I've written before (Ruminations: Little Pharma: Read It and Weep) about the troubling use of antipsychotics in children as young as 5 or 6. The study linked below reports the impact of these drugs on insulin resistance and increased adiposity, two significant risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Why are these drugs being used? It's not because there has been a sudden epidemic of psychosis in children. It's for purely behavioral reasons. These drugs reduce outbursts and disruptive behavior. Of course they do! If you're agitated, and I hit you over the head with a sledgehammer, I guarantee you will quiet down! That's what's happening here. Kids are being hit with a chemical sledgehammer that puts them at risk for major health problems. It quiets them down. It's quick and requires little thought or effort on anyone's part.What it doesn't do is address the behavior itself or the underlying reasons for the behavior. It also doesn't help children develop internal behavioral controls, coping skills, and ways to meet their needs effectively and appropriately. That would require the expenditure of effort and resources by clinicians, parents, and insurance companies. It's much easier and more profitable to just drug them.
No comments:
Post a Comment