ADHD Meds May Raise Risk for Psychotic Side Effects in Some Kids: Study

Stimulant medications, such as those used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), may raise the risk for psychotic side effects among young patients who have a parent with a history of serious mental illness, new research suggests.

More >> ADHD Meds May Raise Risk for Psychotic Side Effects in Some Kids: Study

Australian school welcoming of anti-vaccination parents suffers major chickenpox epidemic

80 pupils at the primary school in Melbourne have been hit by the infectious disease after staff asked parents to be 'tolerate' of those who did not want to vaccinate their children

More >> Australian school welcoming of anti-vaccination parents suffers major chickenpox epidemic

Doctors warn against medical marijuana for kids

Because they're stooges for the drug companies...

The group representing Canada's pediatricians is warning parents against using medical marijuana to treat their children's health conditions, saying there is not enough evidence that the drug is either safe or effective.

More >> Doctors warn against medical marijuana for kids

Child Protective Services paid a Texas family a visit earlier this week after learning that their home had been used to host a massive “chickenpox party.

Child Protective Services paid a Texas family a visit earlier this week after learning that their home had been used to host a massive “chickenpox party.

CPS Pays A Visit To Mom After She Hosts ‘Playdate’ With Other Parents And Their Children To…

Cases of ADHD surge in US kids

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), the most commonly diagnosed mental disorder among children in the US, is becoming even more commonly diagnosed, according to a new analysis of nationwide data.

More >> Cases of ADHD surge in US kids

• ADHD Diagnoses Rising Among U.S. Kids

Kids on ADHD Medication Are More Likely to Be Bullied, Study Says

Children who take commonly-prescribed stimulants to treat their attention disorders are more likely to be victimized at school than children who do not have ADHD, according to a new study.

More >> Kids on ADHD Medication Are More Likely to Be Bullied, Study Says

Is it child abuse to refuse to vaccinate your children?

A Brisbane woman has been bombarded with messages of support and criticism after she posted a video of her son suffering from whooping cough on her Facebook page. She says she posted the video to convince people to vaccinate their children.

More >> Is it child abuse to refuse to vaccinate your children?

Prescribing children OxyContin comes under fire

As President Barack Obama pushes new initiatives to stem the rampant abuse of prescription opioids, controversy is still brewing over the recent approval by the Food and Drug Administration to allow children as young as 11 to be prescribed OxyContin, one of the most abused prescription drugs in Pennsylvania.

More >> Prescribing children OxyContin comes under fire

Doctors, Not Parents, Are The Biggest Obstacle To The HPV Vaccine

Vaccination rates against human papillomavirus have remained far lower than rates for other routine childhood and teen immunizations. But a big reason for those low rates comes from a surprising source.

More >> Doctors, Not Parents, Are The Biggest Obstacle To The HPV Vaccine

The drugged children of foster care

The drugged children of foster care

A February, 2014 Wall Street Journal article, “Drugged as Children, Foster Care Alumni Speak Out,” examines the upsurge in strong antipsychotic drugs prescribed for children in Medicaid and foster care in the past decade and a half.  It should be required reading for every parent, teacher, counselor, caseworker, and judge who has or may have contact with the child welfare system.

Bay Area News Group wins global Online Journalism Award for 'Drugging Our Kids' series

The Bay Area News Group's "Drugging Our Kids" series, which revealed the excessive use of psychiatric drugs in California's foster care system, was named a winner at the 15th annual Online Journalism Awards on Saturday.

More >> Bay Area News Group wins global Online Journalism Award for 'Drugging Our Kids' series

Australia to penalize parents who don't vaccinate children

The Australian government said on Wednesday that it will pass a law that would withhold child care and other payments from families that fail to immunize their children.

More >> Australia to penalize parents who don't vaccinate children

ARE WE OVER-DRUGGING OUR KIDS?

A new report by the Centers for Disease Control explains, at least partly, why the numbers of children being diagnosed with ADHD have skyrocketed in recent years: many of these youngsters (1 in 5, actually) have been improperly diagnosed.

More >> ARE WE OVER-DRUGGING OUR KIDS?

Senators question FDA decision on Oxycontin for kids

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators, including Maine Sen. Angus King, and New Hampshire Sens. Jeanne Shahaeen and Kelly Ayotte, are calling for an investigation into the Food and Drug Administration's recent decision to approve the use of the painkiller OxyContin by children as young as 11-years-old.

More >> Senators question FDA decision on Oxycontin for kids

Report: Most Kids Diagnosed With ADHD Before Age 9

If you know a child who has been diagnosed with ADHD, there's a good chance they're not even 10 years old yet.

More >> Report: Most Kids Diagnosed With ADHD Before Age 9

Back to school, back to drugs for ADHD kids, claims mental health watchdog

Children across the South West are going back to school – and back to drugs, a campaign group says.

Some 1,350 children in the Westcountry have been diagnosed with hyperkinetic disorder or ADHD, allowing their families to claim up to £82 a week in benefits, according to the Citizens Commission on Human Rights.

