Kids with August birthdays are more likely to get an ADHD diagnosis. Here’s why.

One of the most contentious debates in child development in the United States is what's leading to the sharp rise in cases of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). More than one in 10 children ages 4 to 17 are estimated to have the diagnosis, and scientists are looking at the role things such as genetics, environmental exposures and low birth weight might play.


More >> Kids with August birthdays are more likely to get an ADHD diagnosis. Here’s why.

• ADHD Might Be A Misdiagnosis For Child's Maturity, Study Finds

Thousands at risk of unfairly losing welfare benefits because of "no jab no pay"

Thousands of Australians are at risk of having their welfare payments unfairly slashed because of inaccuracies in Australia's immunisation register, which is being used to process the Turnbull government's new "no jab, no pay" rules, health care workers say.

More >> Thousands at risk of unfairly losing welfare benefits because of "no jab no pay"

Youngest Kids In Class At Higher Risk Of ADHD Diagnosis

By the time they're in elementary school, some kids prove to be more troublesome than others. They can't sit still or they're not socializing or they can't focus enough to complete tasks that the other kids are handling well. Sounds like ADHD. But it might be that they're just a little young for their grade.

More >> Youngest Kids In Class At Higher Risk Of ADHD Diagnosis

• Active Children Are Being Overdiagnosed With ADHD a New Study Finds
• Children born in August at increased risk of being diagnosed with ADHD than those born in September: Study

ADHD is vastly overdiagnosed and many children are just immature, say scientists

Many children are needlessly prescribed drugs to combat ADHD when they are just immature, a study suggests

More >> ADHD is vastly overdiagnosed and many children are just immature, say scientists

• ADHD children may just be immature, research suggests

What’s causing ADHD to skyrocket in kids?

In 2003, 7.8% of 4- to 17-year-olds in the US were were diagnosed with ADHD, according to the National Survey of Children’s Health. By 2011, that figure had reached 11% of students, with 20% of high-school boys diagnosed with the condition.

More >> What’s causing ADHD to skyrocket in kids?

“New Mexico Law Prohibits Forced Psychiatric Drugging of Children”

Bill 53 has officially become law in New Mexico House Bill, ensuring that a parent’s decision not to administer psychiatric drugs to a child is not grounds for a child being removed from parental custody.

More >> “New Mexico Law Prohibits Forced Psychiatric Drugging of Children”

Drugging Children to Keep Them Quiet

Two mothers mentioned getting perscriptions from doctors to medicate children during a plane trip. Presumably to keep them calm and sedated. This honestly bothers me profoundly! I try not to give my child chemical medications at all, just as I try to avoid taking them myself.

More >> Drugging Children to Keep Them Quiet

ADHD Meds Tied to Lower Bone Density in Kids

Children on medications for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may have lower bone density than their peers, a new U.S. study suggests.

More >> ADHD Meds Tied to Lower Bone Density in Kids

Parents ask lawmakers for pediatric medical marijuana

Joy O’Meara, of Trumbull, can’t keep track of the times she’s made emergency calls for her 7-year-old son, Jamison, but she won’t forget the moments when she held his seemingly lifeless body and began CPR.

More >> Parents ask lawmakers for pediatric medical marijuana

Pills for your kid's ADHD? Try this instead

You likely first heard about attention-deficit disorder, or ADD, in the early 1980s when the condition came onto the popular radar under that label, and parents and teachers scrambled to learn about treatment.

More >> Pills for your kid's ADHD? Try this instead

South Dakota partners with Big Pharma to prey on Native Americans in genocidal campaign to increase revenues

The use of culturally-biased guidelines in determining mental health status allows the agency to circumvent Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) rules, designed to keep these children from ending up in non-native foster homes, while generating millions of dollars for the pharmaceutical industry.

More >> South Dakota partners with Big Pharma to prey on Native Americans in genocidal campaign to increase revenues

Too many Pa. foster children are on psychiatric meds

Following a report last summer that large numbers of Pennsylvania children on Medicaid, especially those in foster care, are taking psychiatric medications, state officials Tuesday announced steps to address the problem.

More >> Too many Pa. foster children are on psychiatric meds 

House panel OKs bill aimed at increasing child immunizations in Utah

The third time was the charm for a bill that requires parents to learn about preventable illnesses before exempting their children from immunizations.

