Running Head: Overmedication of Foster Children

The Overmedication of Foster Children in America

Alexandria Martinez

University of Texas at San Antonio

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Summary

Many children that are in foster care are being given medication for supposed behavior problems

without a follow up, or second thought to the side effects that come from psychotropics on their

developing brains. This documentary shows just how many pills some of the children are being

prescribed. Some of the children that were interviewed were prescribed medications that cause

negative effects in a brain that is fully developed and these childrens brains are still developing,

so the some of the effects caused the children to be extremely unstable. One of the doctors

interviewed admitted to diagnosing a child as young as 3 years old with a disorder that can only

be diagnosed on a brain that is fully developed. Many of the children shown were suffering from

minor problems that could be helped with something as simple as on-going counseling. A few of

the kids stopped taking their medications, found help a different way, and were doing better than

when they were on prescribed psychotropics. Many of the listed medications were for ADHD

which is one of the most diagnosed mental illnesses in America. The documentary exposed how

the state doesnt give these children a real chance to thrive, but they instead opt to over medicate

and shut down any active behavior instead of trying to work to heal these children. Some of the

doctors didnt even observe the children long enough to see if their problems might stem from

something else, they instead went with a drastic disorder that can only be diagnosed on a fully

developed brain. Many of these children are traumatized and needed some tender loving care,

but instead they are silenced with strong drugs that could possibly cause long term effects in

most adults. They covered the problems that are abundant in our foster care system and the need

to change how it is currently being run.

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The Overmedication of Foster children

Overmedication in America has been one of the most growing problems in recent times.

The problem is significantly worse for children in foster care due to their lack of a stable

placement, or a stable guardian to keep track of the child's mental health changes. Many of the

children in foster care are observed constantly bouncing from home, inpatient care, to group

homes in a vicious cycle that can leave the child with lifelong issues (Hutchinson, 2013).

Moving from placement to placement can often leave these children broken and feeling

worthless or unwanted, which in turn can have negative impacts on that childs mental health.

Per Lisa Hutchinson, a Resident in child pediatrics and child psychology, there are

approximately 400,000 children in foster care at any given time in the United States, with

250,000 children entering and exiting the foster care system each year. (Hutchinson, 2013).

With so many child in foster care it is clear to see how many of the children fall victim to the

Pharmaceutical industry. But, just how common is it for children in foster care to become the

target of a doctor whod rather prescribe drugs than counselling? Research in the state of

Washington shows that children in foster care are 10 times more likely to be given psychotropics

than other children on public assistance (Karnik, 2000). Karnik reports, many of the children

diagnosed with a disorder were taking Ritalin(methylphenidate) for ADHD and

Tofranil(imipramine) for depression. (Karnik, 2000). Medications like these can have profound

effects on moods, feelings, actions, and long term thinking skills. Taking such strong medication

can often lead to problems getting worse because of the sudden change in brain chemistry and

the fact that the childrens brains are still developing. This is a very serious problem, but not

many people are aware of just how bad it really is for some of these kids. There needs to be a
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change implemented to our foster care system that benefits these children, who already have so

much going on at a young age, and are already so broken and overwhelmed.

Many ADHD medications prescribed are often stimulants, these stimulants have adverse

effects on many developing childrens emotions and thought process. If the child is prescribed a

stimulant, but they are not ADHD, they can suffer from all kinds of negative changes to their

emotions, thinking, and working memory. Stimulants when taken by people with ADHD, TBI,

and even sometimes Alzheimers disease, can greatly help an individual lead a semi-normal life.

The increase of dopamine production can make a world of difference to someone who has

problems with dopamine production, but an individual who does not have a dopamine production

problem can experience effects similar to the drug Speed. This means that children who are

given stimulants for hyperactivity are going to have even more hyperactivity, with unstable

emotions bursting out. Childrens brains are still developing all through adolescence which

means behaviors that are displayed in childhood could potentially go away into adulthood. When

prescribing psychotropics like amphetamine salts doctors should be sure that the child is

displaying characteristics of ADHD, because often there are other problems that mirror ADHD

symptoms. Anxiety is one of the main problems that mirrors ADHD, with hyperactivity, inability

to focus, mood swings, and other similar symptoms. Anxiety is a possible cause for a child in

foster care to act-out, and prescribing something as strong as ADHD medication can potentially

make them more unstable. For doctors to get an accurate diagnosis they need to observe the child

not only a few times, but over an extended period to be positive that the diagnosed child isnt

given a medication that would negatively impact them, or their chances of finding a family to

call their own. The children who are given medication that harm them more than help them are
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the ones who suffer all around, because not only is there brain changing which they dont

understand why, but their behavior is often too much for some families to handle so the children

are turned back over to state care with an even slimmer chance of being adopted out. The doctors

who are causing these problems are not feeling any of the negative effects like the mood swings,

angry outbursts, violent behavior, or the loss of a family.

Something needs to change within our society, these children are suffering immensely,

more than any child should ever have to suffer. Lisa Hutchinson sums up how society has

handled this problem and how the future can change, We have failed for generations to

adequately care for the needs of children in foster care, but there is hope that the medical home

model can provide a way to begin making the care we provide more effective. (Hutchinson,

2013). There needs to be strict guidelines put on doctors in regards to them prescribing such

strong medication so freely. More time and care needs to be given to the children in foster care, if

not, then some of the children are doomed to remain victims of our broken society. These

children may grow up suffering from severe mental disorders due to the overabundance of

medications, they may also grow up with low self-esteem due to no family wanting to adopt

them, which comes with even more problems. For a society to truly thrive, we must take care of

the ones who cannot take care of themselves our children.

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References

Hutchison, L. (2013). Addressing the mental health needs of children in foster care: The medical
home model. Brown University Child & Adolescent Behavior Letter, 29(11), 8.

Karnik, N. S. (2000). Foster Children and ADHD: Anger, Violence, and Institutional Power.
Journal Of Medical Humanities, 21(4), 199-214.