More >> Back to school, back to drugs for ADHD kids, claims mental health watchdog

CCHR Exhibit Alerts Parents to the Dangers of Psychiatric Drugging of Children

The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) of California held its formal grand opening for the traveling exhibit “Psychiatry: An Industry of Death" on Wednesday, September 2nd in Old Sacramento. The free exhibit located at 106 L Street will run through Sept 12 and is part of the continuing efforts to warn parents about the dangers of psychiatric drugging of children by CCHR, a non-profit, non-political, non-religious mental health watchdog co-founded by the Church of Scientology and the late Dr. Thomas Szasz, Professor of Psychiatry Emeritus at the State University of New York Health Science Center in Syracuse.

More >> CCHR Exhibit Alerts Parents to the Dangers of Psychiatric Drugging of Children

Bombshell: Mind-control engineers drugging children for “Social Justice”

It’s the latest thing. Psychiatrists are giving children in poor neighborhoods Adderall, a dangerous stimulant, by making false diagnoses of ADHD, or no diagnoses at all. Their aim? To “promote social justice,” to improve academic performance in school.

More >> Bombshell: Mind-control engineers drugging children for “Social Justice”

By the time DeAngelo Cortijo was 14, he had been in more than a dozen foster homes. He had run away and lived on the streets for months, and he had been diagnosed with bipolar and anxiety disorders, attachment disorder, intermittent explosive disorder or posttraumatic stress disorder. He had been in and out of mental hospitals and heavily medicated.

More >> California Moves To Stop Misuse Of Psychiatric Meds In Foster Care

Day care accused of drugging babies

A day care in Oklahoma is under investigation for giving children Benadryl to help them go to sleep. Fortunately, none of the children is thought to have sustained serious injury.

More >> Day care accused of drugging babies

Kids are Cash Cows for Big Pharma, Drugging Our Children, Ex-Pharma Rep Tells All | The Truth Talks

Chemical Straight Jackets for Kids! Drugging Our Children: Ex-Pharma Rep Tells All | The Truth Talks Former Pharmaceutical Drug Rep., Gwen Olsen, explains .

OXYCONTIN PAINKILLER FOR CHILDREN GOT U.S. FDA APPROVAL

The Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday it has approved the use of the powerful and frequently abused opioid painkiller OxyContin for children ages 11 to 16 who suffer from severe long-term pain.

More >> OXYCONTIN PAINKILLER FOR CHILDREN GOT U.S. FDA APPROVAL

Why children don’t ‘grow out’ of ADHD - they simply grow up

The latest pseudoscience concerning the manufactured psychiatric label ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) suggests children who ‘grow out’ of the so-called condition have higher IQs.

More >> Why children don’t ‘grow out’ of ADHD - they simply grow up

White Kids Get Medicated When They Misbehave, Black Kids Get Suspended — or Arrested

In recent years, as a national conversation about racial discrepancies in American policing has heated up, a depressing subplot has also emerged: a pattern of similar discrepancies in how discipline is meted out in schools. Black students made up just 18 percent of students in the public schools sampled by the New York Times in 2012, but “they accounted for 35 percent of those suspended once” and 39 percent of those expelled — examining federal data, the Times also noted that “nationwide, more than 70 percent of students involved in arrests or referrals to court are black or Hispanic.” Even black preschoolers were not exempt: They made up the same 18 percent of the student population, but constituted half of all suspensions.

More >> White Kids Get Medicated When They Misbehave, Black Kids Get Suspended — or Arrested

Majority of Youth Prescribed Antipsychotics Have No Psychiatric Diagnosis

The majority of children, adolescents and young adults prescribed antipsychotic medications have not been diagnosed with a mental disorder, according to a recent study published in JAMA Psychiatry.  The study, led by Mark Olfson from Columbia University, examined trends in the treatment of young people with antipsychotics in the United States between 2006 and 2010 and raised concerns about the safety and efficacy of prescription practices.

More >> Majority of Youth Prescribed Antipsychotics Have No Psychiatric Diagnosis

Antidepressant Use While Pregnant Tied to Lower Risk of Preterm Birth

Pregnant mothers treated with antidepressants have a lower risk of giving birth prematurely or having a delivery by Caesarean section. However, use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) is associated with a higher risk of neonatal problems, according to a recent study.

More >> Antidepressant Use While Pregnant Tied to Lower Risk of Preterm Birth

Civil liberties debate heats up as R.I. ranks tops in vaccinating youths for HPV

Just as concerned parents were mounting a grassroots campaign against a new Rhode Island mandate for all 7th graders to get the HPV vaccine — and as health officials were gearing up for the kickoff on Wednesday of a statewide series of informational meetings on the shots — the federal government announced that the state has the highest rate in the nation for vaccinating youths against the sexually transmitted virus linked to cancer.

More >> Civil liberties debate heats up as R.I. ranks tops in vaccinating youths for HPV

Vaccine-injured children, adults can seek compensation from federal government

Vaccines remain one of the greatest success stories in public health. But for some Americans, rare side effects of inoculations have led to hardship, serious injury, even death.