More >> House panel OKs bill aimed at increasing child immunizations in Utah

Early behavior therapy better than medication in treating children with ADHD

In the United States, medication is the first line of treatment for 90 percent of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, Florida International University (FIU) researchers have determined behavioral therapy—when used first—is more effective in treating children with ADHD than medication. It is also more cost-effective.

More >> Early behavior therapy better than medication in treating children with ADHD

Bill would prevent child vaccination opt-outs for personal reasons

Wisconsin parents would no longer be able to cite “personal conviction” for a reason to exempt their children from required vaccinations under a new bill currently being circulated at the Capitol.

More >> Bill would prevent child vaccination opt-outs for personal reasons

Parents credit antibiotic for autistic child's 'monumental' improvements

A five-year-old boy with autism who has never really communicated, has suddenly started answering back when asked a question, is making better eye contact and is happier, according to his excited parents who link these “monumental” changes to an unexpected source.

More >> Parents credit antibiotic for autistic child's 'monumental' improvements

With more parents choosing not to vaccinate, Utah on brink of losing 'herd immunity'

Noah Chesler was excited to go back to school.

Not many 9-year-olds are. But Noah had been gone for nearly two years — after a bone marrow transplant left his immune system too weak to fight the onslaught of infections lurking around every classroom.

More >> With more parents choosing not to vaccinate, Utah on brink of losing 'herd immunity'

ADHD Symptoms Less Likely To Fade When Parents Criticize Their Kids

New research out of the American Psychological Association links persistent attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to having critical parents, suggesting that parental behavior can have a significant impact on the mental disorder. In many cases, ADHD fades away towards the end of adolescence, and may completely disappear in adulthood. Among those whose symptoms persist as they age, harsh and critical parents may play a role, the research suggests.


More >> ADHD Symptoms Less Likely To Fade When Parents Criticize Their Kids

• Being overly critical of your kids makes them more susceptible to ADHD

ADHD in kids: What many parents and teachers don’t understand but need to know

There seems to be a never-ending stream of research reports about attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD — the most commonly diagnosed neuro-behavioral disorder in U.S. children — and how it affects young people.

More >> ADHD in kids: What many parents and teachers don’t understand but need to know

Christie: No apologies to family who left N.J. for sick child's medical marijuana

Christie: No apologies to family who left N.J. for sick child's medical marijuana

Gov. Chris Christie on Wednesday defended the state's strict medical marijuana program and shrugged off a suggestion that a Scotch Plains family had no choice but to relocate to Colorado so their ailing daughter could have easier access to edible cannabis products.

Traumatized Kids Who Were Drugged Offer Lessons for Mental Health Care

Extensive use of psychiatric medication for children in foster care offers a striking example of childism,  or societal prejudice against children.  A powerful five part film “Drugging Our Kids”   by Dai Sugano and Karen De Sa documents this issue in a thorough and dramatic way, using interviews with young adults who were in the foster care system, some from as early as 2 years of age. They were  labeled with every psychiatric diagnosis under the sun, when really what they were suffering from was trauma and loss. After experiencing physical, sexual and emotional abuse, they were on multiple psychiatric medications for many years. With the help of a range of individuals who saw through the haze of drug effects to who they really were, those interviewed for the documentary were able to get off all medications.   In a segment entitled “Treatment for a Broken Heart is Not Another Medication,” child psychiatrist David Arendondo says, “The first line treatment not another medication. It is to understand, to listen to the child, to ask, ‘what’s going on, why are you sad in this way?’”

More >> Traumatized Kids Who Were Drugged Offer Lessons for Mental Health Care

Mom Breaks Law to Treat Sick Toddler With Cannabis Oil

Single mom Sarah Ellett knows she’s breaking the law every day when she gives her chronically ill daughter Remie, 3, two tiny drops of cannabis oil. She’s determined to continue, as the treatment has brought her child a quality of life that’s not only tolerable but also often joyful. But now child caseworkers have gotten involved, and Ellett is scared.

More >> Mom Breaks Law to Treat Sick Toddler With Cannabis Oil

Does Prescribing Anti-psychotic Drugs to Infants, Toddlers and Young Children Meet the Definition of Reckless Endangerment?

