Ritalin and other psychotropic medication for children are a “quick fix” and the government should urgently review their use, psychologists have urged.
The Association of Educational Psychologists (AEP) fears there is insufficient data on the effects such drugs have on child development.
McGorry’s Delorean continues on it’s trip back to the future in Australia, it’s new passenger, Prof Ian Hickie.
I say new, Hickie has been around for years.
Judging by an article in today’s Australian Telegraph, there seems to be questions being asked regarding the number of Australian children being prescribed antidepressant medication.
A recent study by the Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute found that over that past decade the use of psychotropic medications — those used for the treatment of behavioral and mental health issues — for children between the ages of 2 and 21 has risen significantly. Moreover, while during the same period an estimated 4 percent of the general youth population was prescribed these medications, the figure for kids in foster care was much higher — anywhere from 13 to 52 percent. Recent studies in Texas and Georgia arrive at similar findings.
A Detroit woman accused of using a gun in a standoff with police when child welfare workers came to take her 13-year-old daughter was released, officials said. Maryanne Godboldo, 56, had been in custody since surrendering to police Friday after a 10-hour standoff at her home during which she allegedly fired a shot at officers, The Detroit News reported.
In 1997, 5 million children were listed as using psychotropic drugs, Ritalin being among the most common. Ritalin use has increased by 700% since 1990. By the year 2000, it was prescribed for approximately 7 million children.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is diagnosed eight times more often in boys than in girls.