Are Experts Giving Prescriptions for Children’s Bad Behavior? Debate Continues
Is it just kids being kids, or do thousands of children actually need behavior-enhancing medications? The debate continues, with no clear answers except for data showing an increase in the number of prescriptions for medications to treat conditions like ADHD among children and preschoolers.
In 2010, the number of prescriptions prescribed to children for drugs like Ritalin (methylphenidate), typically prescribed to treat ADHD, exceeded 106,000 in New Zealand. More than 600 of these were filled by children under school-age. In general, a jump of 13 percent has been recorded in prescriptions for children for conditions like ADHD from five years ago – a rate which has the small country alarmed and could increase concern in other countries across the globe.
Because the signs of ADHD can be hard to decipher, ranging from an inability to focus to jittering and trouble remembering details, experts don’t know for certain how many children may actually have the disorder. In New Zealand, they estimate the rate is from three to five percent.
In most settings, treatment for behavioral problems like ADHD is a combination of counseling and medications. In New Zealand, only specialists in the field can prescribe drugs like Ritalin, but still experts believe the drug is being overprescribed as an attempt to manage children with undesirable behavior. Instead, some physicians are calling for a requirement that two doctors agree on a prescription for methylphenidate – and only after other treatment options have failed.
The actual effectiveness of methylphenidate is also called into question, with some studies suggesting even after taking the medication for more than a year, children’s symptoms of ADHD did not significantly improve. New-Zealand based psychologist Dr. Julia Rucklidge also said much remains unknown about the effects the drug can have as a child’s brain continues to grow and develop.
In 2010, the New Zealand Ministry of Health responded to issues surrounding children’s ADHD medications with strengthened guidelines for prescriptions. Connections have also been suspected between the medication and heart problems or impacts on a child’s growth.
ADHD is only one condition seeing a rise in prescription medications for children. Children with symptoms suspected of being part of the autism spectrum are receiving medications, as are children who may have symptoms of being depressed. Some figures suggest that up to seven million children in the U.S. take a psychotropic (mind affecting) medication before school. Side effects reported include drug dependence, hallucinations or aggression. When prescribed to teens, some of the medications, such as antidepressants, are believed to increase suicidal tendencies or behaviors.
Health experts suggest that factors like over-consumption of chemically-preserved foods, sugar or flour may be partly to blame for jittery behaviors, while others say it’s the result of busy households where parental involvement in children’s choices is lacking. The debate concerning the over-medicating of children, with no obvious solutions as parents and experts try to determine how, and when, to help a child who may truly have a behavioral disorder – or if a child needs other modifications, such as nutrition, discipline changes or improved home circumstances.