More >> Vaccine-injured children, adults can seek compensation from federal government

Study: Kids with ADHD taking strong drugs with major side effects

As Georgia students get ready to head back to class, a disturbing study.

More >> Study: Kids with ADHD taking strong drugs with major side effects

Drugging kids with medication still best way to get through long trips

The CDC announced today that after two more years of research, giving small children cough medicine and Gravol is still the best way for parents to make in through a long trip.

More >> Drugging kids with medication still best way to get through long trips

It's a spoof.

ADHD: A Destructive and Disempowering Label; Not an Illness

In recent years, we've seen an increasing number of articles and papers from psychiatrists in which they seem to be accepting at least some of the antipsychiatry criticisms, and appear interested in reforms.  It is tempting to see this development as an indication of progress, but as in many aspects of life, things aren't always what they seem.

More >> ADHD: A Destructive and Disempowering Label; Not an Illness

The Drugging of Abused Children

Foster children, traumatized by abuse and/or neglect, are frequently prescribed psychiatric medications at a much higher rate and at much higher doses than children in the general population.  But psychiatric medication is not the treatment for trauma, psychotherapy is.

More >> The Drugging of Abused Children

John Rosemond: Educators Too Often Label Children ADHD

Our 8-year-old is scheduled to enter third grade at a public school this coming fall. Last year, he did very well; nonetheless, his second grade teacher was convinced he had ADHD. At a meeting with the principal, school psychologist, school social worker and the head of the special education department, lots of pressure was put on us to have him tested and put on medication.

More >> John Rosemond: Educators Too Often Label Children ADHD

New rules to protect foster kids from being drugged by physicians lacking

Proposed laws aimed at cracking down on the overuse of psychiatric medication in foster care require more from judges, lawyers, nurses, social workers, caregivers and state investigators to better protect children from potentially dangerous drugs.

More >> New rules to protect foster kids from being drugged by physicians lacking

Reducing Psychotropic Prescriptions Requires Systemic Reform

The over-reliance on psychotropic medication for children in foster care has been drawing a lot of attention both among policymakers and in the media. A recent study reports that in 2012, Pennsylvania’s foster children were nearly three times as likely to be prescribed psychotropic drugs for behavior problems as other children on Medicaid.

More >> Reducing Psychotropic Prescriptions Requires Systemic Reform

Clinic Shut After 5 Children Receive Wrong or Out-of-Date Vaccines

Health authorities have shut down a New Jersey clinic after finding that five children had been given improper vaccines at the county-run facility.

More >> Clinic Shut After 5 Children Receive Wrong or Out-of-Date Vaccines

ADHD – Are We Drugging Our Children in Canada?

There is nothing new about the controversy over how we are treating our children who suffer from ADHD, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and the debate isn’t likely to end any time in the near future. As long as the large pharmaceutical companies are allowed to continue manufacturing psychostimulants and doctors are diagnosing our children with this disorder, we will continue to ‘discuss’ the pros and cons of medicating our youth. For parents concerned over the potentially dangerous treatments for ADHD, here is a bit of information that may be enlightening.

More >> ADHD – Are We Drugging Our Children in Canada?

Kids With ADHD Getting Wrong Drugs, Study Finds

Kids With ADHD Getting Wrong Drugs, Study Finds

Are Too Many Young Americans Getting Antipsychotics for ADHD?

A growing number of teens and young adults are being prescribed powerful antipsychotics, even though the medications aren't approved to treat two disorders -- ADHD and depression -- they are commonly used for, a new study shows.

More >> Are Too Many Young Americans Getting Antipsychotics for ADHD?

Antipsychotics Too Often Prescribed For Aggression In Children

Powerful antipsychotic medications are being used to treat children and teenagers with ADHD, aggression and behavior problems, a study finds, even though safer treatments are available and should be used first.

More >> Antipsychotics Too Often Prescribed For Aggression In Children

JIM CARREY GOES TO BAT FOR CALIFORNIA PARENTS & MEDICAL CHOICE

Many Californians are still in shock at the speed Governor Jerry Brown signed into law Senate Bill 277 (SB-277). Governor Brown, along with the bill’s authors, seem to now all confirm signs of drug company backing and influence. The question of integrity in a political system known to be greatly influenced by pharmaceutical lobbying now seems to be put to rest. The historic outpouring of peaceful, grassroots resistance to the bill has served to awaken the nation.

More >> JIM CARREY GOES TO BAT FOR CALIFORNIA PARENTS & MEDICAL CHOICE

BAY AREA PARENTS WILL HOMESCHOOL CHILD TO AVOID VACCINE REQUIREMENT

Less than 24 hours after state lawmakers approved a new bill requiring all school children in California to be vaccinated, that bill is now law. Gov. Jerry Brown wasted no time and signed Senate Bill 277 Tuesday morning.

More >> BAY AREA PARENTS WILL HOMESCHOOL CHILD TO AVOID VACCINE REQUIREMENT

Why are so many foster kids taking psychiatric drugs?

