Young Kids on Powerful Psychiatric Drugs - Nevada (and the rest of the country)

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I-Team: Young Kids on Powerful Psychiatric Drugs

Remember that kid in school who had

all the answers? In Mr. Moye's honors history class, her name is Saida

Brown. The Coronado High School sophomore values education like

first-time drivers cherish their wheels.

Born to a

drug-addicted mom, Saida entered foster care at 14-years-old when a

family member discovered she was cutting herself. Frequent admissions

to mental health facilities followed, along with multiple psychiatric

diagnoses. "I was on so many medications. They had me on medications

that zoned me out. My grades in school mean so much to me and they

would send me to school on Thorazine," she said.

She says she

was on Seroquel, Haldol, and Depakote, just to name a few. They're

powerful, mood-altering drugs and some of them are not approved for use

on children. "The medicine was making it worse. I was like, ‘I don't

need any pharmaceuticals to help me cope with life. I just need someone

to sit down and talk to me,' you know," she said.

A review of

state insurance records suggests Saida's experience is not unique. In

2007, one in five kids in the custody of state or county agencies was

prescribed one or more psychotropic medications. More than 80 children

5-years-old or younger were taking powerful anti-psychotic drugs.

"We

just don't know the long term effects of many of these pharmaceuticals

on kids because it's not really measured -- the anti-psychotics in

particular," said child psychiatrist Dr. Norton Roitman.

Roitman

is among a growing chorus seeking more oversight of the process by

which children in the system receive medication. A bill before the

Nevada State Legislature would require parental consent, or court

approval, before psychotropic drugs can be used on the youngest foster

kids.

"It's just like grammar school; you have to show your

work. You have to show you've gone through the necessary steps to not

overprescribe. In order to put a kid at risk, you have to be able to

justify that," he said.

Roitman acknowledges, of course, some children benefit from

medication but insists a lack of resources contributes to overuse.

"I

decided I wasn't going to be a guinea pig anymore," said Saida. With

the support of her foster mom and a therapist, Saida stopped taking her

pills. "That was kind of my turning point for when I started to get on

track," she said.

Saida's fellow students recently elected her

junior class president and her academic achievement puts her among the

top of her class. At 17-years-old, she may not really have all the

answers, but Saida will be the first to tell you that she has some of

them. "Everything is not going to be ok unless you push yourself to

keep going," she said.

Family Services Director Tom Morton has

conducted his own research into this issue. His findings show 55

children in county custody under the age of six on psychotropic

medications, including a 2-year-old diagnosed with three different

disorders taking five different drugs.

Policy changes are

underway to keep the agency more informed about what drugs kids in

their care are taking and in the future, all requests will be reviewed

by clinical staff.

Morton says he supports the latest legislation.