child is the best way to get them out of your hair or to be more of a pawn. It is sad what this country has resorted to. Shame on people who medicate the kids who really don't need it. What message are you sending to them...... a solution in a pill that "fixes" one issue and creates multiple others.
E at 1:52AM on Jan 10th 2008
20. Umm...news flash to anyone in favor of doping your kids..
COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL (requires no drugs) is the best choice for most psychological disorders. and could easily lessen bi-polar symptoms. Its simply the reprogramming of the mind to deal with the shortcomings easier. Rerouting the thought processes towards positive ends.
But here is the downside, it requires you to be active in your own recovery (Oh no!) and perhaps involves your family as well (oh dear). Boohooo, think I'll go on drugs instead. Its the american way.
Pacifistbumpercar at 10:44AM on Jan 10th 2008
21. My 2 cents on this whole thing is this. I have a soon to be 9 year old girl who is giving me hell on a daily basis. Whenever I try to discipline my kid she threatens me back with crap like "you cant do that I can call child services" or "i'm going to tell my teacher on you". Then i get complaints from her teachers saying that she is acting up and running around. Schools teach kids about child abuse and kids think they can call up child welfare services when they're parents take away their nintendo! ( my kid tried this! ) I'm 29 and in my day I never dared to talk back or to do the shit that kids do now, and you know why? because my mother would kick my ass if i dared embrass her in anyway shape or form and that included whenever i was not with her. It was simple. I acted up, i got an old school ass whipping, plain and simple i knew what would happen so i didnt do it. I acted like a kid but not to the extremes i see kids nowadays. There are several mothers that i really like that i can't hang out with because they have completely uncontrollable children and i will not put up with it. My child behaves worse when she sees those kids get away with everything from bullying, threats, stealing, and more. I do believe that most of this medicine is bullshit most kids just need a good spanking and to know that when they act a certain way then there are spankings coming they're way. Child abuse is different and spankings are different. My two sisters are both teachers in different states and they are always telling me stories about thier kids in class, parents are way too lenient. i was thinking of becoming a teacher but all my teacher friends advised me not too and i know why: uncontrollable kids. There is acting like a kid and acting stupid, and i dont think being bored has nothing to do with it. parents caterer to their kids every whim and most kids have too much to do anyway. school, practices then tons of crap to keep them busy all week and weekend. maybe if kids nowadays learned to just use their minds to keep them busy i believe they would benefit more than constant stimulation from objects. Laying down on the grass and staring at the clouds did wonders for us when we were kids, we need to get back to that. I think people that dont have children should not even comment on this subject because until you have a kid like this then you have no idea how it feels. For now I take away my kids toys and leave an empty room with just books. I also tell her i'm selling everything on ebay so that she gets what is going on. I encourage her to use her mind to just daydream instead of the computer and toys. Mental illness runs in my family so i'm going to have her checked out because this bad behavior has started in the last 5 months, so i know something isnt right. But for now i deal with it and hope she doesnt have bi polar or some other shit. So far I dont have anything so i hope she dont either. And for Kent, if you know your kid is "spirited" then i suggest you start teaching him now and also consider, while you may need your "freedom" during school days think of that poor teacher that has to deal with your child's antics and 20 or more kids in one classroom!Somtimes homeschooling is good one on one time.
trixxismykittycat at 10:07AM on Jan 11th 2008