California’s Legislature is poised to pass a law making it much harder to offer psychiatric medication to kids in foster care, responding to growing concern that foster kids get too many psychotropic medications.

More >> Why are so many foster kids taking psychiatric drugs?

California vaccine bill SB 277 signed into law by Jerry Brown

Ending months of speculation, Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday signed into law Senate Bill 277, which requires almost all California schoolchildren to be fully vaccinated in order to attend public or private school, regardless of their parents' personal or religious beliefs.

More >> California vaccine bill SB 277 signed into law by Jerry Brown

California Legislature Passes 'Mandatory' Vaccine Bill, Sends It To The Governor

A bill that would make vaccinations a requirement for nearly every schoolchild passed the California Legislature. The bill, SB 277, is now on its way to Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown's desk. It's one of the toughest vaccination bills in the country, according to theLos Angeles Times.

More >> California Legislature Passes 'Mandatory' Vaccine Bill, Sends It To The Governor

California vaccine bill clears major legislative hurdle – Pharmaceutical Processing

If the bill does become law, California will have one of the strictest vaccination regulations for school kids in the USA California was at the center of a high-profile measles outbreak that spread across the USA. Those children will still be able to enroll in school as conditional entrants, meaning they are behind on their shots but intend to get them, said Assemblywoman Catharine Baker, R-San Ramon.

More >> California vaccine bill clears major legislative hurdle – Pharmaceutical Processing

Drugging Our Kids: Documentary wins Murrow Award

"Drugging Our Kids," this newspaper's series about the excessive use of psychiatric drugs in California's foster care system, was honored Wednesday with an Edward R. Murrow Award for the country's best news documentary video by a large online organization.

More >> Drugging Our Kids: Documentary wins Murrow Award

California Bans Religious and Philosophical Vaccine Exemptions for Schoolchildren

Lawmakers in California on Thursday approved legislation that would make essential vaccines mandatory for all children entering preschool or kindergarten in the state. The bill prohibits parents from seeking vaccine exemption for religious and philosophical reasons. The Assembly approved the legislation 46-30. California Governor Jerry Brown has not stated whether he will sign the bill, but many speculate he will. If so, the law will go into effect on July 1, 2016.

More >> California Bans Religious and Philosophical Vaccine Exemptions for Schoolchildren

Students with ADHD benefit from being allowed to fidget in class

SCHOOL children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) should be encouraged to fidget in class, two new studies suggest.

More >> Students with ADHD benefit from being allowed to fidget in class

Parental permission not needed for child vaccination, top court rules

Turkey’s Supreme Court of Appeals has ruled parental permission is not necessary for the vaccination of babies and children, following a case where the parents of a one-year-old baby refused compulsory vaccinations for their child.

More >> Parental permission not needed for child vaccination, top court rules

Families who insist on preventing their child from receiving vaccinations will face criminal and civil liabilities.

Giving kids with ADHD room to move could boost test scores: study

When children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder get enough wiggle room, they tend to do better on tests, researchers have found.

More >> Giving kids with ADHD room to move could boost test scores: study

California reforms to cut use of foster care psych meds will cost millions

California will have to invest millions of dollars to better protect its 63,000 foster children from the excessive use of powerful psychiatric medications in a state where prescribing physicians, caregivers and the courts have long supported the drugging of as many as one in four foster teens.

More >> California reforms to cut use of foster care psych meds will cost millions

Most Preschoolers with ADHD Stay on Meds for Years

Most Preschoolers with ADHD Stay on Meds for Years

About 65% of preschool children who were diagnosed with ADHD and given stimulant drugs were still taking those drugs three and six years later, according to a study in Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. About 10% were also being prescribed an antipsychotic.

California Moves to Stop Parents From Avoiding Child Vaccinations

With Thursday’s vote to stop allowing parents to decline shots without a doctor’s permission, California legislators have taken the first step toward making vaccinations mandatory for kids before they go to school.

More >> California Moves to Stop Parents From Avoiding Child Vaccinations

ADHD in Preschoolers: Overmedicated and Undertreated

An estimated 194,000 toddlers and preschoolers (age 2-5 years) in the United States have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and about 1 in 2 of them is not receiving the recommended treatment according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Yes, that is correct – about half of the young children diagnosed with ADHD are not receiving the appropriate treatment.

More >> ADHD in Preschoolers: Overmedicated and Undertreated

ADHD Medication: Scary Facts Many Parents Don't Know

I am a therapist in private practice so I regularly have parents coming to my office saying that they have a child who has ADHD. What to do? I want to make certain that parents get all the information before making a choice regarding their treatment plan. Too often parents only hear a limited part of this complex diagnosis and its treatment options.

