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Psychiatric Drugs Prescribed for Children ? Are They Killing Them?

By Janet Langjahr

According to a lawsuit filed by a Florida teenager’s mother, the athletic boy died of a heart attack … brought on by prescription psychiatric medications.

Allegedly, too many of them, including one to alleviate side effects of the others.

The boy’s psychiatrist reportedly prescribed sixteen different drugs for the boy over the course of a year.

The same doctor also allegedly prescribed a number of medications for a foster child … who subsequently committed suicide.

The Department of Children and Families (DCF) is investigating.

According to DCF, substantial numbers of children in the child welfare system, even those ranging in age from infants to 6 years old are on psychotropic drugs, that is, mind-altering drugs.

According to reports, one third of teens in the child welfare system are on at least one psychiatric medication.

Further, in all or nearly all of the cases of children in the child welfare system on these medications, neither the children’s parents nor a judge had consented to the treatment of the children with psychotropic pharmaceuticals - a prerequisite under the law.

In the case that is the subject of the lawsuit, it is also alleged that there was insufficient monitoring of children on these strong medications.

Food for thought … for any parent of a child from a broken - or intact - family.

Read more in this Miami Herald article: Lawsuit links psychiatric drugs to Tamarac child’s death.

Full post as published by Florida Divorce - Child Custody - Domestic Abuse Law on June 21, 2009 (boomark / email).