The Psychology Of Medicine For Childhood Disorders

Every parent who has a child suffering from a psychological disorder that affects their behavior dreads a new school year. This means new teachers not aware of the disorder, more parent-teacher conferences, and more pressure to medicate the child. The most common and well known behavioral disorders are Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

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

Medications used to treat this condition come with risks, and parents often wish to avoid them for this reason. For those who do choose medication for their child, the worry that the medication will be used improperly is present. For these reasons, parents often look for alternatives when it comes to treating their child.

In taking any medication there are always positives and negative side effects. Overprescribing medication and over diagnosing different disease in children has caused these effects to become increasingly prevent in society today. An increasing number of children and teenagers are being prescribed drugs as a “quick fix” rather than treating the root problem.

It was believed that children suffer from brain dysfunction. Ritalin and other drugs were used with the intention to positively change the child’s behavior, but it did not work. According to Whitaker, Herbert Rie, a psychologist from Ohio State University argues that “… on active drug treatment, the children were relatively but unmistakably affectless, humorless, and apathetic” (223). Children, especially on Ritalin did not socially interact with others, did not feel happy, did not have a high self-esteem (thought about themselves as “dumb” because they were on medication). The drugs instead of helping the child, it makes him/her feel lonely and depressed. Aside of these negative effects, there was some research done and it reflected that Ritalin was helping the children to behave in the classroom, but then it turned out to be a short-term academic achievement; impairing their learning. According to Whitaker, the 1994 edition of the APA’s Textbook of Psychiatry concludes “Stimulants do not produce lasting improvements in aggressivity, conduct disorder, criminality, education achievement, job functioning, marital relationships, or long-term adjustment” (226). The problem with these drugs is that when children stop taking them, their behavior is worse than

Children with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) can be very unpredictable and difficult to care for. A child with ODD displays ongoing hostility, defiance, and uncooperative behavior toward authority figures (American Academy of Children and Adolescent Psychology, 2011). This makes everyday life extremely difficult for both the child and the caregivers. Understanding how to reduce behaviors of hostility, defiance, and uncooperativeness in children with ODD will reduce the number of defiant episodes the child experiences. The reduction of defiant episodes will greatly benefit both the child and the caregivers in day to day life by increasing the child’s willingness to cooperate and obey authority figures.

The Common medication used is an amphetamine, the drug has a reverse reaction with people who have the disorder and causes them to slow down, instead of speeding up like it would a normal person. Everyone knows that amphetamines are dangerous, highly addictive, and cause dangerous side effects. I sit here and wonder why these medication are given to children so free and easy with all the dangers that come with the medications. The side effects consist of restlessness, excitability, dizziness, headache, agitation, tremor, weakness, blurred vision, insomnia, hair loss, loss of appetite, and the list goes on and on. This drug has almost the exact same make up as methamphetamine which is a drug everyone knows how dangerous it can be. Why are parents letting doctors prescribed this medication to their children when the side-effects are so dangerous? The only explanation I can come up with is laziness or they have been misinformed by their

The article “Dealing with a Drug Dilemma,” by Rachel Kleinman contradicts the ideas of many other articles in regards to the use of antidepressants in children. Kleinman states that children have to see a specialist in order to be diagnosed with ADHD and to get a perscription for a stimulant. It makes you think why we wouldn’t have these same laws for other kinds of medication as well. In addition, the article states there are many horrible side effects of antidepressents that children should not have to go through, but aren’t there side effects to every medication? If your child had a deathly illness and there was a medication, you would give it to them without a doubt, no matter what the side effects. But, for some reason, when it comes

Before giving any medication to their children, parents read the suggested dosage on the label of the medication to determine how much they should give the child. In most cases the labeling on the side of the medication is incorrect for children, because of their weight, height, and metabolism (Christensen). More often than not labeling companies just size down the doses for children rather actually testing the effects (Christensen). By doing so children do not receive a correct dose size that would efficiently treat the symptoms that they are experiencing. However, some medication is tested on children and is safe to use. Most pharmacists will take a pill and turn it into a liquid form for child usage (Christensen). Even so only five out of the eighty most commonly used Over-The-Counter drugs are approved and safe for pediatric use (Christensen). As stated earlier people are incorrectly treating illnesses whether it is an incorrect size or an incorrect medicine altogether. In another study that was conducted, it was found that the medication Mevacor, a medicine used to lower cholesterol, had the same effects in treating patients using only half of the starting dose of 20 milligrams a day (Consumer Reports). This goes to show that even with modern day research misdosage can still be very common. The main goal of any parent or caregiver is to make sure that the child they are raising is healthy is receiving the proper care they deserve. In doing so they may make irrational decisions in order to treat the child as soon as possible, instead of doing research or contacting their local pediatrician. This is why it is so often that children receive medicine that does not actually benefit the child, like antibiotics for a cold.Another equally important reason that supports the idea that children are being over medicated is the notion that it

The issue of medicating children is a widely controversial subject. This is due to the decision to medicate children or not are subjective opinions from parents, teachers, peers, and doctors. I believe that children should only be medicated as a last resort after all other alternatives have been exhausted. As the article mentions, parents should feel they have tried all other methods, find a doctor that is trusted in the community, and closely monitor the effects of the medicine. The environment of the child should be very closely examined to see what changes or adjustments could be made to improve the situation prior to any medicines being given to the child.

The children in America are being increasingly medicated at younger and younger ages. Throught the years we have documented these growing numbers and determined that either children with disorders are soon to become a social norm or we are jumping to the use of medications to solve problems that could be solved without medications.

Psychotropic drugs are, according to medicine.net, are drugs affecting the central nervous system, that have the capability to affect one’s behavior, emotions, and the mind. Since these drugs affect the human mind and behavior, there is plenty or suspicion and controversy surrounding them, especially when it comes to prescribing them to adolescents between the ages of nine to seventeen years old. The prescription of mind altering drugs, to such a young, underdeveloped crowd, is a cause for concern due to the excessive amount of of pills these students popping and the effects they're having on their developing brains. Psychotropic medications are helpful in altering the minds of these victims of mental illnesses cope with their disorders; however, there needs to be restrictions made on the prescription of psychotropic drugs to children between the ages of 6-17 because: results are fairly inconsistent; mental illnesses are often misdiagnosed and incorrectly prescribed; and biases are presented

The journal in which this article came from is well known and used by many professionals. This journal is an excellent resource for professional and students who are looking to become professional. It gives you a plethora of information on the development and mental health of children. There is an Association which is comprised of many different professional disciplines and they work together to inform others and ensure that the professionals are all well informed. The council is multi-disciplinary team that exists to further the interdisciplinary field of both child and adolescent psychology and psychiatry.

Initial resuscitation and fluid correction by normal saline is mandatory. Sodium correction to be done gradually.

Overmedication is starting to take over the lives of children, due to being diagnosed with disorders and diseases. Since more disorders are being discovered, this leads towards more medication that has to be prescribed. “More than 6 million children are diagnosed with hyperactiveness such as ADHD, and 2 million of those children are between the age of 2-6. This leads to doctors prescribing these children stimulants such as Adderall or Ritalin to calm them down”(Cha). “More than 75% of children are receiving pills as treatment”(Cha). These pills are suppose to help them in