More >> ADHD Medication: Scary Facts Many Parents Don't Know

Feds Pay for Drug Fraud: 92 Percent of Foster Care, Poor Kids Prescribed Antipsychotics Get Them for Unaccepted Uses

The release in late March of an alarming new report by federal investigators has confirmed in shocking new detail what has been known for years: Poor and foster care kids covered by Medicaid are being prescribed too many dangerous antipsychotic drugs at young ages for far too long -- mostly without any medical justification at all. The report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Inspector General examined in depth nearly 700 claims filed in 2011 in five of the biggest prescribing states -- California, Florida, Illinois, Texas and New York -- and discovered that two thirds of all the prescribing with these popular and costly "second generation antipsychotics" (SGAs) raised high-risk "quality of care" concerns.


More >> Feds Pay for Drug Fraud: 92 Percent of Foster Care, Poor Kids Prescribed Antipsychotics Get Them for Unaccepted Uses

The ADHD Fallacy: It’s Time To Stop Treating Childhood as a Disease

I met Aiden in 2008 when he was seven years old. The previous year, he had moved with his family from New York to California, and the transition had been difficult. He missed his friends in his old neighborhood and his cousins who had lived nearby. When I met with Aiden’s parents, Scott and Ava, they told me Aiden had always been a handful. Even as a baby Aiden was colicky and fussy, and difficult to put down to sleep. At two years old, he was more active than most of their friends’ children. Aiden’s preschool teachers had been concerned about his disruptive, impulsive behavior.

More >> The ADHD Fallacy: It’s Time To Stop Treating Childhood as a Disease

Thousands Of Families Demand Legal Medical Marijuana For Their Critically Ill Kids

Thousands of families of critically ill children and advocates for marijuana reform launched a national campaign Wednesday supporting the legalization of certain strains of cannabis oil that have shown therapeutic benefits.

More >> Thousands Of Families Demand Legal Medical Marijuana For Their Critically Ill Kids

California lawmaker plans to revive bill tightening vaccination rules

The author of a California bill to require school children to be vaccinated for such diseases as polio and measles regardless of their parents' personal beliefs said he would revive the measure, which stalled in the legislature last week.

More >> California lawmaker plans to revive bill tightening vaccination rules

More Than 1% of Preschoolers Given Psychiatric Medication

A surprisingly large number of preschool age children on Medicaid — more than 1% — are taking a psychiatric medication, a worrying finding given the lack of clinical trials on the effectiveness and side effects of the drugs in children this young.

More >> More Than 1% of Preschoolers Given Psychiatric Medication

Kids with ADHD must squirm to learn, study says

For decades, frustrated parents and teachers have barked at fidgety children with ADHD to "Sit still and concentrate!"

 But new research shows that if you want ADHD kids to learn, you have to let them squirm. The foot-tapping, leg-swinging and chair-scooting movements of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder are actually vital to how they remember information and work out complex cognitive tasks, according to a study published in an early online release of the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology.

More >> Kids with ADHD must squirm to learn, study says

Australia to Cut Benefits for Parents Who Don’t Vaccinate Kids

"The choice made by families not to immunize their children is not supported by public policy or medical research," Prime Minister Tony Abbott said

More >> Australia to Cut Benefits for Parents Who Don’t Vaccinate Kids

California creates first guidelines for prescribing psych meds to foster youth

Three years after joining forces to address the alarming use of psychotropic medications in California's foster care system, a high-level group of health care officials, attorneys and public policy leaders on Friday unveiled a sweeping set of guidelines for doctors who prescribe the powerful drugs to some of the state's most traumatized children.

More >> California creates first guidelines for prescribing psych meds to foster youth

Family court gives pro-vaccination father decisionmaking authority over children’s medical care

ATTN: Religious People, do you think it's possible that God gave us these vaccines?

The case is a Connecticut trial court case, Archer v. Cassel (2015 WL 1500447), decided March 10; the court views the mother’s refusal to vaccinate as a strike against her, though it also seems to view it as part of broader evidence that the mother would use any tool to spite the father:

Note >> Family court gives pro-vaccination father decisionmaking authority over children’s medical care

Too Many Preschoolers Getting Medications for ADHD

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has just published its first national study on the various forms of treatment used for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children. The study examined the use of medication, behavioral therapy, and dietary supplements — and its results were eye-opening.

More >> Too Many Preschoolers Getting Medications for ADHD

Drugging Foster Kids: Let’s Do Something About It

Foster children are a lucrative market for psychotropic drug sales. Unlike adults, they can’t say “no, I won’t take any more of that drug.” Unlike children living with parents, their parents cannot say “I don’t like what that drug is doing.” Responsibility for prescribing is diffused confusingly among foster parents, caseworkers, child welfare supervisors, group home administrators, and prescribers. All are involved, but their roles in medication decisions are overlapping and ill-defined. It is easy for each to say, “it wasn’t my decision.

 More >> Drugging Foster Kids: Let’s Do Something About It

Study finds foster kids given wrong drug prescriptions

When federal inspectors set out to examine how powerful antipsychotic drugs were being used on children in the nation’s public health systems, they found a 4-year-old on four psychiatric drugs; a 10-year-old prescribed without medical records; and a 16-year-old on six psych meds, including a prescription at double the maximum recommended dosage.