When physicians (or medical paraprofessionals) prescribe psychiatric drugs to children without the parent or legal guardian’s fully informed consent, the prescribers could reasonably be charged with reckless endangerment and/or child endangerment because such drugs commonly cause a multitude of well-known adverse effects, including the following short list: worsening depression, worsening anxiety, sleep disturbances, suicidality, homicidality, mania, psychoses, heart problems, growth disturbances, malnutrition, cognitive disabilities, dementia, microbiome disorders, stroke, diabetes, serious withdrawal effects, death, sudden death, etc. We physicians (not only psychiatrists) normally only spend a small amount of our scarce time warning about a few of the dozens of potential adverse effects when we recommend drug treatment – and apparently most American courts uphold this questionable action when the rare malpractice case manages to be heard in the legal system.


More >> Does Prescribing Anti-psychotic Drugs to Infants, Toddlers and Young Children Meet the Definition of Reckless Endangerment?

Pediatrician Mike Ginsberg's Facebook Vaccine Rant

On 2 February 2015, the Facebook page The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe published a picture of a Facebook comment attributed to a doctor identifying himself as Mike Ginsberg. The comment was offered during a then-current outbreak of measles that had been traced back to the Disney theme parks in California which had intensified an ongoing debate over vaccinations and the effects of a decline in vaccination rates:

More >> Pediatrician Mike Ginsberg's Facebook Vaccine Rant

Author tells Kansas senators psychiatric overdiagnosis damaging Americans

The Senate’s health committee toured the dizzying world of psychiatric diagnosis Wednesday under guidance of a former Duke University professor revolting against exaggeration of mental health disorders and the prescribing of too much medicine for those conditions.


More >> Author tells Kansas senators psychiatric overdiagnosis damaging Americans

Kids with ADHD more likely to be in bike crashes: study

Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder exhibit “impulsivity” and attention issues that put them at risk when crossing streets on their bikes, according to a study from the University of Iowa.

More >> Kids with ADHD more likely to be in bike crashes: study

Children ‘most worried’ as they finish primary school, research finds

According to an article in the British Journal of Health Psychology, mothers reported that their children are at their most worried age 10 – when they will be coming to the end of primary school.

More >> Children ‘most worried’ as they finish primary school, research finds

A Child's Right to Be Vaccinated

Hi. My name is Paul Offit. I'm talking to you today from the Vaccine Education Center here at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

More >> A Child's Right to Be Vaccinated

Psychotic Symptoms in Children on Stimulants. What are the Implications for the Clinician?

Stimulant medications have been previously reported as the cause of adverse psychiatric symptoms in children, including mania and psychosis. 1 New work by MacKenzie et al. in this month’s Pediatrics ( 10.1542/peds.2015-2486) provides new insight into a subpopulation apparently at very high risk for this concerning side effect. Children diagnosed with ADHD and treated with stimulants, whose parent or parents have major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, have a significantly greater risk of psychotic symptoms than their peers.

More >> Psychotic Symptoms in Children on Stimulants. What are the Implications for the Clinician?

6 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Putting Your Kid on ADHD Medication

American kids are now much more likely to be diagnosed and treated for ADHD than kids in any other country. For example, a teenager in the United States is now nearly 14 times more likely to be on medication for ADHD than a teenager in the United Kingdom. In my book The Collapse of Parenting, I explore some of the reasons why. One is that in the U.S., medication has become the first resort for almost any child who is struggling in school. Outside of North America, medication is usually a last resort. That’s especially of concern because of research showing that these medications for ADHD may affect the developing brain in significant ways.

More >> 6 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Putting Your Kid on ADHD Medication

How Children Bickering Inspired a Business

Laurie Canata was at her wits’ end. While she was there, she found an idea for a business.

More >> How Children Bickering Inspired a Business

Social Services Minister Christian Porter slaps down anti-vaccination campaigners

SOCIAL Services Minister Christian Porter has slapped down anti-vaxxers claiming to have found a loophole in the tough “no jab, no pay” laws.

More >> Social Services Minister Christian Porter slaps down anti-vaccination campaigners

Spotlight on ‘Drugging Our Kids’ pays off

It’s often wishful thinking that shining a light on something that’s wrong will be enough to make it stop.  t sometimes, if the problem is bad enough and the evidence is clearly presented, it actually happens.

More >> Spotlight on ‘Drugging Our Kids’ pays off

Kids from big families may be less likely to succeed

A study by researchers Chinhui Juhn and C. Andrew Zuppann of the University of Houston, along with Yona Rubinstein of the London School of Economics, suggests that the more children a family has, the less likely those children will have a good life.

More >> Kids from big families may be less likely to succeed

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