More >> Study finds foster kids given wrong drug prescriptions

Pediatrics Group Says Schools Shouldn’t Drug Test

A leading U.S. pediatrics group is recommending against in-school drug testing as a way to prevent young people from experimenting with illegal substances.

More >> Pediatrics Group Says Schools Shouldn’t Drug Test

Federal study finds alarming use of antipsychotics among nation's poor children, foster kids

When federal inspectors set out to examine how powerful antipsychotic drugs were being used on children in the nation's public health systems, they found a 4-year-old on four psychiatric drugs, a 10-year-old prescribed without medical records, and a 16-year-old on six psych meds, including a prescription at double the maximum recommended dosage.

More >> Federal study finds alarming use of antipsychotics among nation's poor children, foster kids

Foster care kids put on too many psych drugs, report says

Many children in foster care are being overmedicated with antipsychotic drugs they may not really need, or the drugs are being given incorrectly, according to a government review obtained by CBS News.

Foster care kids put on too many psych drugs, report says

THE DRUGGING OF AMERICA'S YOUTH: ADHD DIAGNOSIS IS TOO SUBJECTIVE

The first writings about ADHD were attributed to Dr. Heinrich Hoffmann, who wrote a children’s book titled, “The Story of Fidgety Philip.” Since that time, there have been tens of thousands of papers describing impulsivity and hyperactivity in both children and adults.

More >> THE DRUGGING OF AMERICA'S YOUTH: ADHD DIAGNOSIS IS TOO SUBJECTIVE

Are doctors following best practice when prescribing antipsychotic meds to kids?

There’s been a lot of attention in the media about the number of children taking antipsychotic and other psychiatric medications. The assumption behind most of these stories is that these drugs are being overprescribed, and given to children with minor behavioral issues. A recent story in a European newspaper about the increased use of ADHD medications, for example, was headlined “Zombie Generation.” Yet the reality is there’s very little data to tell us the degree to which these medications are being used appropriately or not.

More >> Are doctors following best practice when prescribing antipsychotic meds to kids?

Parents, do you know who owns your children?

COMMUNITY Anti-vaccinating and free-roaming are two issues involving who has say over our children.

More >> Parents, do you know who owns your children?

The Drugging of Children in Foster Care

It's no secret that here in America, foster children are being prescribed psychiatric drugs, especially neuroleptics, as a means of controlling their behavior.  A great deal has been said and written on the matter.  Politicians have declared the practice deplorable.  Children's advocacy groups have expressed concern, and, of course, those of us in the antipsychiatry movement have screamed till we're hoarse.  But the problem persists.

More >> The Drugging of Children in Foster Care

Bills banning most vaccine exemptions fail in Oregon, Washington

Legislative efforts to increase pressure on parents to get their kids vaccinated failed in Oregon and Washington Wednesday amid stiff opposition as a handful of other statehouses consider similar bills prompted by a measles outbreak at Disneyland.

More >> Bills banning most vaccine exemptions fail in Oregon, Washington

Study finds 17% of college students misuse ADHD drugs

At college, students can come under a lot of pressure to achieve good results, but, unfortunately, a large number may be resorting to risky methods to deal with expectations. A recent literature review reports that 1 in 6 college students misuse stimulant medications prescribed for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

More >> Study finds 17% of college students misuse ADHD drugs

Parents take extreme steps to keep their kids from the unvaccinated

Bay Area mother formed a Facebook page where parents could arrange play dates for their children with other vaccinated youngsters. Another mom advocates socially isolating the unvaccinated by asking parents if their child is inoculated before accepting a birthday invitation, or even using the swings at the playground. And an Eagle Rock mom says she now asks about vaccine records when she buys used baby clothing.

More >> Parents take extreme steps to keep their kids from the unvaccinated

You just gotta love the helicopter parents, eh?

FSU opens new clinic to find positives of ADHD

A Florida State University researcher has opened a new clinic that will provide assessment and treatment services for Tallahassee-area families with children suspected of having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

More >> FSU opens new clinic to find positives of ADHD

Why Foster Youth Are Overmedicated

An recent article in the Los Angeles Times addressed what some suggest is the over-medication of children in the Los Angeles County foster care system. Certainly this is a significant issue, and indeed, if children are being overmedicated, it must be addressed.

More >> Why Foster Youth Are Overmedicated

Responding to reports of drugged foster youth, California lawmakers propose greater oversight

At a hearing Tuesday, California lawmakers will examine why the state's foster children are being prescribed psychiatric drugs at three times the rate of other youth.

More >> Responding to reports of drugged foster youth, California lawmakers propose greater oversight

More >> Hundreds more foster kids given drugs than first disclosed

Mercury News editorial: Foster kids need legal protection against over-drugging

A wave of legislation about to hit the California Legislature on the alarming pattern of over-drugging foster children will require careful navigating. But it's heartening that lawmakers are anxious to deal with the problems described in heartbreaking detail over the past year by the Bay Area News Group's Karen de S.

More >> Mercury News editorial: Foster kids need legal protection against over-drugging

Drugging All The Little Children

Here is a link to a poem for you to ponder.

More >> Drugging All The Little Children

Towards a Ban on Psychiatrically Diagnosing and Drugging Children

Instead of hope and enthusiasm for their futures, too many children now grow up believing they are inherently defective, and controlled by bad genes and biochemical imbalances.  They are shackled by the idea that they have ADHD and then subdued by the drugs that inevitably go along with the diagnosis.  Unless something intervenes, many of them will go on to pass their days on Earth in a drug-impaired, demoralized state.

More >> Towards a Ban on Psychiatrically Diagnosing and Drugging Children

Antipsychotics in Kids: Best Practices Followed Half the Time

Physicians follow "best practice" guidelines when prescribing antipsychotics to children and adolescents only about half the time, with failure to monitor cholesterol and blood sugar levels their main misstep, new research shows.

More >> Antipsychotics in Kids: Best Practices Followed Half the Time

Why Are More Kids on Antipsychotics?

More children are being prescribed antipsychotic medications — drugs designed to treat such mental illnesses as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder — and pediatricians and psychiatrists at the University of Vermont conducted a study to find out why.

More >> Why Are More Kids on Antipsychotics?

Penn and Teller on Vaccinations

Jimmy Kimmel Mocks Anti-Vaccination Advocates With “A Child’s Right To Choose” Video

Jimmy Kimmel tackled the topic of whether or not to vaccinate children in a comedy bit on Monday’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” The talk show host couldn’t be more clear that he absolutely thinks all children should get vaccinated, and that there’s no health risk to it. Kimmel said this “shouldn’t be a topic at all anymore.” After getting a tremendous backlash for a pro-vaxx stance PSA he aired last week, Kimmel sent out two anti-vaccine crusaders to push their agenda of a “child’s right to choose” whether they should or shouldn’t get vaccinated. Check out the video below!

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Almost all states allow religious exemptions for vaccinations, Massachusetts included

Most US states allow students and their families to opt out of vaccinations because of religious concerns, and Massachusetts is one of them, according to a recent Pew Research Center report.

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Oklahoma: Bill Intended to Protect ‘Conversion Therapy’ Advances

Legislation that would protect the practice of therapy that seeks to change people’s sexual orientation or gender identity was approved Tuesday by a State House committee. As other states ban or consider prohibiting so-called conversion therapy, the Children, Youth and Family Services Committee approved the bill 5 to 3 without debate and sent it to the full House. The measure will most likely face a tougher audience there, as medical, psychological and sociological organizations that have condemned the practice mobilize their opposition to it.

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Sales of ADHD Meds Are Skyrocketing. Here's Why.

Attention deficit hyperactive disorder is big business. That's the conclusion of a new report, published by the market research firm IBISWorld, which showed that ADHD medication sales have grown 8 percent each year since 2010 and will grow another 13 percent this year to $12.9 billion. Furthermore, it projects this growth will continue over the next five years at an annualized rate of 6 percent, and take in $17.5 billion in the year 2020—making it one of the top psychopharmaceutical categories on the market.

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Policies guide use of restraint and seclusion

The bill would require the Virginia Department of Education to develop regulations consistent with 15 principles developed by the U.S. Department of Education; include definitions of terms, criteria for use, restrictions for use, requirements for training, notification, reporting and follow-up; and address distinctions, including distinctions in emotional and physical development, between the general student population and the special education student population, and elementary school students and secondary school students, according to the bill, the AP and other sources.

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Even More: School officials weigh in on seclusion and restraint bill

Hair drug tests: A mother’s anguish over losing her girls

An unknown number of parents lost their children based, in part, on the Sick Kids’ hair drug tests now under review. Christine Rupert is one of them.

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Use of Medication On Foster Youth Investigated

Democratic Senator Jim Beall says nearly a quarter of adolescents in the California foster care system are being prescribed mood or behavior altering drugs. And he says it’s not clear who is in charge of tracking the medications foster children take.

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Backlash against calls to deny subsidies to parents of unimmunised children

Service providers have rejected a recommendation by the Productivity Commission that parents who refuse to vaccinate their children should be cut off from childcare benefits.

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ADHD medication revenue is up: report

ADHD diagnosis rates are soaring — and with them, medication prescriptions.

The ADHD Medication Manufacturing Industry, a trade group, is expecting 13% growth in revenue this year, according to the latest numbers. By 2020, ADHD meds are expected to be a $17.5 billion industry.
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Rampant medication use found among L.A. County foster, delinquent kids

Los Angeles County officials are allowing the use of powerful psychiatric drugs on far more children in the juvenile delinquency and foster care systems than they had previously acknowledged, according to data obtained by The Times through a Public Records Act request.

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Children with history of institutional care have increased risk for autism, shows study

Study published in JAACAP shows that abandoned children placed in child-centered foster care environments improves social behaviors

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Family endures bullying, threats for unvaccinated child, Utah mom says

The national debate over measles and vaccines has been in the headlines a lot lately and is becoming very personal for one Utah mom.

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State Report Shows Pressing Need to Understand Bad Behavior in Schools

Imagine walking into your young child's classroom and seeing him on the floor, his hands behind his back, as if he was being arrested. This is what happened to Lisbeth Ehrlich in Darien.

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Lawyer wants judge to order measles shots for 4 children

A court-appointed attorney for four children removed from their parents' care asked a Michigan judge on Wednesday to order measles vaccinations for the children against the wishes of their parents, who are trying to regain custody in an ongoing child neglect case.

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Rand Paul: Parents 'own' children, not the state

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) doubled down on his position that most vaccines should be voluntary, suggesting Monday that mandated immunization is an example of government overreach.

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Vaccine Critics Turn Defensive Over Measles

Their children have been sent home from school. Their families are barred from birthday parties and neighborhood play dates. Online, people call them negligent and criminal. And as officials in 14 states grapple to contain a spreading measles outbreak that began near here at Disneyland, the parents at the heart of America’s anti-vaccine movement are being blamed for incubating an otherwise preventable public-health crisis.

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Doctors dropping unvaccinated children as patients

With California gripped by a measles outbreak, Dr. Charles Goodman posted a clear notice in his waiting room and on Facebook: His practice will no longer see children whose parents won’t get them vaccinated.

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Dying child takes cannabis oil for cancer symptoms, dad arrested for drugging child

In Australia, Adam Koessler, the father of a very sick little girl has been separated from his daughter and faces possible jail time.

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“Generation Rx”—The Boom of Baby Drugging

In its ever-intrusive quest to “help” those suffering from alleged mental illnesses, the psychiatric industry has deliberately targeted the weakest among us—literally babies—creating an entire generation dependent on toxic, brain-damaging drugs. The extent of the psycho/pharmacological assault is profound.

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Sick kids should only get medical marijuana when other treatments fail, pediatrics group says

With virtually no hard proof that medical marijuana benefits sick children, and evidence that it may harm developing brains, the drug should only be used for severely ill kids who have no other treatment option, the nation's most influential pediatricians group says in a new policy.

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Bill would strengthen law to avoid seclusion or restraint of special-ed students in schools

Rep. Gerry Pollet says a state law that prohibits special-ed students from being restrained or secluded unless others are in imminent physical danger needs to be strengthened. Parents who urged him to introduce a bill that will do just that will testify at a hearing Monday.

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Missouri foster children are given higher-than-average amounts of psychiatric drugs

Numbers defined life in Missouri's foster care system for 15-year-old Mohannad. Nineteen psychologists. Five psychiatrists. Eleven different drugs. Six foster homes. Five hospitalizations.

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Ritalin vs. Recess: Are Drugs Really the Answer to the ADHD Epidemic?

Ritalin vs. Recess: Are Drugs Really the Answer to the ADHD Epidemic?

By robbing kids of time to act like kids, then opting for medication over therapy, we may be undertaking a giant, uncontrolled experiment on the brains of children.

EDITORIAL: Drugs in the Classroom, Part Three

We have, here in America, two somewhat extreme positions on the subject of drugging school children when they have been diagnosed as suffering from certain personality characteristics currently referred to as “Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder” or ADHD.

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EDITORIAL: Drugs in the Classroom, Part Four

I plan to attend the 5pm work session of the Archuleta School Board this evening, Tuesday January 13, when the board will discuss a “Strategic Framework” of proposed educational improvements developed by superintendent Linda Reed and her staff. This Framework has been under development for over a year, but I believe the document posted to the School Board website yesterday — which you can download here — is the first opportunity the board (or the public) has had to see all of the proposed changes in one, coherent, 45-page summary.

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EDITORIAL: Drugs in the Classroom, Part Two

It was obvious to me that the cartoon map used in the 12-minute RSA (Royal Society for the Arts) YouTube video was less than perfectly accurate. For one thing, some of the U.S. states were not present, or were very poorly drawn. But then, cartoons are always abstractions.

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Mind-altering Medication: Attention Hyperactivity Deficit Disorder (ADHD) Drugs Greatly Decrease Academic Performance in Children

Children who take mind-altering medications like Ritalin (methylphenidate) and Adderall (amphetamine and dextroamphetamine) for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have been shown in a new peer-reviewed study to perform worse in school than if they weren’t taking the substances at all.

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Texas doctors rarely charged in prescription abuse

Many Texas doctors who violate prescription drug laws have little to fear from prosecutors, even when their patients die of an overdose.

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Children’s Psychology : How to Treat ADHD Naturally

Treating ADHD naturally requires pinpointing the behavioral triggers and addressing those triggers without medication. Treat hyperactivity sans medication with information from a licensed clinical psychologist in this free video on emotional and mental health.

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Texas Doctors Rarely Face Charges in Prescription Abuse Cases

Many Texas doctors who violate prescription drug laws have little to fear from prosecutors, even when their patients die of an overdose.

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What Does Santa Think About ADHD Drugs?

According to sources at the North Pole, Santa is not happy about the growing use of ADHD drugs. As you know, long ago, he had made his list and checked it twice.

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